The Lord said to my Lord

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,

“The Lord said to my Lord,

‘Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet.’ ”

David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?’ And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

As he taught, he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’

He 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 he 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 12:35-44

In yesterday's passage, Jesus answered a scribe's question about the first commandment, and then said that the scribe was 'not far from the kingdom of God.' That scribe appreciated and approved of Jesus' answer; and we note the irony in Jesus' reply about the nearness of the kingdom of God. This phrase is reflective of the apostles' phrase to the people as they went out to teach, that 'the kingdom of God has come near to them.' But today, Jesus goes after the scribes as a class, in contrast to the one who actually managed to have a good dialogue with Jesus in yesterday's reading.

The tables are turned now. It is no longer the authorities who are quizzing Jesus. Today's reading shows us that Jesus has become the one who quizzes them. Jesus asks, "How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet." ' David himself calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?"

It's interesting to me that Jesus spurs on the confrontation directly. After a good reply and dialogue with the scribe, Jesus goes head on into confrontation with the general class of the scribes, and criticizes their way of interpretation and practices under the Mosaic law in which they are the experts. Although he is a peaceful Messiah, he does not shy away from conflict, and neither does he shy away from telling truth and making his criticism, directly in front of all the people. He defends himself and his authority, and he truly asserts his perspective and his teaching, before everybody. We are told that the crowd loves this display of open talk, open teaching, and the turning of the tables so that the scribes themselves are questioned now.

The scribes cannot answer. Jesus' answers display his authority and wisdom; his interrogators cannot reply to the questions that he poses to them. The answer to this question that we receive from the gospels is that David calls Him "Lord" in His divinity, but Jesus is also David's son in his humanity.

And, Jesus goes further in front of these crowds. He levels his criticisms directly, perhaps because he knows from the previous conversation (see yesterday's passage) that the scribes understand very well what Jesus is talking about. We all (the authorities, the crowds and all readers of this gospel) get a message about the heart and outward forms of worship: ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’ His condemnation of hypocrisy, of those who do not love their neighbor (the second commandment) as an expression of God's love, is thorough. It is significant, something of which we must take note. Jesus goes out of his way to condemn this behavior immediately upon the understanding arrived at with regard to "the greatest commandment." The greater condemnation falls on those who profess to worship and fail to follow these greatest commandments, on those who hold the highest responsibility for this understanding and practice. This is Christianity at its heart, the message of Jesus at its most direct and profound impact. What we worship and what we believe carries with it this responsibility. Those who bear that responsibility the most will receive the greater condemnation for our failure to take these words "to heart." It is the acts of the heart that are "much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices."

Jesus goes even further to illustrate his point. Far from the wealthy who offer goods and gifts to the temple out of their abundance, he points out to his disciples, the poor widow. Jesus renews to them, after his criticism of the public behavior of the scribes, his teachings about "He who would be greatest among you." ‘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.’ She has put in two copper coins, called "mites" - the least valuable coins. She is "the least of these" and yet she has given more. Jesus' wisdom is displayed in his knowledge of this woman, another expression of divinity and the sense in which we are all known in our hearts. This is where we love and worship, the center we give to God, the center of our selves. It is the center of Jesus' teaching to us, the sum we must remember for ourselves as His followers. This is the lesson of humility. Do we give with our whole heart to God? This is "greater than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices," greater than all the carryings-on that Jesus cleansed in the temple. How do we remember this today? It is so central to the Christian teaching, and its central place remains for each of us who would follow today.