By David Lose, President of Luther Seminary
“How do you hear Jesus’ description of the poor widow’s offering – is it praise or lament? “
Lose comes down on the latter- initially:
- ” This passage is part of a larger set of passages that focus on Jesus’ confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees and center on his critique of the Temple. Indeed, ever since Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly (in ch. 11), he has done little else except teach in the Temple and debate with the religious leadership there.
- ” The first verses of this week’s passage condemn the scribes precisely for “devouring widow’s houses” – shorthand for pretty much everything they own.
- ” In the passage immediately after this one, Jesus foretells the destruction of the Temple itself, seemingly the culmination of his attack on the religious establishment of Jerusalem, an attack that has prompted his opponents to seek first his arrest (12:12) and, eventually, death (14:1).
- ” Notably, there is actually no word of praise in Jesus’ statement about the widow or any indication that Jesus is lifting her up as an example. All he does is describe what he is doing. Which makes how we imagine his tone of voice – praise or lament – so critical.
“All of this leads me to conclude that Jesus isn’t actually lifting her up as an example but rather decrying the circumstances that demand her to make such an offering, a sacrifice that will likely lead to destitution if not death. He is, in short, leveling a devastating critique against Temple practice and those who allow, let alone encourage, this woman to give “all she had to live on” (or, in a more literal translation of the Greek, her whole life!).
But then Lose goes in a different direction – “How does this capture, or at least relate to, the good news Jesus both brings and embodies?
“God also sees our struggles, recognizes our challenges, cares about where we are hard pressed to make ends meet.
“But even more, I think God is inviting us to look around and see each other, those in our community we know and those we don’t. And I mean really see each other – the pain of those who are discriminated against because of their ethnicity, the desolation of those who cannot find work and have been abandoned to fend for themselves, the despair of those who have given up on finding work and have lost hope, the anguish of those who have been exploited by sex traffickers. God is inviting us to see them, to care for them, and to advocate for a system that does not leave anyone behind.
“Which means, Dear Partner, that we might send our people out this week not only aware that God sees their struggles and cares, but also that God believes in them enough to use them to make a difference. We might send them out, that is, looking for where God is already at work and join God’s efforts to see those in distress, help them find comfort and relief, and work for a more just world.”