“He sat down… and watched the crowd.”
Jesus said, “Beware of the scribes, who…” Who do what? They walk around arrogantly in ‘fancy clothes;’ they draw attention to themselves in public; they have to sit in the best seats at church or at the head table at special dinners; they take advantage of widows; and, to get attention, they say long prayers. He condemns the scribes not because of who they are, but because of what they do.
Brian Stoffregen (Faith Lutheran Church, Marysville, CA) suggests that the issue is not the "scribes" so such, but the need to watch out for people who act in the ways Jesus describes. Today we could say: "Watch out for pastors or church members who..." or "Watch out for the students or teachers who..." or "Watch out for farmers or businessperson who..." Certainly not all those identified fit Jesus’ description, but the point of the references is to denounce what they do rather than who they are. Jesus told his followers, “Watch out for the people who…” – especially if you have or are becoming one.
Then… “He sat down… and watched the crowd.”
The point is, like the disciples we have been Jesus’ followers long enough now that we know what we should be - a caring person, someone sensitive to others, who is patient and kind. We know it, and yet at times we find ourselves walking around “in long robes,” desperately wanting the respect of others, and hoping for the best seats in the house. After all, hadn’t Jesus’ disciples argued not too long before this about who would sit next to him when he came into his kingdom?
In today’s story, when Jesus points out that the scribes are not loving others as they should – that they are really only concerned about themselves and ‘lording it over others’ – he is not just condemning their actions, he is in fact warning his disciples (and us) to not be like them. And if the scribes doing these things were not bad enough – their wanting to do them was worse. So, perhaps, that is the real issue – the scribes want people to think they are better than others.
So, Mark’s warning to the early Christian community is this: Watch out for these people. Don't be like them. They pretend to care, but they don’t. They pretend to pray, but that is not really what they are doing. They pretend to put God first, but in reality they put themselves at the top of the list. How can someone pray for justice and not work at making society more just? How can someone ask for healing and not go to the doctor or take the medicine? How can someone pray for the church to grow and not actively invite friends and neighbors to church? Isn’t the sincerity of our prayer determined by what we are actually willing to do, rather than just the words we pray? Are we really willing to help the ‘least of us’? Or are we just pretending most of the time?
“He sat down… and watched the crowd.”
In today’s story, Jesus is somewhat of a “people watcher.” In the temple, he watches and listens to them, observing how they relate to one another. He studies what they do and why they do it. He not only sees how much each person puts in the treasury box, but how they do it. Are they joyful? Do they give with a happy heart? Or are they sad? Do they make a big show of it? Or is it given with humility? How are the people putting their money in the offering plate? How are they giving of themselves? Some gave discreetly, quietly or hoping to go unnoticed – while others wanted to be seen so their offering would be recognized.
Jesus seems to suggest the heart of giving lies in the distinction between giving from what we have left over, and giving from the first fruits. The widow is blessed because she knows, unlike so many people, God is all she really has. There wasn’t anything of value she could give. Her two small coins, what could they do? Not a lot. And yet her giving reflected her complete trust in God, even though the scribes, the representatives of God’s institution, had probably ripped her off, taking everything she had, except these two small coins.
There have been many interpretations of what Jesus may have been telling his disciples about the widow’s giving - perhaps they are familiar. We have ‘heard’ Jesus’ teaching to be: 1) The true measure of our gift is not how much we give but how much we keep, OR the percentage of our means that the gift represents, OR the self-denial involved and the cost of giving for us. 2) It is not the amount given that matters but the spirit in which it is given. 3) The true gift is to give everything we have. 4) What is given should correspond with one's means. 5) It is our duty to give to the poor.
“He sat down… and watched the crowd.”
All that Jesus says by way of comment is: “She gave more . . . for they all contributed out of their abundance but she out of her want has put in everything she had, her whole living.” Is Jesus saying the widow gave more because her giving was sacrificial? Or is there more to it than that?
May I suggest our hearing the widow’s part of the story - as an example of how all of us are to give - may be totally wrong, touching on something Mark never intended. You know how sometimes we hear something and disconnect before we hear the rest as our mind takes off in a whole new direction. Could that have happened here? Perhaps. Maybe the lesson has less to do about the widow’s giving and more about the institution to which she gave.
Scholars have noted that by pairing the story of Jesus observing the widow’s offering with his statement against the religious leaders in the preceding verses (12:38-40), the lectionary is inviting us to hear this event differently than we usually do at this time of year. When Jesus criticizes the scribes, saying they “devour widow’s houses” and then comments that the widow “out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on,” he is in fact condemning the religious institution that would take a “poor widow’s” last penny when in fact, it should be ‘taking care’ of her. Jesus is saying the religious institution, which in our case is the church, is not to take from the poor, the marginalized and powerless, but is to provide for them.
So, the message of today’s gospel is not that all of us should dig deeper into your pockets and increase our giving. Nor is it that all of us are tied too closely to our money. The message of today’s gospel for everyone to hear is that as the church we should not ask more of those struggling to make ends meet each month, those raising children alone, or those without a job, rather we should be asking them to give less and to take more from us.
We, as individuals and as the church body, need to rethink giving—who should give, how much should be given, as well as who should receive. What we are doing must be examined. It is true the church needs more money to achieve our mission goals – to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, but giving to the church should never be a financial hardship on anyone, especially when there are others who can give more. Therefore our invitation to those who have little to give must always be to give a little, and our invitation to those who have a lot must always be to give a lot.
“He sat down… and watched the crowd.”
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