Nothing too little

Nothing too little

“..and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.  And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”(Luke 21: 2-4)

3 years ago, when my lolo Tino (my mother’s uncle) passed away, I went with my mother to our province in Malasiqui, Pangasinan to mourn with our relatives in the wake. I must admit that even though people see me today coming from a family who is well off, we are descendants of peasants in a farm. That’s why when I was in the house of our relatives they were very shy to serve me a bowl of ampalaya, munggo and malunggay. My lola Percy (wife of lolo Tino) told me and my mother, “Pasensya na kayo, a? Ito lang ang maihahanda namin. (Pardon us. This is the only thing we can serve you.)” It doesn’t really matter to me and my mother knows me very well and told them, “Naku! Huwag niyo po masyado alalahanin kakainin niya. Sundalo po iyan! (Oh please! Don’t worry about his food too much. He’s a soldier.)” They even prepared their “only” bedroom for me to sleep in. I appreciated their hospitality but I told them that I find it comfortable to sleep with them anywhere. Besides, I do not want to be treated like a god. O well, in those examples, those are some things to be proud of as a Filipino. Hospitality at its finest.

I can see that in the midst of the poverty of our relatives, they’re willing to give everything they can for the guests. Just like the woman in the Gospel who dropped two small coins in the treasury. Those are what she all had but because she gave it out of love for God she was praised more by our Lord. Maybe for her she was also saying in her heart that she’s sorry and that all what she can give. I feel guilty because whenever I drop some coins or bills during offertory, I am aware that those are spare or extra from my allowances.

It’s true that there’s nothing small in every act of kindness which we can do to our neighbors because our investments will grow bigger in Heaven. Down payment po tawag diyan. We don’t need to become heroes in order for us to tell ourselves that we’ve done a lot for our fellowmen.

God sings, “I’ll give my all to you, give your all to me.”

Baliktad ba lyrics? Oo, baliktad. Dahil siya ang unang nagbigay kaya tayo naman ang magbibigay sa kanya.(Is the lyrics in reverse? Indeed, it is. Because He’s the first one who gave, now it’s our turn to give something to Him)

#GiveToHimAllThatYouHave

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