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 i the temple in Jerusalem 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?"  Here Jesus quotes from the beginning of Psalm 110.  My study Bible explains that the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, while the term my Lord is a reference to Christ.  The question posed by Jesus is answered in that Christ is the Son of David in His humanity and David's Lord in His divinity.  This "riddle" of the Scripture is only answered by understanding that the Messiah is not a mere man, but is also divine.  David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone as "my Lord" except God.  

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, Jesus goes into an extensive listing of His criticisms of the scribes and Pharisees.   His greatest condemnation is due to their hypocrisy, the extensive practice of outward piety and signs of their office (long robes, greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts), while at the same time their practice is to prey on the poor for their own gain and greed (they devour widows' houses), and their practice of making long prayers are but a pretense.  Christ's warnings are pertinent for us today.  My study Bible comments that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding God as well.  Moreover, it maintains that these criticisms are especially important to Orthodox Christians, as the Church has maintained ancient Christians practices, using sacred vessels, and holy rites, following tradition.  It says these practices can be expressions of deep faith, lead a person to deeper commitment to God, and safeguard our life in Christ -- or they can be observed without ever taking them to heart and lead to 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."  My study Bible comments that, according to patristic understanding, the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back.  So, therefore, this poor widow is counted to have given a great gift, as she's kept nothing for herself.  Those who give out of their abundance but keep plenty back for themselves are counted by God to have given very little.

How do we give gifts?  This is a good question for today, as today is the feast day of St. Nicholas.  St. Nicholas lived in the 4th century in the Byzantine Empire.  The stories we've been given about St. Nicholas tell of a great many virtues.  As one might suspect, he's very well known for his charity and gift-giving.  Among other things, we're told about St. Nicholas that his parents were wealthy, and upon inheriting their wealth, he followed the examples of Christ's teaching in the Gospels:  he gave it all away to the needy.  According to a biography found at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, St. Nicholas "regarded himself merely as the steward of goods which belonged to the poor and took particular care to keep his good deeds secret, so as not to lose the heavenly reward.  On three occasions he secretly left gold enough for the marriage portions of three maidens whom their debt-ridden father intended to give up to prostitution. When the man eventually discovered his good deed, Nicholas made him promise, as he valued his salvation, to tell no one of it."  He became known, perhaps in return for his generosity of spirit, for gifts given by God, of miracles and charismata (he is also known as St. Nicholas the Wonderworker).  He is known for saving those in danger of drowning at sea through his prayers to calm winds, and for other miracles regarding dangers to ships and people making sea voyages (both before and after his death).  Perhaps for this reason, Nicholas is a very common name among the people who populate islands of Greece.  He is the patron saint of sailors, and also of children.  He became a bishop at a young age, and is also famous for defending the faith against the Arian heresy at the Council of Nicea.  He is indeed the same saint who became known as Santa Claus in the West (coming from the Dutch Sinterklaas, meaning St. Nicholas).  Today's story of anonymous and generous giving is a magnificent parallel with the saint's feast day.  The story of this very humble widow no doubt quietly putting her two mites into the treasury of the temple, in parallel with the secret and hidden generosity of St. Nicholas to others, tells us something very important about our own generosity and good deeds.  Christ is aware even of the things that are hidden to others or unknown generally speaking.  The good things we do, the kindnesses, our acts of compassion, are all known to the Lord, and He takes notice.  God also clearly knows the extent of our generosity, how deeply we give from the heart, and how generous we truly are being.  St. Nicholas, in the East and in the West, becomes the embodiment of the gracious spirit of our faith.  Perhaps the best message we're given today might be one of gratitude, because no matter how small we may believe our resources to be, a gift can always be generous, and we always have indeed a generous gift we can make: of our time, our love, even the truth of our deep convictions, and whatever resources we have.  The sacrifices we make for God always count, for we worship the God who sees (Genesis 16:13).  So let us, today, venerate St. Nicholas, and the poor widow whom Jesus lauds, for each of us is more than capable of bestowing the generous gifts Christ helps us to give.  We are all rich in this respect.  For, as Jesus says, even out of her poverty, this poor widow has put in more than all.