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| "Widow's Mite" by Tissot, James, 1836-1902 |
Perhaps she tried to conceal her identity as she gave, or to
do it as quietly as possible. That is possible, but the text omits any mention
of how she arrived and how she gave. I think that she would have tried to not
draw attention, but the fact that Jesus noticed and that he pointed it out to
the disciples would likely mean that they saw and heard the widow.
This story is frequently offered as examples of what
faithful discipleship looks like. It is also used as an example of faithful and
sacrificial giving to God. I think they are valid interpretations, but like I
often do, I propose a different interpretation that I think better fits the
context of the surrounding texts.
The text immediately preceding the story of the widow and
her coins is words of Jesus giving warning about the legal experts of his time.
Jesus says, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long
robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets. They long for places
of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. They are the ones who cheat widows
out of their homes, and to show off they say long prayers. They will be judged
most harshly.” (Mark 12:38-40 CEB)
The individuals Jesus is warning against are the national
leaders. They are legal and political leaders. They have high positions – they
expect to be honored wherever they go. They dress accordingly so that they can
be recognized. They are also religiously pious and go out of their way to
declare their piety. Yet they are also avaricious and callous. Using their
legal maneuvers, some of them may have found widows to be easy pickings. Jesus
condemns those who flaunt their piety yet use their legal expertise to line
their pockets with widows’ properties.
It is with this background that the rich, quite possibly an
example of the legal experts Jesus warned against, appear at the temple. And
the widow, perhaps one whose house had been lost to such a legal expert, also
enters the scene. The rich give. The widow also gives. But the law does not
require the widow to give. Rather, the law demands that orphans and widows be
taken care of.
This scene is not primarily about giving, but about the
failure of the rich to live up to the very law which they claim to piously
follow.
The widow is not required to give, but she gives anyway.
Why? Is it because of her faithfulness to God? Perhaps. But another perspective
suggests that the teachings of these legal experts may be in play. Piety,
regardless of wealth or social standing, was important to ancient people.
Giving to God was a legitimate component of a pious life. It may be that giving
was so emphasized that the poor felt obligated to give, even when they could
not afford to do so.
It should be noted that the text does not have Jesus
praising or condemning the widow’s act. Jesus simply sees and makes some
factual comments. He does not provide an evaluation. Therefore, I think it is
best to treat this as an observation and not turn it into an exemplary act.
When we continue to read past this story into the next
couple of verses, the non-evaluation approach seems more appropriate.
“As
Jesus left the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What
awesome stones and buildings!”
Jesus responded, “Do you see these
enormous buildings? Not even one stone will be left upon another. All will be
demolished.” (Mark 13:1-2)
We do not know precisely when Mark’s text was written. Many
place it before the destruction of Jerusalem. In which case these words of
Jesus could be seen as prophecy about the future. Or it could be that by the
time Mark’s text was being put together, the writing was on the wall regarding
Jerusalem’s future.
Another possibility is that Jesus’ words are recalling
Hebrew history, where Solomon’s temple was destroyed. A key reason for the
destruction of the first temple was also because the nation’s leaders failed to
provide justice and care to the widows and orphans. According to Jesus, the
future of a nation that fails to take care of its most vulnerable is judgment
and destruction.
In our reading from the Hebrew scriptures, 1 Kings 17, we
read about another widow. This widow is said to be from Zarephath, near Sidon.
Elijah came to her during an extended drought, to receive food and water from
her. She, too, was on her last meager bit of sustenance, and she too, gave what
she had, first to Elijah who was a representative of God.
This could be seen as another story about faithfulness to
God through giving. And this could be a lens through which the story of the
widow at the temple could be interpreted.
But once more, there is another way of interpreting the
story of the widow of Zarephath. And this one comes straight from Jesus. In
Luke 4, as Jesus begins his public ministry, he returns to Nazareth and
declares his mission statement.
16 Jesus went to
Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as
he normally did and stood up to read. 17 The synagogue assistant
gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found
the place where it was written:
18 The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
19 and to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s favor.
20 He rolled up the
scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the
synagogue was fixed on him. 21 He began to explain to them, “Today,
this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”
22 Everyone was raving
about Jesus, so impressed were they by the gracious words flowing from his
lips. They said, “This is Joseph’s son, isn’t it?”
23 Then Jesus said to
them, “Undoubtedly, you will quote this saying to me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself.
Do here in your hometown what we’ve heard you did in Capernaum.’” 24
He said, “I assure you that no prophet is welcome in the prophet’s hometown. 25
And I can assure you that there were many widows in Israel during Elijah’s
time, when it didn’t rain for three and a half years and there was a great food
shortage in the land. 26 Yet Elijah was sent to none of them but
only to a widow in the city of Zarephath in the region of Sidon. (Luke 4:16-26)
First point to note is that Jesus’ mission is to be good
news to the poor, the prisoners, to the blind, and the oppressed. What is
missing is any notion of acquiring power, conquering, and ruling.
Second, when the people of his hometown expressed doubt
about Jesus, Jesus’ response included a mention of the widow of Zarephath.
Jesus does not say anything about the widow’s sacrificial giving. Rather, the
point here seems to be about who God chose to work through to provide his
prophet, Elijah, with support and sustenance. The point is also about who Jesus
is sent to offer the gospel.
It wasn’t Elijah’s own people, the Israelites. It was,
instead, a foreigner, a Canaanite. It was not someone who had the proper
religious identity or beliefs. The widow was not a follower of Isarel’s God.
But Elijah’s God, the God of Israel, chose a Canaanite, who worshiped some
other god, to care for Elijah.
The same could and should be said of our God. Our God is not
limited to working with and for those who profess the right name and those who
claim to possess proper beliefs. Our God is not limited by race, ethnicity,
language, culture or borders. God will choose to work with whomever is open and
receptive to the mission of love and compassion for others. On the other hand,
those who falsely claim piety to be seen and to gain human approval “will be
judged most harshly”, in Jesus’ own words.
I see echoes between then and now in the depictions of human
powers found in the Bible and what we see in our present day. We read about
Jesus observing these powers at play in his time. We read what God values and
desires to see among people. We, as the church, and therefore an embodiment of
Christ in the world, have an obligation and responsibility to continue to see the
world as Jesus saw it and to continue his mission of bringing justice and
restoration to all peoples.
In closing and as our prayer, I will recite Psalm 146, which
I see as an appropriate summary for today’s message.
1 Praise the LORD!
Let my whole being praise the LORD!
2 I will praise the LORD with all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3 Don’t trust leaders;
don’t trust any human beings—
there’s no saving help with them!
4 Their breath leaves them,
then they go back to the ground.
On that very same day, their plans die too.
5 The person whose help is the God of Jacob—
the person whose hope rests on the LORD their God—
is truly happy!
6 God: the maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
God: who is faithful forever,
7 who gives justice to people who are oppressed,
who gives bread to people who are starving!
The LORD: who frees prisoners.
8 The LORD: who makes the blind see.
The LORD: who straightens up those who are bent low.
The LORD: who loves the righteous.
9 The LORD: who protects immigrants,
who helps orphans and widows,
but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn!
10 The LORD will rule forever!
Zion, your God will rule from one generation to the next!
Praise the LORD!
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