Word to the Wise
Saturday, June 5, 2021 - Saturday in the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
[Tob 12:1, 5-15, 20 and Mark 12:38-44]"Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation." "Amen, I say to you, this poor widows 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]
JUNE 5 ST. BONIFACE, bishop and martyr
Jesus draws a sharp contrast between the scribes and the poor widow. The scribes were educated men who, by virtue of their knowledge of the intricacies of Mosaic law and their ability to write, controlled much of civil life. However, in Jesus' time, they had begun to become corrupt and used their education as a form of power and prestige. Theirs was a form of "clericalism" of the sort that Pope Francis has consistently criticized in the clergy!
In stark contrast there is the poor widow who comes and gives all her economic resources to the temple. The receptacle for receiving monetary gifts was trumpet shaped and made of metal. The sound made by a large donation would be much louder than the two small coins put in by the widow. She may not have attracted public attention, as the scribes would do, but her gift would be louder in God's sight. Like a true disciple, she has given everything to God. She can remind us of the rich man earlier in this gospel [10:17-23] whom Jesus challenged to "sell what you have and give to the poor." He went away sad for he had many possessions.
Scripture scholars point out that Jesus' reflection on the widow's offering may be a foretelling of his own total sacrifice on the cross. However, for the moment, the contrast between the power-money-prestige:of the scribes and the vulnerability-poverty-lowliness of the poor widow gives us more than enough to consider. AMEN