Almost no one noticed her. I mean, who would? As the rich enter the temple, their gifts to the temple clang so loudly that everyone’s heads turn to see. That is the whole point, is it not? To be recognized. To be seen as generous. To be seen as holy. To be honored at the heads of tables as the guest.
But, her two little coins barely registered above the conversation taking place right beside the large metal horn that collects the gifts to the temple.
I said almost no one noticed her. One person did notice her. One person did notice that her two copper coins were all that she had to live on. That is right, "all she had to live on." This was a death sentence...giving away it all.
One person recognized exactly what sacrificing your whole life looks like, as he contemplated giving his whole life on a cross.
What do you do when you notice goodness entering a den of thieves? What do you do when you notice that goodness is completely consumed by that den of thieves?
After-all, the poor widows gift will just be wasted on some lavish priestly living. Maybe not. Maybe it will purchase half a brick for the temple. You know, upkeep.
Do you know where the money is supposed to be going? Yes, the money given to the temple is to help provide a living for the priests. Yes, the money given to the temple is understood to provide for some upkeep.
But, the money is also supposed to be used by the temple to care for those whom God cares about: the poor, the orphans, and the widows. God cares about them, and so should everyone else. Well, they are easy to forget.
A recent study noted in a Ken Stern article “Why the Rich Don’t Give to Charity” (The Atlantic, April 2013) found that, statistically, the poor give a higher percentage of their income to charitable causes than do the rich. The study showed that this story of the widow and her two copper coins is the rule and not the exception. But why? Why are the poor so easy to forget?
The study explained that higher exposure to people in need drove greater generosity among those with lesser means. In other words, when you hang out with someone who is struggling, you are more likely to love, understand, and help them. The poor hang out with the poor. Those who can provide for themselves well, do not and often will not hang out with the poor.
That reminds me of a guy who had the power to be rich in any way he desired. He could have all the glory and might that he wanted in heaven and of earth. Angels would be at his command to minister to his every need. The mountains would move if he said jump. Yet, he chose none of those acts of greatness.
Rather, he chose to hang out with the poor and the sinner. He ate with them. He healed them. And, may I point out, in doing so he recognized them as actual people; just as he recognizes that old woman in the temple. Were it not for him, she would have gone unnoticed.
But, with Jesus, you do not go unnoticed. With Jesus, you are not forgotten. And, with Jesus, your gifts and sacrifices are not forgotten either.
Have you ever heard about the story of the hummingbird? There once was a little hummingbird that loved to zip through the forest. She loved the forest with its creek and all of its beautiful, delicious flowers. The forest was a perfect picture of serenity.
One day, the serenity was broken by the sound of heavy equipment and a wave of heat that overtook the forest. Someone was cutting down the trees and had set the forest on fire to clear the underbrush.
All of the animals gathered together to figure out what they were going to do. The hummingbird, who loved the forest, tried to give a suggestion, but she was too small to even be heard.
It was decided by the animals that there was nothing to be done, the evil was too great. They would give up their home and seek refuge somewhere else.
And, that is when one of them saw the hummingbird. She was flying to the creek, gathering a single drop of water in her beak, and flying over the fire, dropping the single drop of water onto the fire. All of the animals laughed at the tiny hummingbird and her futile attempts to save the forest. But, the hummingbird said meekly, “I know I can’t do it all, but at least I am doing something.” At least she was doing something.
At least the old woman was doing something. At least she was trying to provide for those who were struggling just as she. It was not her fault that the culture of the temple was broken, and that her money would go to fill the belly of a priest or buy half a brick rather than put food into the mouth of a hungry, orphaned child.
At least she was trying to do something. And, Jesus does not allow her sacrifice to go unnoticed. Jesus does not allow the weak clunk of her two tiny, copper coins to go unheard. Jesus does not allow any of us to go unnoticed. Jesus does not allow us to be forgotten.
But, he also does not stop her from giving to a corrupt institution. He does not chastise her for wasting single drops of water on a slash and burn forest fire.
A sacrifice is a sacrifice, and it is holy.
The old woman is not the problem. If the temple were functioning as it should, she would give her money, and the temple would care for her too.
The woman is not the problem. She is not the one who needs to change.
Change will come. As Jesus walks out of the temple with his disciples, and as they admire its enormity and admire the craftsmanship, Jesus points to the stones and says, “Not one stone will be left upon another.” Sometime it’s the institution that everyone loves and respects that needs to change. The temple will come down and God will bring change where change is due. Change will come.
As for the woman, she does not need to change. She and her sacrifice are perfect as they are. They do not go unnoticed. Jesus will never let an act of sacrificial love go unnoticed, because as we see clearly on the cross, Jesus is sacrificial love.
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