MONEY DOES NOT BUY THE KINGDOM OF GOD

XXXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: MK 12:38-44

In a world dominated by the big finance, money can achieve nearly everything. We may even think that it has taken  the place of God, or at least, we can buy a place in God’s kingdom with it. There are people, and they are many, who have an insatiable hunger for money and for wealth. It is never enough. They always need more.

Never satisfied

Surely, human beings are always in search of more, whatever it may be. And they are never satisfied. This dissatisfaction should lead us to God, because only in him we can find peace and fulfilment. However, wealth and power have hijacked this deep desire of our hearts, misleading us and transforming what should be a tool at the service of all into a tool of oppression and exploitation.

In this week’s Sunday Gospel, Jesus tells us clearly that we cannot get God’s approval with the amount of money we offer. It is not like in auction, where the highest bidder gets his prize. Seating in front of the treasury box, Jesus observed people depositing their offerings. And then a poor widow approached and threw in a little coin. Humanly speaking, she offered nothing, and her contribution would not make any different. In spite of that, in God’s eyes, she was the one who offered most, because she offered all that she had, with a pure and sincere heart and with total confidence in God’s compassion and care.

God does not count the money

God does not count the money that we give; he doesn’t need it. We are the ones in need of money, and then trust money more than God. But God doesn’t look to our hands to see how much they are carrying; he looks to our hearts to see how much we are ready to share and how much we entrust ourselves into his hands.