He noticed her. No one else seemed to pay any attention. No one else even realized that she was there. But, sitting across from the treasury in the temple, peering through the masses of people walking by on their way to throw their large, clanking sums of money into the ornate metal chutes that collected the offerings, Jesus saw the widow when she threw in her two small coins. The clank they made was not even audible. No one around her turned to notice the widow’s contribution. No one around her noticed that she had just thrown in her last bit of wealth. Not even the disciples noticed. No one noticed. That was the problem. She was in a room full of faithful, devoted, religious people, and no one noticed her.
Plenty of people go unnoticed. There is the girl that sits at the edge of the dance floor, waiting for someone to ask her to dance. But, she goes unnoticed. There is the slum containing thousands of poor who struggle to find clean water. The slum is along the rail line between Cairo’s suburbs and the business district. None of the commuters look out the window at the struggling faces. Thousands go unnoticed. There is the boy that needs help. He needs help with his homework. He needs help with his behavior. He needs help because he has no stable parents. He needs help, period. He is technically not an orphan…he has parents, but make no mistake, he is an orphan. He too goes unnoticed. Like the widow, they all go unnoticed.
For the most part, the fact that they go unnoticed is not because people intentionally want to ignore them. Most people do not intentionally ignore the plight of a widow. The widow simply does not register as someone important in an otherwise busy life. There are children to raise, and school to go to, and money to be made, and doctor’s appointments to get to on time, and obligations to take care of in the temple. Who has the time to see her? Who has the time to care?
Of course, the scribes will see her. It is their job after-all to take care of the widows and orphans. In an ideal world, this scene would not be tragic. In an ideal world, the widow would give her last cent in gratefulness to God, and she would have no worries because the scribes of the temple would make sure that she is cared for (food, clothing, shelter, and companionship). In an ideal world, you can give away your last cent for the sake of others because you know that you have a whole community who will care for you. That is what community is all about, is it not?
As biblical scholar Rolf Jacobson says, If God’s people were to write a self-help book, it would not be titled, “Your Best Life Now.” It would be titled, “Your Neighbors Best Life Now.” That pretty much sums up the Laws of God: care for your neighbor first. That pretty much sums up the message of Jesus: "love your neighbor as yourself,” and “be a living sacrifice for others.” Surely the scribes will see her. Surely they will care.
Assumptions are never a good thing. I am not certain the scribes are corrupt, but they have lives too. People expect them to go to banquets and social events and say long prayers and speak eloquently. Surely, they feel good when they do well, and feel the pressure of needing to do just as well the next time they speak. Surely, they are expected to dress well, therefore they get the long robes that make them look like the fine and respectable religious scribes that they are. People would expect no less of them. So, we have to cut them a little slack when they forget the widows do we not?
The widow expects that the religious leaders will not have forgotten her, though they have. The girl on the edge of the dance floor expects to enjoy the night spinning across the dance floor, though she will not. The poor expect someone on the high speed train to see that they are thirsty and need a fresh water supply, but no one will. The boy expects someone to help him, his parents, his grandparents, his friends, his neighbor, anyone, but they will not.
Well, almost no one notices. Peering through the crowds sits a man. He hears the clank of those two, small coins. He sees the widow’s trust in her community. He sees her, period. Only Jesus sees her.
Jesus calls his disciples over to look at her. He tells 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." He calls them over to see the woman’s faith in her community. They need to see that she trusts that she will be cared for. They need to see her, period. Jesus sees her. Jesus will die for her. Jesus will not forget her. Neither should the disciples. They need to learn and see.
In an ideal world, people give what they have for the sake of other people and for the sake of God. They do not fear to give what they have away, because they trust that others will in turn provide for their needs.
“In an ideal world,” I hate that phrase. The “ideal world” sounds like something unattainable; something that would be a waste of our time. But, this is not a waste of our time. I think that Jesus is teaching his disciple to see the widow, because Jesus actually wants us to try to be that community that she is giving her money to.
So how does this sound? “In a grace filled world, people give what they have because they love God and love others. They can do this because they know that they will be loved in return.” This is not an ideal. This is Christian community.
All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and is used by permission. All rights reserved.
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