Word to the Wise
Saturday, June 9, 2012 - Saturday in the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Tim 4:1-8 and Mark 12:38-44]"Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, "from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." [Mark]
According to scripture scholars who specialize in the cultural scene of Jesus, the receptacles for receiving donations at the temple were shaped like horns, with a "flared" mouth. Since paper money did not exist, the size of a donation could be guessed by a casual observer from the amount of noise it made when being deposited. (I suppose this is like the pastor who likes a "quiet" collection because it means less change and more bills.) So, the widow's "mite" would be a bare "clink, clink!" in contrast to the wealthy "CLANK, CLANK!" The incident occurs in the midst of the growing tension between Jesus and the Jerusalem religious "establishment," to which the scribes clearly belonged. Just before the widow shows up, Jesus has commented on how scribes took advantage of widows and "devour[ed] their houses." Since "widows and orphans" were considered to be the most vulnerable members of society at the time, the conduct of the scribes brings a scathing criticism from Jesus.
Our current economic crisis is composed of many, many elements, but it is clear that many vulnerable people were taken advantage of by unscrupulous lenders. Greed is one of the seven "capital" sins and there will be a serious accounting for all of this before God. The poor widow in the story was probably lucky that the scribes didn't get those two coins before she could donate them. Her example contrasts sharply with those whose wealth provided a "cushion" that allowed for "loud" donations. Some commentators have noted a criticism in Jesus' words about the whole temple system that would take the widow's last resources. I don't want to take away her good intentions, but I do believe that any economic "system" that deprives human persons of basic necessities such s food, shelter, clothing, health care in the name of profit and progress is morally evil. In Jesus' day, the wealthy were expected to share their wealth generously with the poor. The story of the rich man and Lazarus in the Gospel of Luke is an example of a failure to meet this expectation. [Luke 16:19-31] The collective responsibility of our very wealthy nation will be subject to the same judgment in the end. Will we be like the Rich Man who ignores Lazarus and the Scribes who took advantage of widows? I think that poor widow has a lot to teach us! AMEN