Good Morning Friends,
Itβs a new week. I hope your weekend was relaxing and that Monday brings no curveballs.
Cheers βοΈ,
Glenn || PATREON / BUY ME A COFFEE
In Mark 12 Jesus condemns the religious leaders in the Temple who "walk around in their long robes so as to be greeted with respect" and "devour widows houses" and "for the sake of appearance say long prayers".
These are people, in other words, who make their leadership role all about them and ...
Their pride.
Their ego.
Their appearance.
And then, just after he says this, he sits down across from the temple treasury where people put their offering in each week and takes note of an old widow (perhaps one of the widows whose houses had been devoured by the religious leaders he just mentioned?) who tosses in 2 small coins that are worth only a penny.
He watches her walk up to the treasury.
He watches her reach into her pocket.
He watches her reach into the treasury.
He hears the coins clink in the bottom.
... And then he says that she put in more than anyone else because "she put in everything that she had, all that she had to live on."
This story is about a lot of things, but one thing it isn't is an attack on Jewish practice. We need to get that straight because all too often Christians and pastors and preachers read this passage (and others like it) and use it to shame the Jewish Religion because they wrongly assume that Jesus was condemning ...
ALL Jewish leaders.
ALL Jewish Temples.
ALL Jewish people.
... And they'll make comments like "the Jewish people were all about show" or "the Jewish leaders only cared about money" or "the Jewish leaders tricked poor people out of their money and this is why they have gone though all of the hardships they've gone through - they never learn!"
It isn't true.
Jesus was ticked off here and elsewhere in the Gospels, yes, but his beef was very often with a very small group of Pharisees, Scribes, and other teachers of the law. We must not look at the entire Jewish religion (then or now) through the lens of a small group of an even smaller group of teachers.
The reality is that most Jewish leaders (in Jesus' day) were not like the ones we find in the Gospels - Jesus called out a very specific group because, like yeast (as he said in one of his parables) their bad attitudes, selfish ambition, and massive egos could easily make it's way into the whole batch of bread.
What this story is, rather, is a lament of sorts and an attack on ANY religious system that makes a person feel like they need to give to the system ...
What they have to live on.
What they have to buy food.
What they have to pay their taxes.
What they have to keep their lights on.
What they have to clothe their family.
Etc.
... so that the leaders of that system can continue to live their lives in extravagant wealth.
This is, I think, at least one of the things at the heart of this story. Remember, Mark's Gospel was written to people who were living in the wake of Nero's genocide and so they were literally starting out and picking up the pieces of their lives with ... nothing.
And so, PERHAPS.
Perhaps Mark included this story in his Gospel as a reminder to those people who (likely) barely had even 2 coins to rub together to not cave to the pressure of the religious system that called them to faithfully give their tithes and their offerings, a reminder that they didn't need to be like the widow - they didn't need to throw the last of their money into the offering plate to please the religious leaders, God, or anyone else.
God didn't need or expect their money, and God certainly didn't want his people going hungry because they gave their last dime to the already rich and wealthy religious system of the day.
And so as I sit and reflect on this story this morning, I don't really have any big or amazing point to make. The thing that stuck out to me the most was that we very often weaponize the critiques that Jesus meant for a small group of religious leaders and use those weapons against the entire Jewish Religion, and that's not only unfair but also a very unfaithful way to steward these ancient stories.
AND.
The other thing that has my wheels turning this morning is that in far too many of our churches and our ministries (and even in things like podcasts and whatnot) we make "care for the poor" more of a program than we do a practice.
Right?
I'm sure the Temple had "programs" in place to care for the poor of their community, but a program is different than a practice ... isn't it? A program that we run once a month or once a year or bi-monthly or whatever to collect clothes for the homeless or food for the poor isn't the same as "care for the poor" pumping through our veins and being part of our DNA - the DNA of our churches, of our ministries, of our families, of our lives.
And so I'm wondering what might it look like for us as individuals to make care for the oppressed, the homeless, the poor, LGBTQ people, victims of race, sexism, etc, etc, etc a regular practice in our daily lives as opposed to a program we help out with around the holidays or during black history month or pride month or whatever?
Time for another cup of coffee. Share your ideas, I'd love to hear them.