Giving 100%

Over the last few weeks I seem to be nagged by stories which compare power and humility. There was the story of Widow and the Judge, the Pharisee and the Tax Collector and Jesus Blessing the Children. These are all stories about powerful people exercising their power over more humble people. In each case Jesus is commending the behaviour of the humble and warning us against the temptation to use our power inappropriately.

Following these stories in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus enters Jerusalem, predicts its destruction, enters the temple and drives out the merchants. Israel is called to be a people of faith and the temple a house of prayer, but they have become subverted by materialism and power.

Sound familiar? No wonder Jesus tells stories of people who only live by faith; the widow, the tax collector and the infants. The rich and powerful have much to support their lifestyle, so faith in God becomes religious observance rather than practical necessity. In this arrogant conceit, the powerful become deluded, but the humble face life honestly and understand the reality of their need.

Now we have the story of another widow who is compared with the Scribes. The Scribes teach the people and their teaching is required to be free, but while they are not allowed to receive a salary, they can receive gifts. Apparently they have been putting pressure on the widows to give them gifts which are beyond their means.

Sound familiar? So Jesus points out a widow in the temple who gives a very small offering; two copper coins (the minimum allowable), not to the scribes, but to God. At the same time the rich are bringing plenty of money, and yet Jesus declares that her gift is more valuable than all of them put together. Why? It doesn’t sound logical!

Jesus is not comparing what they have given, but what they have left over after they have given. The rich generous givers go home with plenty, but the widow goes home with nothing. They may have given their legal 10%, but she has given 100%. Now she has nothing to rely on, but her faith in God. The scribes on the other hand have their robes and their long prayers, their learning and position, their status and power, and plenty of money. Some of this money, according to Jesus, has been extorted from the widows themselves.

I think Jesus is saying something about true religion. This story is a pair with the cleansing of the temple when Jesus stands up against official greed, injustice and empty ritual. Here the message is similar with an added point that faith is a 100% commitment and a total reliance on God. This is not a message about money and how much we should give, (on the contrary because that would make Jesus like the Scribes), but about faith and the reality of our relationship with God. It is a 100% relationship. That’s how much God gives. That’s how much the widow gives. I wonder what that says to you?

Adrian