The same was the case with coins. The expression "copper is out" dates back to when gold coins began to be made, but there were people who made them out of copper (a much cheaper metal) and plated them with gold to pass them off as pure gold. This was able to deceive others. Of course, until one day, due to the use of the coins and because they looked different, someone scratched one of those coins and saw that the copper was beginning to show, that is, they removed the copper. That is why the coins are verified by scratching them to see if they were made of gold and if they "remove the copper". This is how counterfeit coins or jewelry were discovered, which with friction reveal a copper interior despite being covered in a more valuable metal.This expression means, then, to show the true intentions or thoughts when someone tries to hide them.

We are in the last three weeks (November 4, 11, 18, 2018) before the feast of Christ the King (November 25, 2018), with which we close the cycle of this ordinary liturgical year and we will venture into a new time, Advent. , which prepares us for the great Advent of Christ, when he will come surrounded by glory as Judge of all the earth. For this reason, during these three weeks, the Lord, Jesus, is challenging us so that we seriously decide for a life of living and authentic faith, because before him there is no copper that does not come uncovered or silver that does not come heavy.

Last Sunday, the Gospel of Mark narrated to us the encounter of Jesus with several Masters of the Law, who were well recognized for the type of clothing they wore and the bearing with which they presented themselves in front of the whole world. But a Teacher of the Law in particular goes to the center, to the foundation of the life of faith: he wants to know which is the fundamental commandment, since among more than 600 commandments he had been confused, although his heart was in tune with that of Jesus because lived the Shema, the sacred creed of Israel: You shall love the Lord your God with all your being and your neighbor as yourself.

Now, in this Sunday's gospel, Jesus will seriously confront some attitudes of those who live a double life, on the one hand he is deeply religious and that is "to be noticed" but on the other hand his INTENTIONS are not in accordance with the fundamental commandment. And in this Sunday's gospel, Jesus presents us with two contrasting characters, the teachers of the law who take advantage of their position to achieve their own objectives, and the widow devoured in her house who has nothing left to live on but who gives it up. all. Characters who, if scratched a little, with insight into the gospel, show how much gold and how much nickel they have.

Those Masters of the Law who make themselves known walk through the public squares with their long dresses and they like to be greeted by people. They are very considerate and seek to be considered, they arelittle coins gold inIsrael, but only apparently like coins 'apparently gold or silver but actually nickel, at most covered with a light layer of silver. They know the Torah very well, the word of God, they know the laws, they even practice them, they make them public and they even teach them, but all with the intention of gaining an important place because they want to occupy important positions, that is, "the main chair". in greekprōtokathedria, πρωτοκαθεδρία which is the most important place in the synagogue, from where the main character teaches and what it means to want and maintain POWER. But not only in the synagogue, obviously they also want to occupy the first positions in the BANQUETS, of course! full belly happy heart right? the gospel also uses the word in Greekprōtoklisia, πρωτοκλίσια, which is the place of the main guests at banquets, which is served and honored.

Jesus goes with all of them and UNMASKS the apparent "sublime" gestures of those who use the Word of God but for their own purposes, because their intentions are far from the Kingdom of God. Basically these are positions of honor and prestige and are a sign of the power that one wants to acquire and maintain so that from there, from the main chair, one can dominate and be praised.

Jesus does not fall short in his criticism, he goes for everything. His criticism is a RE-constructive criticism because on the one hand it will unmask the appearances of hypocrisy of our supposed gold and silver coins but which are actually nickel coated with a light layer of precious metal; Jesus intends to unmask us from our false religious coins, bathed in the gold of our religiosities but which in reality are a good dress that could favor our attention and we adopt but for our own purposes and nothing similar to those of Christ. I am sure that we have already let ourselves be unmasked by the Lord, if we were not reading these lines, what has he already unmasked you from in your follow-up process? Is there a mask that the Lord Jesus may be pointing out to you, and that you put on or take off depending on the case, but that covers your true intentions? How far are we willing to let Jesus touch our intentions to discover those false gold or silver coins, which are rather pure nickel?

I remember the suffering of a girl who became enthusiastic about a person who was studying religious sciences with her, she swore and perjured him that he was not married, but she put him to the test and it didn't take long for him to "get the copper", that man, who He participated in Bible and moral lessons to later teach in schools and colleges, he was married. Not much to explain, right?

Jesus does not want us in this type of hypocritical or mediocre religious life. Beware! Take care! He told the disciples, avoid that type of life of those well dressed, with religious robes but who devour the house, the widow's estate, of others, because they take away their possessions, but then yes, they go to pray and for a long time, but only to save face or for all to see.

No, Jesus is not fooled! he knows gold and copper well, he is a good connoisseur of precious metals and on the one hand he gives a very severe judgment to those who decide to condemn themselves: "Those will receive a more severe judgment", in Greekkrima, κρίμα; that is, a sentence and a severe one at that. The Lord Just Judge has spoken and for those who lead, who have the role of teaching, of occupying "the main chair", for them, the final sentence will be more severe, especially if their life and intentions "have not yet given the nail" because they follow the norms, the laws, but their intentions are far from the Kingdom of God, to love with all their hearts, with all their minds, with all their intentions and with all their strength, the Lord and their neighbor as the Master from Galilee asks for it. They get entangled in the fleeting and secondary, or in their own intentions"to be seen by all, to occupy the first positions, in the chair and at the banquet" etc. but not to love with everything.

What a recommendation in this second week prior to the Trial of Christ the King! What a warning from Jesus! watch out! Be careful! pretty much avoid it! (Mc 12, 38), Do not be contaminated with those useless laws, with those thoughts that enslave us: to be the first, to have a religious or social status, to be the best, to be the one who decides (at least to be the head of the brooms hehe); be the most voted by all; be well considered etc., etc., etc., the internal laws that govern us and that consent orunconsciously they manipulate us and which we obey as we said last week.

And it is then that Jesus, sitting in front of the treasury, the place where the offerings were deposited in the temple, observes the crowd and notices two types of offerings in particular: those of the rich who deposited a lot and suddenly a widow, whose condition Social in Israel was to be from the poorest class, with the sick and crippled for example, because a widowed woman fell into disgrace without having a man to protect her economically or socially. And Jesus observes both types of offering. The widow left twoleptos λεπτόν In other words, two copper coins of very little value, a quarter of a Roman coin called As, about an eighth part of a peso, that is, it gave about 25 cents of a peso...