This passage is a complex
one. It tells us of the scribes who
parade around in their fine garb, 'devouring widows' houses,' which meant,
basically, using up the resources for personal gain of those who could least
afford to have their resources consumed. The scribes, all the while, made sure
they were publicly seen and acknowledged, that their voices were heard.
The scripture doesn't stop
there, but also tells us of the poor widow who gave every last coin she had to
the offering at the temple, an offering, by the way, which was not mandatory
for her, but voluntary. Jesus notes that the rich gave large sums, but only
gave out of their abundance, in no way a sacrificial offering, in fact, money
they would hardly miss at all. He notes the woman gave all of what she had, an
amount of great sacrifice. And not only
that, this is a woman who has been of course, ‘devoured’ by the rich
establishment to which she is giving her offering.
I can't help but think of the
ridiculously insane amounts of money hoarded by corporations, spent by
political campaigns, and so on… billions and billions of dollars... while
people in this country go to bed hungry each night. And the people in positions
of power... often times seeming like scribes parading around in poor communities,
'devouring widows houses' and pretending they care about the needs of those who
live there...
And the general church, too,
sometimes buys into the numbers game too…seeming to of care more about
statistics and numbers of baptisms or attendance than lives transformed by
village ministries.
Why are these stories in our
gospel reading? Traditional readings
suggest it is to highlight the woman giving all she had… the sacrificial
gift. Yes, that’s clear.
But it is also here to highlight
for us the way we let the village be overtaken by power, the way that we turn a
blind eye to the widow being devoured… the way that even the widow is ok with
the establishment, and puts her own money into the coffers to line the pockets
of the scribes.
It makes us want to say
“Enough!”
It makes us want to change
enough so that we give enough of our hearts and souls to make the world more
just.
What would ‘enough’ mean to you?
Email me at peverhart@niwotumc.org
or comment below.
No comments:
Post a Comment