The Widow Offering All

The texts in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today raise the question of Who are the worthy ones? Christians recall that Paul exclaims that “All have sinned... All have fallen short”. From this point of view, we are all unworthy. Our worthiness is not the issue. The intimate relationship with the Divine is offered to all. The worthy and the unworthy together are invited to intimacy. Those who live in the power and influence of the relationship with the Divine show a measure of the actions of the “worthy” to which we aspire. The Book of Revelation today is not a text to be taken literally. Some groups who interpret the text literally have been distressed by the number 144,000. The understanding of the worthy virgins also may be a difficult qualification for some. The sense behind the imagery is that there are qualities of righteous people. The psalmist continues to describe some of these virtues. These are targets for the faithful to struggle towards. The impact of our growth is not accounted in human measures. Luke points to Jesus presentation of the widow as the example of the faithful follower who has given (and received) much.