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. 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.”
(Mark 12:41-44)
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“Everything” sure sounds like a lot, doesn’t it. It’s a little bit overwhelming – and a little bit humbling, because – and let’s be honest here – none of us give “everything” to anyone. Not to the church or to any other charity or cause or organization. We just don’t. Honestly – we can’t. Like it or not we live in a society that virtually demands that we have to keep something for ourselves. So, we wonder about this poor widow who gave “everything.” How could she do that? And – really – what sort of precedent does it set for the rest of us? As I read this story I find myself thinking back to the story of Jesus and the rich young man who wanted to know how he could gain eternal life. Jesus, of course, said basically – “sell everything.” And the young man didn’t want to do that. And you know what? I don’t either. So where do we go with this? And in the context of stewardship, which is our focus for a few weeks, what does it mean to be asked or expected to give “everything”?
Maybe the first thing we need to do is put some thought into what Jesus meant by “everything” - because it does sound so overwhelming. In some cases, it could be a stumbling block when it comes to some people feeling able to give and in other cases it could become almost abusive as we try to convince people to give money that they don’t have - and there have been more than enough examples of that happening unfortunately. But what did Jesus actually mean? Yes, he told a story about the people who were making their offerings at the temple - and what they were offering at least at that moment was money - but are we supposed to assume that all Jesus was thinking about was money? I don’t think so. I don’t think that Jesus’ primary concern in this teaching is the state of a person’s bank account; I think that what really mattered to Jesus was the state of a person’s heart. Now, what we do with our money can be an indication of our priorities - Jesus himself said that where your treasure is is also where your heart is - but faith is never just about money, and “everything” is far more than just money. “Everything” is just that - it’s everything. It’s our life, it’s our priorities; it’s our heart and soul. What’s important to us? What really matters? And how do we show that in terms of how we give - not just how we give money, but how we give of ourselves? To me, that’s the key to understanding anything Jesus teaches about giving - including his thoughts about these folks who were giving money at the temple on this particular day as he and his disciples were observing.
That’s what Jesus and his disciples were doing at that moment - they were people watching. It was like they were sitting on a bench at the Pickering Town Centre a month ago watching people do their Christmas shopping and wondering whatever happened to “peace on earth, goodwill to all.” You discover a lot by people-watching, and they saw a lot of interesting things as they sat and watched, and what gets shared with us in the passage is an interesting contrast between the rich and the poor and their respective attitudes toward giving. Of course, Mark gives us a generalization. We don’t want to fall into the trap of saying simply rich = bad and poor = good. But there were some interesting things happening that Jesus apparently noticed and felt compelled to comment on.
One interesting thing that struck me right off was that Jesus could watch as people gave - and that he could not only watch but that he could know how much people were giving. No envelopes, no PAR. Just money - and all quite openly. It’s interesting that this was all done publicly, and it’s interesting that, according to the story, one thing that was very noticeable was that “many rich people put in large sums.” In another translation of this passage, we’re told that people “tossed” their money into the treasury. Almost as if it was a contemptuous act, done with no real thought and with no real need to think because those who had enough to simply “toss” their money around also probably didn’t miss what they tossed very much. It was a show; it was an act. It was a “look at me” kind of statement. Was it an accident that what people gave could be seen and commented on? Let’s face it - some people don’t always give with the most generous and altruistic motives. Some people give for the sake of being seen to give and for the power and respect and attention that their giving gains them. If you’re a hockey fan and you’re over 40 you probably remember Harold Ballard. A wealthy man - and by all accounts a generous man in his own way. What always used to intrigue me about Harold Ballard was that there were regular reports in the media of how much money he donated anonymously to charity. Which begs the question - if he gave anonymously, how did everyone know? Because there are ways of making sure that people find out the things that we say we don’t want anyone to know about. Harold Ballard gave a lot to charity - and he made sure that people found out about it. I’ve seen that in churches. I wouldn’t say it’s a common thing, but some churches make darn sure that the minister knows who the big givers are. And even though it’s never said flat out, the implicit message is - you better be nice to those people, because they give a lot of money. And I’ve seen churches where those who don’t give as much or who simply can’t give a lot are kept at arm’s length, not really valued or appreciated. I wonder if Jesus was reflecting on things like that as he and his disciples watched the people put their money into the treasury.
The poor widow didn’t seem to have given very much at all. A couple of small copper coins - the equivalent of pennies - which are worth so little that we don’t even bother minting them anymore in Canada, because it cost more to make them than they were actually worth. That’s all the poor widow could give. I wonder how that made her feel, surrounded by rich people literally tossing money into the treasury with barely a thought in the world about it? Did she feel small, unworthy, looked down upon? Did she wonder why she bothered? Did it cross her mind at least for a moment that what she gave didn’t really matter? But think about the story. Jesus noticed. He saw the woman. He saw her faith. He saw her love for God. He saw her trust in God. He didn’t ask her to put anything into the treasury. But he noticed. And what he noticed wasn’t really the amount she gave - what he noticed was what it told him about her faith; about her spirit. “She gave everything,” Jesus said. Even coming from Jesus it sounds as if there was a bit of awe in his voice. “She gave everything.” And it wasn’t the money. The two coins may well have been her last two coins, but I don’t think that’s what Jesus meant. “She gave everything.” She gave herself. She poured her heart and her soul into her relationship with God. It wasn’t the money. It was the spirit. It wasn’t her bank account that mattered. It was her heart. As I read this story, I find myself thinking that even if the woman had put no money into the treasury, Jesus would still have been in awe of her because of her faith. Did the rich people have faith? I don’t know. They had money. Maybe they had faith in God; maybe they had faith in money; maybe they had a divided allegiance. But the poor widow was there at the temple, with virtually nothing of material value to offer - but her heart belonged to God. And Jesus seemed awestruck. “She gave everything. All she had to live on.”
The rich gave out of their abundance. The widow gave out of her poverty. The rich gave what they would never miss; the widow gave what she couldn’t afford. The rich made no sacrifice and would hardly notice what they had put into the treasury; the widow engaged in an act of faith and believed that in some way God would provide for her. The rich gave sparingly; the widow gave extravagantly.
The rich gave a lot - but they really didn’t sacrifice much. The widow gave everything - but really she didn’t give much. In the end the point of what Jesus said seems to have been not so much how much was given, but the spirit in which it was given. Do we give of ourselves in what we offer, or do we hold back on what we offer so that we won't really miss it? Do we give in the hope that people will notice what we give and shower us with honours for it, or do we give only to show God what’s in our heart, believing in faith that God will honour us for it? Whatever we give - do we give only in the hopes of getting something back and being blessed, or do we give simply for the sake of giving and being a blessing? Each one of us has to answer those questions for ourselves. What I know is this: God’s concern is not the amount of money we offer, but the abundance of faith we possess. God cares not for the size of our bank accounts, but for the state of our hearts. God is not impressed by the things we do to impress others, but by the things we do for the sake of others. God asks us to give everything - and everything doesn’t have to be much. It just has to be everything.
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