Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all

 

 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 sets 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 Him 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 is quoting from Psalm 110, and quizzing the scribes with His own question now, on the meaning of the Scriptures.  My study Bible explains that the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, while the term my Lord refers to Christ.  This question is answered in that Christ is the Son of David in His humanity and David's Lord in His divinity.  David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone as "Lord" except God.  Yet, in the psalm, David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  The only conclusion is that the Messiah is both human and divine.

 

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 sets 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."   After quizzing the scribes, who could not answer, Jesus goes on to criticize their hypocritical practices.  Their outward piety conceals a private predatory behavior upon the poor and those least able to protect or care for themselves.  In effect, they use the trappings of their places of honor in the religious hierarchy as shields for their greed and abuse.

 

 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 commentary, the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back.  So, therefore, the poor widow is counted to have given a great gift, because she kept nothing for herself.  Those who give out of their abundance but keep plenty back for themselves, by contrast to her donation, have given much less. 

 

If we examine the story of the poor widow, what we find is a woman who is in this sense investing all her livelihood, all that she has, in God.  By putting her money into the treasury, she is entrusting all that she has to God.  She is, in this sense, indicating her full dependence on God, and dedication to God.  When we invest ourselves, in this sense, to our faith, we do the same.  In the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, celebrated nearly every Sunday in Orthodox churches, and the foundation for other denominations around the world, we frequently hear repeated, "Let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God."  This phrase is also found in the worship of the St. Basil Liturgy which is performed on particular occasions.  This phrase is, in the same sense that the widow invests all that she has in the treasury to God, our way of giving our all liturgically, in repeated prayer.  We seek to direct our lives to the care and service of God, and leave nothing back "for ourselves."  What that means is that as we pray and as we worship, we are seeking not to dedicate ourselves in the sense of performative action such as hides the hypocrisy of the scribes which Jesus criticizes, but to dedicate ourselves to the way, the truth, and the life that Jesus teaches us (John 14:6).  We seek as best we can to follow His way and His commands, but we also entrust that the Holy Spirit will help us to see where we need to change, things we need to give up, and new things we need to take up and make a commitment to.  This is what it is to dedicate our lives to God, to entrust ourselves to God, as this widow does with her donation.  What we find is that all the practices of worship and tradition are aimed to this end, to help us to fulfill this dedication of our whole lives to Christ our God.  When we fast, we are learning to say No the things Christ would ask us to resist that tempt us, when we pray we bow down to the One who loves us and who in turn we entrust with our whole lives, when we venerate icons and share our love of the saints, we do so with this whole community in mind that is encapsulated in this prayer, "Let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God."   For our whole lives to be entrusted to God is to go far beyond the practices of the scribes which Jesus so roundly criticizes. In so doing, we find ourselves together with that widow, where we are both part of this community dependent upon and dedicated to God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  And we find the poor widow as our neighbor, whom we are to love as ourselves.  (See, for example,  Mark 12:30-31.)  Christ the Lord who came into the world to reveal Himself to us, to give us His care, and teach us to find the way to His Kingdom -- and this is the way He shows us in today's reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood

 

 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:

    'The LORD said to my Lord,

    "Sit at My right hand, 

    Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'

Therefore David himself calls  Him 'Lord'; how is He then His Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.

Then He said to them in His teaching, "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."  

Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

- Mark 12:35-44 

 

Yesterday we read that one of the scribes came, and having heard Jesus reasoning together with the Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducees, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:   'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.   

 

Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand,  till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'  Therefore David himself calls  Him 'Lord'; how is He then His Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.  My study Bible comments that Christ asks this question in order to lead the religious leaders to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  (In Matthew's Gospel, He directs this question to the Pharisees, with whom, of course, the scribes were closely associated.)   My study Bible further explains that they supposed the Messiah to be a mere man, and therefore the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David.  But David, as the king of Israel, could not and would not possibly address anyone as "Lord,: except God.  Here Jesus quotes from Psalm 110, in which David refers to the Messiah (in verse 1) as "Lord."  So, therefore, the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, but is also truly divine, and sharing Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Note that the text tells us the common people heard Him gladly.  Christ's following remarks tell us something about why they did so.

