The Trouble with Jesus
by Constance Hastings
Brief musing here: November 5:2024 Today, tonight, this week we will wait. Apply whatever importance you prefer to this date. Take your side expressed by your vote. Hope for the best. Yet in the marking of your ballot, also bow your head. Pray the hardest prayer ever spoken. “Your will be done.” Accept what will be. Then move into your space, your world, and see what God will do. Shalom.
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Jesus, (yawn), we hear you. You’ve got this thing against the guys who don’t like you. So you take every opportunity to call them out for their phoniness. Good for you. At the same time, there’s this widow that you applaud for giving her last two cents to God. Nice. So sweet to see this. But except for you criticizing one and extoling the other, what are you going to do about it? Neither has status adjusted nor change of behavior just because you’ve used them as object lessons. What good are your teachings if you don’t back it up with some action?
Relax, please. Let’s just say for now the groundwork is being laid. Begin with this: nothing was more sickening, revolting, disheartening to Jesus than hypocrisy, and the religious leaders took home the prize for that one. Jesus told the crowd right there in the Temple, “Beware!” As in, keep a careful eye on these guys as you would a dog you’re not sure will turn vicious. Jesus saw what everyone else saw; they loved to attract attention to themselves with their fancy robes and how everyone showed deference to them when they walked around in public. And when the big banquets were held, they got the bests seats in the house and were seated always in the front of the synagogues. But their practice was to take from the poor and make themselves rich in the process. All this in the name of Yahwey, no less.
Change in Focus
Yet, then Jesus switches it up. He drops this mocking, caustic tone as he moves to a vicinity of the Temple where a large metal vessel sits, the collection plate of the first century. Here the faithful deposit their offerings to God. The thing is, you can’t miss it when the big wigs give theirs. Currency was in coinage, and the bigger the coin (and greater the value), the louder the clang inside the pot, attracting attention. Especially if you’d sort of throw it in, not just let it softly drop. (Not saying people did this, but what do you think these kind of frauds would do?)
Meanwhile, a widow timidly approaches. Don’t expect much from her type. She’s got nothing, so she is nothing. Without a man in this kind of world, destitution is your daily bread. At times, women are looked over. In the end, they are overlooked. She wields no power. It’s confirmed with what she leaves as her offering, two mites, mere pennies. Barely a sound tinkles in the basin, nothing over which to get excited.
Except…Jesus does. He calls over his buddies to give them the moral of her example. According to him, in effect she gave more than any of the long robers, for “they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
Wonderful model of giving, but there’s one question floating out there. Who in the world wants to be like her? Really, good financial sense would be to take care of your own needs and then provide/contribute/donate as you’re able. Give everything, even if it’s a good and worthy cause? Nah, can’t go there. Jesus, cozy up to your big donors, and leave the little guys alone.
Back up a blessed moment here.
Ok, Jesus is making a big point here about religious hypocrites and their practices of pride. Yes, he contrasts them with this poor woman who now will be totally dependent on anyone who might pity her enough to help. But if you think this is only about money and haves with have nots, wake up and smell the real stink behind this.
Jesus said it himself. The policies, practices, politics of the Law had been manipulated such that the poor were mercilessly oppressed by it. “Shamelessly cheat widows out of their property” is how Jesus put it. Oh yeah, these guys were good at long prayers more flowery than the fancy embroidery on their robes. But what good does that do for those impoverished by their faith?
Follow the Money
Principles are only as good as practice. Structure drives the mission. Lifestyles reflect true priorities. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” Jesus had taught. (Matthew 6:21) Look at the source of what’s important to you. If there is reflection of God’s love for others that honors and sustains, pour yourself into it and be generous. But if in its core, there is oppression and corruption, call it out as Jesus denounced those who hid behind their clerical dress and lying prayers for the poor.
This gets messy. Need inspiration? While calls for institutional change from Pope Francis is noble, it needs the backing of individuals, communities, nations who would demand and refuse to use or buy from companies unless change occurs. In short, money talks, so note where your treasure goes.
The Sorrow of It All
Still, Jesus did not stop the widow from her giving even though it supported the injustice which oppressed her. His words held sorrow for her situation. His heart was torn for her in that she was forced to contribute to a system that oppressed her, and in some ways, she had no choice but to do so. Her heart also likely was breaking in knowing this gift might seal the end of her life even as her soul wanted dearly, sacrificially, to return to God all that she had in love.
In the Image of God
She was in no way like him, but Jesus very likely saw something of himself in this poor widow. All bear the image of God. (Genesis 1:27) Yet, it very well could be said that Jesus drew from her that which he would soon need in himself, the willingness to give all of his life even as it would mean the end of his life. His sacrifice would bring reversal for those enslaved to self-centered lifestyles and restore any who are caught unfairly in places that would rob them of everything, even their lives.
In all then, her giving was not in vain, but for the eternal good of the world.
The Trouble with Jesus: Considerations Before You Walk Away by Constance Hastings
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