Jitterbugging for Jesus

The Gospel for this Sunday’s worship tells the story of a desperately poor widow, one who may have starved to death in dropping the last two copper pennies she had in the Temple kitty.

Jesus was not so impressed by the giving of the religious powers-that-be. And Jesus, importantly, did NOT praise the poor widow for giving her last two pennies to the Temple kitty.

As told in Mark 12:38-44, the story of the so-called “Widow’s Mite” is the story of a destitute widow who desperately wanted to do right in the eyes of God.

Her sacrifice is presented in contrast to the powerful and wealthy powers-that-be. Lurking around in their long, fancy robes, they made a public show of dropping a few shiny gold and silver pieces — actually a small percentage of their wealth — into the treasury. This was done to impress the lowly folk, and their wealthy peers, with how generous they were.

Jesus, being the sometimes not-so-nice guy that he was, had harsh words for the bastards:

As he taught, [Jesus] said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!

They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.

A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. (Mark 12: 38-42)

Let’s pause here to consider exactly what the widow sacrificed.

In those days, a small copper coin was the smallest coinage (i.e., a mite), like our modern American pennies. It took 64 such coins to make a denarius, and a denarius was a day’s wage.

That is, enough to live on for one day. The woman had only a fraction — 1/32 — of what it took to eat and live another day. Yet she gave it up to leaders who were robbing her.

She was willing to starve to death — and it’s possible she did starve to death — to give up her last coin for what she probably thought of as a sacrifice to God.

The fact is, she was a victim of the kind of robbers known today as televangelists and “prosperity gospel” preachers. And, for that matter, many of today’s pious political leaders. (See yesterday’s blog post for more about them and the political power they wield.)

The Bible clearly teaches that God had a special place in God’s heart for widows. They were among the poorest and most vulnerable in biblical times.

In the New Testament alone, chera — the Greek word for widow — shows up 25 times.

There is a reason the rich and powerful are frequently condemned in the Bible, while widows and other poor and vulnerable people are never, ever condemned. The Bible shows us that God’s will for widows and all the other have-nots trampled by the haves is for them to be loved, protected and cared for.

Here’s the rest of the story as told in Mark 12:43-44

Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

It’s important to realize that the poor widow’s story has all too often been misused as an example of how we should give generously to the church and thus give to God.

Back in the day, even good, well-intentioned preachers commonly used the story of the poor woman in the Temple to raise money for building projects or stewardship fund drives.

Some still do.

Prosperity gospel crooks and televangelists increase their wealth every day by appealing to the poor and gullible people who eat pet food in order to send money to those corrupt preachers for their books and tapes and special gifts.

Whether good preachers with good intentions or robber preachers use the story as an example of how we are to give, the fact is that nowhere in the story of The Widow’s Mite does Jesus praise the poor woman for her generosity.

Jesus doesn’t hold her up as an example for us to follow in our giving.

The story is about how the powerful religious leaders are so rotten that they, in the blistering words of Jesus, “devour the houses of widows.”

Mind you, widows in that time would sell their houses to the same wealthy jerks who would rob their last two pennies from them! That’s how brainwashed the rich had the poor, as so many rich religious leaders do today.

I like to think that Jesus didn’t allow this poor widow to starve to death. I’m thinking Jesus, a short time after this, saw to it that she and other widows in the Temple were taken care of, perhaps by the well-to-do women who walked with Jesus and financed his ministry.

I can’t imagine that Jesus or his disciples would have left her to starve after giving the last two copper coins she had to a corrupt religious system.

I wonder, how many widows with children are fleeing violence and poverty from Central America today? (Art by L.V. Dia in The Houston Catholic Worker.)

In the context of these American times, I’m sure of this: many of the widows fleeing violence and poverty under the leadership of corrupt leaders in their Central American homelands are widows who will arrive at the gate to freedom in the U.S. Once at the Texas border to seek asylum, they will no doubt be shunned and politically exploited by religious and political leaders who wear fine threads and pray with booming voices in public places for American freedom.

The abuse and exploitation of poor widows and other vulnerable people is an old, old story that gets repeated time and again.

May the good Lord watch over the weary widows and children and all the vulnerable wherever they are on their hard life journeys.