Then He said to them in His teaching, "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."  Christ points out the hypocrisy of the scribes, who put on a show of piety, grasp their positions of authority, and yet harm the powerless.  For a full expression of Christ's condemnation of this hypocrisy, see Matthew 23, and Christ's grand critique of the scribes and Pharisees.

 

 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."  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.  Therefore, this poor widow is accounted to have given a very great gift, for she kept nothing for herself.  Those who give out of their abundance, but who keep plenty for themselves have not given as much as she.  In the conversion of Cornelius, my study Bible adds, we learn that God takes note of our giving (Acts 10:4).  

The poor widow is an important contrast to the authority and show of piety and honor so coveted by the scribes.  She is powerless.  In this society, she has likely no protector, no one who is going to fight for her if she needs a judgment or rectification of a harm done to her.  Neither has she the means to hire someone to do so.  Christ's noticing of her generosity, her obviously whole-hearted giving, is an image for us of the God who sees (Genesis 16:13), the same God who cares for the widow and the orphan (Psalms 68:5, 146:9).  He is the same Lord who commands us to "learn to do good":  to "seek justice, rebuke the oppressor"; to "defend the fatherless," and to "plead for the widow" (Isaiah 1:16:18).  Here Jesus Himself sets the example, in that He is pleading for the widow before His disciples in the treasury, and to all of us who read or hear the Gospel.  This is a clear example of what is frequently called God's condescension, an example of His compassion.  But it is more than an example, He actually does what He commands us to do; He pleads for the widow.  His action here stands in absolute contrast to the things for which He condemns the scribes.  They, on the other hand, desire to go around in long robes (signifying their place and piety), love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts (signifying their standing in the community), who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. They are antithetical to the image of the poor widow who puts all she has in the treasury (note how in Christ's observation of their behavior, there is no mention of donations or gifts, only accrual by devious means from the powerless).  What we find in their hypocrisy is not only their lack of a sense of justice and of "doing good" in this sense, but of a heart not truly devoted to God.  It is for this they receive their condemnation.  There is a sense in which the real fruits they bear (or lack of them) show who they truly are, whereas the widow's gift is weighed very heavily in the sight of God.  It's not that we're just supposed to "feel" things in our hearts, but rather that both action and faith go hand in hand.  We're meant to be "faithful"; that is, we're meant to really live our faith, not just believe or feel something.  To be whole-hearted is to bear the fruits of who we claim to be.  This is not so for the judgment of others, but it is God telling us the judgment of God here.  If we live only for the judgment of others, this is the very definition of what is commonly called "pharisaism," meaning to behave in accordance with Jesus' description of hypocritical practice.  In John's Gospel we read, "Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42-43).  That loving "the praise of men more than the praise of God" is what hypocrisy is all about.  In that specific example from John's Gospel, let us note they believed what was correct about Christ in their hearts, but nonetheless, they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God, and therefore put their trust in the former, and lived out that particular placement of trust.  In Mark's 8th chapter, Jesus says, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:38).  This goes directly to which one of these things we love more.  In Christ's repeated warnings about the final judgment, He tells us about living our faith, acting in accordance with it.  This is particularly clear in the parable of judgment, that of the Sheep and the Goats, found in Matthew 25:31-46.  There He names specific actions taken in accordance with compassion, not the mere feeling of such, and therefore a lived faith.  Some might call it a "faithful faith."  But what might always trip us up is the difference between the scribes, as described here, and the poor widow -- and that is in how much we care about making an appearance before others, how much we love the praise of men more than the praise of God.  Jesus says, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).  It seems that mammon can be understood not simply as wealth or treasure, but even a purely materialistic perspective on life, which naturally translates into a life lived for accumulation and competition, whether that be for clout, power, any form of wealth, or indeed the "praise of men" as a form of currency which displaces God in priority.  Let us remember once again that the whole of the Old Testament, and Christ's most common emphasis and teaching, is the creation of community, and what a community centered around God is supposed to be and to reflect.  The God who sees does not ask us to live in a community where social hierarchy is the only thing that matters, not to emphasize merely the "praise of men," or what looks good to everybody else and gets us social merits.  Christ asks us to live in accordance with putting God first, the God who sees the widow and all that she gives, and asks us to live in accordance with that way of seeing.  Let us consider what it means to be made in the image of that God, and to grow in accordance with that image.

