This past Sunday in worship, our pastor offered a message on the Lectionary Gospel text for the day which was Mark 12:38-44. Most of us have all read this text many times, and have likely heard many sermons preached on it. Pastor Anne Ahl shared that earlier last week she felt prepared to preach on the text, that was until she read someone’s blog that gave her a different perspective.
If this text is not fresh in your mind I invite you to pause and read it. Each time I have read this text and the devotions I’ve read to accompany it and the sermons I have heard on it before have focused on how those with significant financial resources may give large amounts of money, which may not be very sacrificial out of their abundance, and the poor widow in this scene gives all that she has in spite of her poverty. We notice that Jesus is recognizing her great sacrifice and comparing it to the giving of those with greater financial means who do not have to sacrifice nearly as much to give.
But what if this text is actually a lament rather than a praise? What if Jesus is actually lamenting that the rich are contributing out of their abundance and not even noticing the poor woman who is giving everything she has out of her poverty? Maybe God is lamenting that this woman is right under their noses and they are not even paying attention.
The church and its leaders are sometimes so proud of how great we are without even seeing those who are right under our noses who are reduced to giving all that they have. Maybe in this text, instead of the only message being Jesus lifting this woman up as an example, perhaps Jesus is calling out the church for our religious hypocrisy. Do we see this woman?
We are not to let our membership vows get in the way of seeing her. We should respond by working towards a society where ALL of God’s people should be seen and heard. We are called to see those who feel that the church has given up on them, those that may feel excluded, undervalued and/or invisible to those in the church.
Is Jesus praising the woman for giving all that she has or lamenting that she is invisible to others? I invite you to join me in re-reading this text as we ask ourselves in a fresh new way, which message do we see? Is there more than one meaning?
Let us stay open as we read all sacred texts with an openness for God to reveal messages to us in fresh and new ways, not only as individuals but for us collectively in the church.
Namaste y’all,
If you would like to print or share this edition of Claire…ification,
you are encouraged to use this pdf:
Claire – Did the Scribes Even Notice the Widow’s Offering
To read past editions – you are encouraged to follow this link:
https://capitaldistrictnc.org/claire-ificaton/
