November 8, 2012:       Daniel Daring        Daniel's previous reflections

Offering All Your Living – Mark 12:38-44

The Gates Foundation is considered to be the richest charitable foundation in the world, worth $30 billion. The current minimal wage in the US is $5.15, which means $206 per week (40 hours of work a week). Now, imagine that somebody earned that $206 and the same day donated it to the Gates Foundation. The foundation may not even notice such a small amount, receiving millions from individual and organized donors. But that is exactly the point of Jesus’ message about the poor widow who put into the temple treasury an amount worth of a fraction of a penny, whereas many rich people threw in large amounts. Jesus valued her fraction of a penny as more than all the money of the rich counted together. “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others” (Mark 12:43).

In our world money is a powerful tool to get what you want. It buys power, position, and status. It buys votes and shapes politics. That is nothing new. What is disturbing, however, is that it has entered the spiritual domain, claiming to buy even God’s blessing. Once I heard the accusations mounted by Baptist pastors against Catholic priests for 'selling prayers', referring to the stipends for mass and other sacraments. We are all aware of the price-list for the administration of the sacraments posted in many parishes. It is not anymore a free donation; it has become an “item” for which one is required to pay a fixed amount.

Things are not much better among the Protestant churches with their tithing practices: ‘Give, give, give to the church, and God will bless you in all aspects of your life, including your finances.’  There is a very rich evangelical church in the Philippines. Each member is obliged to tithe. Once, a member was unable to pay his tithes for few consecutive Sundays.  He was approached by a leader and was told: "You are getting cold my brother." Such situation often leads to a distortion of the Gospel. Being favored in our churches, the rich may get an impression that God owes them something for their generosity and support of the church. The poor, on the other hand, will feel less and less comfortable in our churches, sensing that they do not belong there anymore. The "cold" brother was broke and had to leave that evangelical church.

Jesus’ discernment about the value of one’s donation based not on the amount per se, but on the amount in relation to one’s income, should warn all the leaders of the Church from favoring rich donors, no matter how important they can be to the financial stability of their churches. To give out of one’s surplus may be commendable but it is relatively easy. To give out of what one has to live on is a real sacrifice that should never be overlooked.

There is still another aspect of the poor widow’s offering that should be honestly considered. Jesus overthrew the tables of the money changers in Jerusalem, a prophetic action aimed at the profitable business that was thriving inside the temple area (John 2:12-16). We can expect that it was a heavy burden for many poor people who could barely make both ends meet, and still wanted to participate in the prescribe requirements of their religion. The widow gave two small copper coins, putting "all her living" into that treasury. One wonders what had happened to her. Did she meet another Elijah who assured her about God's provision (1 Kings 17:13-14)? Was she a member of a community that could care for her (Acts 6:1-6)? But, did she really need to put "all her living" into that treasury? Should not that treasury be used to provide for her?

The widow of Zarephath told Elijah that she was preparing her last meal so she and her son "may eat, and die" (1 Kings 17:12). The poor widow from the Gospel "put all her living" into the treasury. We do not know whether she was also preparing herself to die. However, by calling his disciples to tell them that "this destitute widow has dropped in more than all of those who are contributing to the offering box" (Mk 12:43), the widow becomes an example for all of us who plan to follow Jesus. On the cross, Jesus offered "all his living". He requires his disciples to die to him/herself, take up his/her cross and follow him. "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it" (Mk 8:35).

The disciples were rather poor learners; so are we. For many of us Christianity has ceased to be marked by a radical conversion that requires dying with Christ in order to live with him. And that is precisely the point of the story. The widow is not being contrasted with the scribes who devour widows' houses (Mk 12:40) or with the rich who donate much out of their abundance (Mk 12:44), but with the disciples of Jesus who were - and still are - unable to grasp the power and wisdom of the cross. The story of the widow ushers us into the Passion Narrative, which tells us the story of Jesus who "offers all his life" for the salvation of the world. "This is how we have come to know love: Christ gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers and sisters" (1 John 3:16).