 

 

 

 

 

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 

 

 In our current readings, it is Holy Week, the final week of Jesus' life.  He has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and has been questioned by the leadership in the readings of this past week.  Yesterday we read that some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him 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 poses an important Scriptural question, one that involves both the idea of Messiah or Christ, and also a question of authority (such as has been posed to Him in Monday's reading).  The passage He cites is from Psalm 110:1.  My study Bible tells us that, to understand this question, we must know that the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, while the term my Lord refers to Christ.  It says that the key to fully answering this question is that Christ is the Son of David in His humanity and David's Lord in His divinity.  

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's Gospel, these statements are part of a longer narrative by Christ regarding the scribes and Pharisees, how they use their authority (Matthew 23:1-36), and particularly focuses on their hypocrisy in so doing.  Here we get the focus on hypocrisy of these teachers of the law to the people.  They treasure the signs of their authority and position:  the long robes, formal greetings in the marketplaces before the public, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, designating honor.  But as guardians of the Scripture and its meaning they fail to live what they preach, for they devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  The greater condemnation which Christ pronounces upon them comes as a result of their hypocrisy.  This passage is important for all of us who call ourselves Christians, because it is an emphasis on the power of faith motivating how we live and what is in our hearts.  In another context, Jesus has taught the disciples about being a light to the world.  He said to them, "For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light."  We can bring that statement to mind here as well.  (See in context Luke 8:16-18.)

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."  The example of this poor widow chosen by Jesus magnifies His teaching on hypocrisy, as He shines a light on her as an opposite example to the powerful who hold significant positions that allow them to use wealth and cover the condition of their hearts.  My study Bible comments 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.  In this light, the poor widow is counted to have given a great gift, having 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.  

Jesus' example of the poor widow magnifies the problem of hypocrisy for us, shines a light on it in terms of how we view public appearance.  We can contrast the hypocrisy of the scribes noted just before by Jesus, and look at the poor widow as she puts her two mites into the treasury.  The word translated as "mite" is λεπτον/lepton in the Greek of the text.  It was the smallest currency at that time.  According to one analysis, at roughly the time of the writing of the Gospels, it was worth 1/64 of a denarius. A denarius was a day's wage for a common worker.  In terms of today's money in a modern economy, these two "mites" constitute a tiny amount of money, a fraction of a single cent or smallest unit of currency.  But as my study Bible points out, the amount of money is not what is important here.  What is important is the contrast between the hypocrisy of the scribes which Jesus points out, and the thorough heartfelt gift of this poor widow, who gives literally all she has.  What this teaches us about is how God looks at gifts and giving.  When Samuel the prophet was sent to anoint a king, a son of Jesse, the youngest son David was not the one he expected God would choose.  But Samuel was told that "the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).  What Jesus shows us about this widow is what the view is from the heart, that she gave all she had.  While we may not all be expected to hear this story and donate all our livelihood to the Church, we are expected nonetheless to give our all to God.  That is, if we really follow the teachings of Christ, we know that He has taught that the two greatest commandments, that sum up all the Law and the Prophets are as follows:  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself'" (Luke 10:27, in which Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18).  This widow shows that her love of the Lord is complete in the sense that the commandment gives, with all her heart, soul, strength, and mind.  Moreover, to love like that is to give as she gives, and there are many ways to give our all.  Can we help a neighbor?  Do we turn to someone in distress and ask if we can help?  Most of all, it seems to me, we can set aside our time to help others in all kinds of ways, whatever ways we have resources and skills to do.  We can donate our care, our skill, our concern.  A simple phone call might make all the difference to one person, a prayer may be what we can give for another.  And of course there are many ways to donate our wealth.  Sometimes an apology is a great gift, as is repentance and forgiveness.  We should note that the text points out many wealthy people giving money to the treasury, and Jesus contrasts those people with this poor widow.  As we often cite in our commentary, we should remember Christ's parable of the sheep and the goats, and the byword of compassion that constitutes the kind of giving favored in judgment (see Matthew 25:31-46).  That parable of judgment is all about giving, but it is a particular kind of giving, one that comes from the compassion to fill a need, to restore, to truly help.  So let us look around in our world and consider what we can give and how we can give.  God gives us minds creative enough to consider how to give in ways that make a difference, to do so even with subtlety if necessary that will not embarrass or shame those in need, and the sensitivity to truly observe as Christ does, even simply to listen and look and pay attention to a hurt or address a form of suffering.  In whatever way we can give, let it be first understood as a gift to God, wholly and freely given, for this is also what Christ teaches in the parable of judgment in Matthew 25, cited above.   For what we give to God first with our whole heart can then be shared with others, asking God's blessing to know where and how we're needed, and where and how God calls us to those in whom we may behold the face of Christ -- for this is what it truly means to give (Matthew 18:10, 25:40).

