Jesus 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 Jesus 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 12:41-44
What a scandal! Jesus is happy this woman gave all of her money; she now has nothing to live on. What‘s more, she is a widow. In Jesus‘ culture women were not highly thought of, and widows were even lower. The only hope a widow had was if one of her children (if she even had a child), would take her in and provide for her. Would we not expect our Lord and Savior, the merciful and compassionate Lord and Savior that he is, to be more encouraging of this widow to save her final coins?
But alas – here is the scandal of the Gospel. What we might expect is not always what we find. And what we find always has a twist. In this short story from Mark‘s Gospel, Jesus isn‘t commenting on this widow‘s lifestyle or her social security retirement income or the people‘s ability to provide for her welfare. He is commenting on a major difference between her faith and the faith of the rich people around her. This woman demonstrates an amazing faith. In giving everything she has, she has only God to rely on.
The wealthy people that Jesus is really commenting on in this story are giving out of their abundance. They don‘t need to rely on God. They can rely on their own selves. And Jesus is saying, when your underlying motive in giving is "God, I know you are there, but I really don‘t need you," that demonstrates a really shallow faith. Jesus yearns for his disciples to have the kind of deep faith that the widow expressed, the kind of faith that says, "God I know you are there, and I depend on you for everything."
As February begins, we continue our sermon series "Living a Generous Life". This theme is intended to get us thinking about our motivations in giving to God and our faith that is our basis for giving to God. Throughout this series, we have even heard from members who have shared how your giving to the congregation makes an impact on the ministry our congregation is able to do. I especially enjoyed Christa Hartsook‘s reminder that the greatest gift we can pass on to our children is the gift of faith.
Pastor Jamie
Read the rest of the February edition of Palestine Press here.
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