Like the widow at the temple treasury, the poor were victims of the 'prosperity gospel' practiced by the scribes and Pharisees. In their silent grief over their misery they had only God to hope for. what God saw was not what fell in the temple treasury, but her trust in God. The poor and widows had to sell whatever they had for their daily survival. Their helplessness could easily be exploited. By offering money we cannot please God. God wants the gift of ourselves.
The widow of Sidon, even in her poverty placed hope in God and offered generosity to Elijah, a hungry stranger. The more we go deeper inside and find the treasure of God the more we grow outward in kindness. Temple treasuries have grown equal to God securing many against their duty to care for the poor.
Pharisees were rich in holiness, scribes were rich with the knowledge of the Scripture and law, proselytes were rich with zeal for religion. But in their richness there was no space for God. The greater was their emptiness the more they swallowed the properties of widows and poor. in their emptiness they even assumed they have swallowed God's kingdom.
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