As he taught, Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’ He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’ Mark 12:38-44
There’s two parts to this reading, and we shouldn’t separate them: the actions of the scribes, whose job involved knowing the law and its interpretation, and the poor widow who gave everything she had to the Temple treasury. We get the expression “the widow’s mite” from this story – someone’s tiny contribution that means far more than its smallness indicates. This is often used to encourage giving, and yes, it can work like that (for one thing, there’s that point about Jesus noticing what people donate), but this is more a condemnation of the scribes than a commendation of the widow. She certainly shows them up, and her actions expose the religious leaders for their hypocrisy.
Looking after widows and others without power or resources was a key commandment in Judaism. The widow’s extreme poverty (all she had was those two small coins) is a sign that the leaders have failed. They’re not living up to their obligations and they seem more interested in their own honour than in helping others.
Why does the widow give what she does? Is it out of obligation – and yet the poor are nowhere commanded to give all they have – or is it out of hope? When she gives her last coins to the Temple is this extreme trust, or a spirit of resignation? Is she thinking “they’ve taken everything else from me, they may as well have this also”? Or is she thinking “even if these scribes and those who run the temple system are corrupt, I will still honour God with all I have”? We simply don’t know. And – as so often in the Gospels – we don’t know what happens next, and if there is someone who comes along to look after the widow and give her a future. (So frustrating – I want to know!)
What do these stories ask of us? Where are we being invited to trust? And what obligations do we need to live up to?
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