What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?

 

 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:

'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand, 

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?

"If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

 

- Matthew 22:41-46 

 

In yesterday's reading, we read Jesus' explanation to His disciples of the parable of the Sower:   "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

 

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.  Our readings of this week prepare us for Ascension Day, otherwise known as the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord, which is celebrated tomorrow in the West, and one week from tomorrow in the Eastern Churches, generally speaking.  It is dependent upon the date of Easter, as Christ's Ascension took place forty days after His Resurrection.  Today's reading jumps to Matthew chapter 22, when Jesus is in the Temple in Jerusalem, engaged in disputing with the religious leadership.  Here, my study Bible explains, Christ asks this particular question, quoting from Psalm 110, to lead the Pharisees to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  They believed the Messiah to be a mere man, and therefore reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.  But David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone was "Lord" except God.  But in Psalm 110:1 (from which Jesus quotes here) David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  So, therefore, the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, but is also truly divine, sharing His Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Therefore the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, and the term my Lord refers to Christ.  The Pharisees, my study Bible says, do not answer because they realize the implications and are afraid to confess Jesus to be the Son of God.  

From our present day vantage point, we might be tempted to think that what Jesus points out about the psalm is scandalous to the Pharisees.  But the scandal is in suggesting that He Himself is this figure.  At the time of Christ, there existed literature from within the Second Temple period (560 BC - 70 AD) in which these terms from Scripture had been explored as to why there would be different words or references, implying different persons, but which all clearly applied to God.  So the idea that the concept of God could include more than one divine Person already existed within Jewish religious scholarship.  But perhaps there is nowhere but in this passage (see also Mark 12:35-37, Luke 20:41-44) where this concept is expressed so elegantly.  This is Christ's way, and it is one reason why it is to the Scriptures we turn for inspiration:  there is nowhere one can find eloquence which is both simple and profound at the same time to the extent that we have in the words of Jesus -- nowhere else where concepts of such depth and complexity are given to us in language so succinct, so evocative, and yet precisely to the point.  This is one reason why we continue to turn to Christ and to the Gospels.  As St. Peter said on behalf of the rest of the disciples (and the rest of us believers and faithful), "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (see John 6:66-69).  It is here that, through the Scripture of the Old Testament, and specifically in this particular reference, this psalm of King David, Jesus elegantly presents us with the mystery of who He is, both God and man, human and divine.  He will also refer to Himself by the title "Son of Man" which is found in the apocalyptic literature of Daniel 7:13 to refer to "one like the Son of Man" who is suggested in context as another divine Person, and who appears together with the Ancient of Days.  But here, Jesus, a physical human descendant of King David (Matthew 1:1-17), is also "my Lord" to David.  This is the root and heart of what is called Christology, our understanding of just who Jesus Christ is, and it informs all of our understanding about what He does in the world and His mission to us.   As noted above, soon we are celebrating the Feast of the Lord's Ascension, which comes forty days after His Resurrection.  And all of this is essential to our understanding of what the Ascension means, how in both His humanity and divinity, Jesus ascends to His place in heaven "at the right hand of the Father" (Creed; see also Acts 7:55–56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 10:11-15).   We look to this understanding of who Christ is in order to have a better understanding of ourselves and what He might ask of us.  For His work goes on in the world, and in us as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 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 Him 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 here from Psalm 110:1.  This is a question concerning the identity of the Christ, the Messiah.  As frequently is His wont, Jesus turns the tables on His questioners by asking 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.  This question is answered in that Christ is the Son of David in His humanity and David's Lord in His divinity.  My study Bible explains that Christ asks this question in order to lead the scribes, other religious leaders, and the people who listen to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  They expected the Messiah to be a mere man.  But David, as king of Israel could not and would not address anyone as "Lord" except God; therefore the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, but also truly divine, sharing Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Note that His listeners do not respond.

Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, "Beware 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's Gospel, we're given an extensive final public sermon by Christ.  It is a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 23:1-39).  This appears to be a truncated version of that sermon.  There are several themes in that sermon, including that the religious leaders have God-given authority and teach God's Law, but are personally ungodly and cold-hearted -- they fail to lead the people to God.  Instead, they place themselves in God's position.  He charges the scribes and Pharisees with inverting God's values, being mean-spirited, judgmental, greedy, ambitious, absorbed in externals, and blind to their self-righteousness.  These criticisms apply to all those in the Church who behave the same way.  Here His words are directed at the scribes, but in the hearing of all of the people.  He speaks of their hypocrisy, selfishness, and focus on appearance and position, telling them that 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."  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.  So this story of the poor widow means that she's counted to have given a great gift, as she kept nothing for herself.  It is an expression of extravagant love and devotion, such as we see elsewhere; for example in the pouring out of the expensive perfume to anoint Christ (see, for example, John 12:1-7, Luke 7:36-50).  Ultimately it is the whole heart and soul and mind and strength that is involved in what we give to Christ (Mark 12:50), and these gifts represent that wholehearted giving with nothing held back.

It's important to note, as my study Bible says, that all the scathing indictments that Jesus gives to the religious leaders of His own time apply equally to us today.  This would particularly be true for those of us who call ourselves His followers.  None of the warnings Jesus gives apply only to His contemporaries.  As such, let us take a look at the stories in today's reading.  Jesus interprets the Scriptures with a brilliance that belongs only to Him as Logos.  Of course He has insights into the Scriptures.  The amazing thing to "watch" as the stories of debate in the temple unfold is that He leaves the authorities tongue-tied.  They dare not answer Him, nor ask Him again.  They know He has answered in ways to which they cannot respond and for which they have no argument.  But then He goes on the offensive against the scribes regarding their failings as religious leaders and pastors to the people.  He does this in the hearing of all, and therefore we understand the great seriousness of what He says.  He says that they 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.   What does all of this have in common?  It is an indictment of their love of appearances, which covers up their greed and willingness to make victims of those who are least able to defend and protect themselves.  Let us note that they make long prayers only "for a pretense."  We contrast Jesus' description of the scribes with the humble portrayal of the poor widow putting her two mites into the treasury.  Small copper coins, we might think of them as pennies, and yet, they are what she has.  A "mite" (called a "lepton" in Greek) was worth about six minutes of an average daily wage.   This widow lives in a level of poverty that those of us in the West and from more developed countries can no longer even imagine.  And yet her gift is the most generous and gracious of all, because of the immensity she gives from what she has.  It is a gift of love for God, indicating the enormity of her faith.  It's very important that we take into our understanding the idea that at the time of Christ, humility was not considered a virtue in the wider context of the cultures to which Christianity would soon be introduced.  In the Roman world, to be "great" was to be conquering and powerful.  As Jesus says, it meant to "lord it over" others (see Matthew 20:25).  When Christianity first began to spread, it was derided as a religion for slaves and women.   In the Jewish tradition, of course humility before God was always of importance, and we can read this throughout the entire Old Testament, and its indictment of  leaders who failed in such endeavor.  But Christ brought humility to the forefront of what it means to lead (see, for instance, Mark 9:35), and this prime example of the widow with her two mites solidifies front and center the sensibilities of what He praises in human beings.  It is the capacity to love God that ultimately results in her magnificent gift.  She is antithetical to the scribes, and Jesus effectively praises her as an example of what it is to be great, and to be a benefactor.  As we are told, God looks at the heart, not the appearance.   When Samuel must find the one to anoint as king to replace Saul, he is at first very impressed by the stature and and appearance of one of David's brothers.  But God says to Samuel:  "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."   Jesus, the Messiah, the Lord, and descendant of David whom Samuel would anoint, echoes with His teachings the words of God to Samuel.  Humility becomes our way to know the heart, to see the heart, even to come to know truthfully our own hearts -- to really see.  Jesus views the widow and the scribes through the same lens of God's perspective on the heart.  Humility is the only way we can truly see ourselves.

