Widow’s Mite
When I read the lessons for today, I saw that they are populated with unnamed widows, women who – despite the centuries between them – are each vulnerable in their societies; women who live a fragile existence.
The widow in the story from 1 Kings has been commanded by God to feed Elijah when he presents himself to her. Does she even know Elijah? Does she know he is a man of God, a prophet? Does she know he is responsible for the drought that is killing her and her son? Was her husband killed by this same drought and famine? We don’t know. We know only that she has the makings of a very meager meal, a bit of flour, a bit of oil, and a few sticks to light to cook it. Her cake will not be enough. She and her son are dying of starvation.
Can you blame her for resisting Elijah, for not wanting to share the little
she has?
Just as we know what we “should do” in tough situations, she knows
what she must do. Despite her desperation and her initial words of refusal,
her actions perform God’s will. She feeds Elijah from the little she has.
This is more than generosity; it is a remarkable act of faith. First a fight,
then the acceptance of God’s will in faith.
About 800 years later, Jesus observes a different widow as she quietly enters
the ornate temple in Jerusalem.
She goes to the Treasury and places her two small copper coins quietly, discretely,
and humbly, into one of the Temple’s 13 treasury urns.
Each urn is earmarked for a different purpose.
Although they are all she has, her two coins will not go far. As precious as the money may be to her, the widow realizes it is not about the money but about honoring God through all she has and is. Like the widow of Zarephath, she too takes her profound leap of faith. She opens her hand and releases her coins despite her fears. In one motion, she strengthens her relationship with God.
What of the scribes who strut about in their fine clothes, dressed to reflect their superior social positions? I can see them now moving among those 13 ornate urns, flourishing their offerings to catch the eyes of the others. Unlike the widow, they don’t realize that this giving is not about the money but is about trust in God and living in God’s way. Instead, these pious contributors “devour widow’s houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.” They are the soul of hypocrisy: they didn’t get the message about humble reliance on God.
Are the scribes only denizens of two millennia ago? They remind me of my days in corporate America. We had a once-a-year, one day, volunteer extravaganza. We wore T-shirts proudly proclaiming our corporate name. The community action itself felt good in inverse proportion to the soreness in my arms and legs. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but see the photographers who clicked away as we scrubbed down drained water exhibits in the Discovery Museum, painted shelter walls, removed trash from a stream or two. The photos were published everywhere from the corporate newsletter and website to the local newspaper. Looking good is important to us as individuals and in our business and social communities – but it is God who feeds our souls.
I have to be honest. I am each of these two widows, but I am also a scribe. There are times I humbly honor God with what I have to give in time, talent, and treasure. There are also times when I fight honoring God, especially if it means having faith when I am afraid. Last May, I was graduating from the seminary. We needed to vacate our student housing no later than July 1. We knew when we had to leave, but no idea about where we were going. I didn’t have anywhere near 100% in the leap-of-faith department. Like the widow of Zarephath, I did a lot more kicking and fearing rather than giving generously from what I had.
And the scribes! There are those times when I look over my shoulder to see who notices my good deeds and I just love putting certificates on my refrigerator (Maybe this is because I didn’t go to kindergarten, and that need for recognition was frustrated at an early age….) but the bottom line is that I’ve done my share of strutting and preening, and expect I’ll do more of it, too.
The good news is that we aren’t expected to get it right every time. The good news is that we have our full lives to honor God in our humanity. Whether we kick and fight like the widow of Zarephath, humbly honor God as the widow in the temple, or sometimes even get it completely wrong we are able to grow in grace, with God’s help.