Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had

 

 And He said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?  Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:

'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'

"Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then His Son?"

Then in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."

 

- Luke 20:41-21:4 

 

Yesterday we read that some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Jesus and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

 

 And He said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?  Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'  Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then His Son?"   Jesus quotes from Psalm 110, after being praised by one of the scribes for His interpretation of Scripture (in yesterday's reading, above), and poses a question of His own.  My study Bible explains that the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, while the term my Lord refers to Christ.  Jesus' question to the scribes is answered in that Christ is the Son of David in His humanity and David's Lord in His divinity.   The expectations of a Messiah as worldly king only are dispelled in this understanding -- for David, as king of Israel, would not address anyone as "Lord" except God.  David addresses the Messiah as Lord here in the beginning of the psalm, and therefore the Messiah must be God.  The understanding conveyed is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to His flesh, but is also divine, sharing Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.

 

 Then in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."   In Matthew 23, we read an extensive critique of the scribes and Pharisees given in this final week of Christ's life.  Here it is much more abbreviated, and yet to the point.  He still criticizes them for their hypocrisy, their conduct of exorbitant displays of pious appearance to others -- and yet hiding their cruelty and greed.  Here He explicitly speaks of their condemnation.

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."  After Jesus speaks theft from widows by the scribes (who devour widows' houses), He puts out to all the poor widow and her donation into the temple treasury.  My study Bible says that according to patristic commentary, the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back.  Therefore, this woman is counted to have given a great gift although she is a "poor widow," as she has kept nothing for herself.  My study Bible adds that those who give out of their abundance but keep plenty back for themselves are counted to have given very little.  

At a time when I was traveling overseas, I happened to be sitting one day in the center of a sunny city, in a nice cafe.  A refugee woman with two small children came to me, and she was asking people for money.  Ordinarily there might be a common experience of some people begging in that city, often people who used drugs.  But this woman was different, and I felt she must have come across the seas from bad circumstances and facing danger in her position.  I gave her a much larger amount that I would ordinarily hand to someone on the street but it still was not a large sum of money.  There was another person in my party who in principle thought I shouldn't do that, but I tersely said that she had two children.  Quietly and with great dignity she mouthed the words to me, "God bless you," with deep gratitude.  She comes to mind as I think about Jesus' final story, pointing out to those who listened the gracious and generous gift of the poor widow.  Although the amount I gave was small, and I didn't know how much it could help her, this woman -- who might have been a young widow with small children -- was grateful in an enormous way, possibly more for the fact that I wanted to protect and defend her than simply the donation.  Perhaps she understood that I saw her dignity and grace and recognized who she was in some sense.  At any rate, a small token or gift from me was met with tremendous graciousness on her part, and so we might think of a poor widow as one who truly knows the value of a gift, especially when the world is unkind to the powerless and the poor.  In the years since I wondered often how I could have done more for her, tried to find her a job, or some other such fantasy, but I remember her gratitude and her grace, and in that, her gift to me of genuine thanks for much more than a small sum of money.  In contrast to the widow in the story, my donation was quite paltry, a pittance.  But let us not forget how Christ looked at the poor widow at the treasury and noticed her, and had not simply compassion, but the recognition of her great gift.  It's too easy to overlook what is small in the world, and without the significance of what we call great, those unfortunate who have been treated badly by circumstances, and who need help.  But God -- our Lord Christ -- tells us differently, and that it is our job not simply to give, but to know and to recognize, to see as He sees.  Let us not forget the true gifts of life, for of such is the compassion and wisdom of Christ.  The woman to whom I gave a small momentary sum had the grace of Christ to recognize I wanted to help even if it was quite a little, but her words to me suggested her faith and its depth of beauty and goodness were much greater than whatever sum I could give her.  We live in a very imperfect world, and we cannot fix all things.  Let us remember to show the mercy we can, for our sisters and brothers are found everywhere, and in them is found much greater treasure than what we give.  What can be given out of one person's poverty may be a greater reward than we can know.