 

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 Him 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?"   Reversing the questioning against Himself, Jesus decides He will question His adversaries.  He cites a passage from Psalm 110:1.  The first reference here to the LORD applies to God the Father, as my study bible explains it, and the second term my Lord is a reference to Christ.  This question is answered in that Christ is the Son of David in His humanity, but David's Lord in His divinity.  To answer properly, one must not conceive of the Messiah, or Son of David, as simply a mortal human being.  But King David would not address another person as "Lord" -- this title would apply only to God.  Therefore, the Messiah must also be divine.  

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's Gospel, Jesus delivers His final public sermon on this subject.  It's a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 23:1-39).  But here, in a sort of condensed version, we're given Jesus' critiques of the religious leaders and their hypocrisy.  The message is all about position and appearance, the "praise of men, rather than the praise of God" (John 12:43).  The outward appearance of honor hides greed, even a willingness to victimize those who are without protection.  The word devour indicates a predatory nature, one that more rightly would belong to a "ravenous wolf" (see Luke 10:3, Matthew 7:15).  Their long prayers are for mere pretense.  And once again, Jesus indicates a judgment that is not of this world (John 18:36), when He speaks of the greater condemnation in store for these religious leaders.

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 says that according to patristic commentary, this passage is traditionally interpreted and understood as teaching that the Lord accounts the value of a gift not by how much is given, but by how much is kept back.  So, the poor widow is counted to have given a great gift, having 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.

Although there is a chapter break between Jesus' criticism of the scribes and the story of the poor widow that Jesus notices putting her two mites, or two coins of small worth into the temple treasury, we really cannot miss the contrast between the poor widow and the scribes whom Jesus describes as those who "devour widows' houses."  A widow is often highlighted throughout Old and New Testaments , and in a noteworthy way in the psalms, who -- together with orphans -- are a group who are of special concern to the Lord.  This is because they were generally considered to be helpless or poor (the two conditions frequently going hand in hand).  For the majority of the world and the majority of its history, a widow is a person dependent either on the generosity of family, especially children, or others.  In an earlier time, before the development of systems of pensions or other kinds of social supplementation of income, and before modern justice systems, one's own potential for self-defense against fraud or other predatory crimes really depended upon clan and kinship, systems of relations who could help get justice or rectify a grievance.  Widows and orphans, therefore, are images of the "least of these," those who are dependent and yet may not have those upon whom they can depend for much at all.  A widow, then, in the image here, would be one who had little social recourse and possibly even fewer rights or means to start with.  With Christ, it is important to remember "the least of these," those for whom resources are scarce, strength or power or any other form of currency is slight or even nonexistent, and justice is hard to come by.  Yet in comparison with the powerful scribes, who are described by Jesus as those who go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, but who also devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers, the widow who has only two mites to give to the treasury is far more generous and by far the more gracious donor to the temple.  I think it is a question of comparison of gifts to God and those who are ostentatiously celebrated for their support of the temple:  penny for penny, hers is the more generous gift.  It is this kind of "equal measuring stick" in the eyes of Christ that becomes the real way to measure justice.  His is an equalizing force that measures all people by true measure, and Jesus is the One for whom there is no falsehood in judgment.  For His is the only eye that sees truly with a lens that carves out all the extraneous falsehood and miscellaneous details that might distract from the real story of what is going on.  Purely and simply, while others grandiosely measure themselves in the eyes of the public by a great show of authority, position, and honor, God sees those who truly give more generously and with, in fact, much greater gifts even in a monetary measure, because they give so much of what they actually have.  All the extraneous details meant to impress fellow human beings don't count for much, if anything, with God, and especially in the eyes of Christ which are given us here in the Gospel.  When all is said and done, we should be grateful that His is the judgment that counts, and His way of seeing the true measure of us all.  We have a hard time seeing what He sees, for even today we fail really to own up to ourselves to what extent there are those around us who might be dependent in ways we don't see, who have very few resources in fact or struggle against hardship we don't know about.  We hear harsh judgments all the time about some person or another, we judge by appearance seemingly more than ever, and we have plenty of those who seek applause in the images they can create for others while they may "devour" what belongs to those who cannot fight back behind the scenes.  We are invited by Christ first of all to understand that He sees what we can't see and don't see, that it is His judgment that will count at the end of the day, and His condemnation that will truly see through all things and measure what is real.  He asks us to practice the compassion that sees the widow's true state, and to aspire to know what God knows about her generous gift.  We are asked not to be fooled by appearances or swayed by whatever it is that impresses the crowds.  Somehow, in our passage for today, we seem to be told to understand that real authority cannot be seen simply by institutions of power, but requires another kind of sight that is willing to see what God is asking us to see instead.  Jesus is telling us that if we really want to see what is in front of us, we need to look with eyes not easily fooled by predators in sheep's clothing, to cling to Him in our dependency and need for good judgment, to remember that the heart is the place of true gifts.  As we enter into the Christmas season, let us keep in mind the power of the small over against the great and mighty, a tiny gift of two mites that is greater than all the generous gifts of others.

If David then calls Him "Lord," how is He his Son?

 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:t

'The LORD said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?

If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

- Matthew 22:34-46

In our current readings, it is the week of the final Passover of Jesus' life, the week that we commemorate as Holy Week.  Yesterday we read that the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  This question is no doubt an essential one for the Pharisees.  They had found 613 commandments in the Scriptures, and would debate about which one was central.  As usual, Jesus answers the question, not using the foundation set forth by His questioners, but His own basis for a correct answer.  He gives two commandments, not simply one.  The first is Deuteronomy 6:5, the second from Leviticus 19:18.  Together, in Jesus' teaching, they constitute the grand summary of the Law.  My study bible adds that although the lawyer has come with malice to test the Lord, we know from St. Mark's account that this man is converted by Christ's answer (Mark 12:28-34).   My study bible further elaborates that the second commandment here must be understood as written:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself, or even more clearly, "as being yourself."   Often, it says, this is misinterpreted as saying, "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself," but this destroys the force of the statement.  How much we love ourselves isn't the standard by which Christ calls us to love others.  Instead, we are called to love our neighbor as being of the same nature as we ourselves are; that is, as being created in God's image and likeness  just as we are.  The patristic teaching is that we find our true self in loving our neighbor. 

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.  My study bible says that Jesus asks this question to lead the Pharisees to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  They believed the Messiah to be a mere man, and therefore they reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.  David, as the king of Israel, could never and would never address another as "Lord" except God.  But in Psalm 110:1 (quoted here by Jesus), David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  Therefore, the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion, my study bible tells us, is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, yet is also truly divine, sharing His Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The Pharisees do not answer because they realize the implications and are afraid to confess Jesus to be the Son of God. 

On some level, we have to give the Pharisees credit.  Although Jesus points out the hypocrisy of many of the leadership, and also condemns some of their practices (virtually the whole of chapter 23 will consist of Jesus' scathing criticism of the scribes and Pharisees), there are Pharisees who believe in Him, and also who become His disciples (see John 3:1-20).  Here in today's reading, we see they are totally unable to answer Jesus' rational explanation of the Scriptures.  They cannot defy His word.  They recognize the power of His argument and what He is saying.  It is precisely for this understanding that Jesus will condemn them as hypocrites in the next chapter of Matthew, starting in tomorrow's reading.  Despite their understanding, they will seek to destroy and to condemn Him.   Their search for the greatest commandment of all is an interesting one, because it leads to Jesus' teaching.   If we take a closer look at Leviticus 19:18 (the second commandment Jesus names), we read, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."  It's quite interesting that the first invocation is against vengeance, because this mirrors Jesus' teachings as well, in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus elaborates on His explication of the Law when He says, "You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.  If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.  And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.  Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away."  This is in keeping with the second commandment in today's reading, as its first words give us a proscription against vengeance.  Altogether, the factors in today's reading give us a picture of the Man who is truly the great Teacher of the Law.  He silences the Pharisees with His clear understanding of Scripture, He sums up all the Law and the Prophets with the two greatest commandments.  We see the consistency of His teaching.  His understanding of the Law is not merely in its words and teachings, but rather in its depth, its intent, and origins, for He is the true Lawgiver.  He is the author of the Law, the Logos.  He is the One whom David calls "my Lord."

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

In the current chapters of Luke, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  He is teaching daily in the temple.  He has entered the city in His  Triumphal Entry, and wept over the city, lamenting its lack of peace.  He has cleansed the temple, and already run into confrontations with the leadership, as they asked Him, "Who is he who gave You this authority?".  He told a parable against them, warning them of the times of the Gentiles and of Judgement.   The leadership has tested Him regarding payment of taxes to the Romans.  In yesterday's reading, some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him 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."'  My study bible says that "the first reference to LORD applies to God the Father, the second to Christ--whom David, the writer of this Psalm, calls my Lord."  Jesus is quoting from Psalm 110:1.

Therefore David Calls Him 'LORD'; how is He then his Son?"   My study bible tells us:  "The riddle has its solution in that the Messiah is David's Son in His humanity, yet David calls Him Lord in His eternal deity."

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."  Jesus has first established the theology of the Son by interpreting the Psalm, above.  It is in a sense another answer to the question, "Who is he who gave You this authority?"  It is also a teaching on not relying on holy ancestors for assurance of one's own sanctity.  Jesus may be called Son of David, but He is more than Son of David.  The scribes are the experts in Scripture.  My study bible says that "these verses criticize the scribes, a professional class of teachers and experts in Mosaic Law, for glorifying in their influential roles while practicing injustice."  We remark on the fact that (in yesterday's reading), the scribes have just told Jesus, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But, Luke's gospel tells us, after that they dared not question Him anymore.  Jesus takes the opportunity, in front of all the people, to criticize the way the scribes play their roles among the leadership.  They who are experts in the Law, use their authority against the purposes and intent of the Law.  He has already shown they do not truly understand the Scripture without the fullness of Christ's revelation of Himself as Son.

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."  A mite is a Jewish copper coin of the lowest value, like a penny, says my study bible.  It continues, "Yet this sacrificial offering by the poor widow is praised by Christ.  The value of a gift derives from the spirit in which it is given.  A gift that seeks recognition loses spiritual value; a gift made from the heart gains immense value."  I feel that the words in my study bible teach us something extremely profound.  We can look at Jesus' teaching as one about social justice and recognition of the efforts of this poor woman, but my study bible takes it much, much deeper.  What is it to be a hypocrite, to live for show, as Jesus criticizes the scribes above?  What does it mean that this woman loves God with all her heart?  

Psalm 51 tells us: "For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise." Jesus has already taught that the greatest commandment is from Deuteronomy: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." And the second is like it, to love one's neighbor as oneself. Here, the poor widow with only two copper coins to give has actually given everything. She has made the sacrifice God asks of us: all that we are is His in love, and all that goes with that love. In the fulfillment of this gift one also experiences that love as love of neighbor: and in this case Jesus shows us what that looks like, by pointing out the real sacrifice and love of the poor widow in the community, and the true value of her gift in God's sight. We contrast this with His criticism 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." If you think about it, Jesus is contrasting the hypocrisy of the scribes with the purity of heart of this poor widow, and so, she has the far more valuable gift in God's sight.  So what do you sacrifice to God?  Do we live by appearances, for the opinions and judgments of others, to impress others?  Or do we live by the truth, God's truth, the truth of what is in our hearts and who we truly are.  When we make our sacrifice the love of all our heart and soul and mind then we are where God wishes to see us.  Psalm 51 also says, "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom."  It's not about what the rest of the world thinks or sees or asks or expects, but about what the sacrifice of our whole lives to God asks of us, in the inward place, of "truth in the inward parts" and of true "wisdom."  What is your sacrifice that God truly desires?  What is most precious in Christ's sight?  In the inner dialogue of the heart, what does God really want of you?  Even the poorest among us has the greatest gift to give to God -- one's whole heart and soul and mind.