Denunciation of the Scribes

Mark 12: 38-44 

In the course of his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”

He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

 Discussion Questions: 

1. Spiritually speaking, why do you think Jesus values giving from a place of poverty more than surplus?
2. Jesus is critical of those who thrive on their privileges and seek out honor. In what situations does the need for prestige and recognition arise for you, and how do you handle it?
3.  Is generosity to the point of putting ourselves at risk like the Widow in this Gospel, what we’re called to as disciples of Jesus?
4. As a steward of your financial and other resources, what are “places of poverty” you could try to give from?
5. In what ways have you been God’s instrument of providential care for others?

Biblical Context

Mark 12: 38-44 
John Shea

As the Son of Man, Jesus is a fully realized and integrated human being. He embodies the double commandment to love God and neighbor (see the previous Sunday). Any thought, feeling, or behavior that is discrepant with these twin, foundational loves has been purified. If someone asked him what his message was, he could respond, “My message is my life.” The thoughts of his heart and the words of his mouth are in perfect harmony (see: Ps 19:14).

As fully realized and integrated, Jesus quickly spots any lack of realization and integration. So his teaching includes unmasking the discordant messages and behavior of the religious elite. These men can recite the Shema: Hear, O Israel: “The Lord our God is one” (Deut 6:4; KJV), and they do so often. Also, they are informed about the love of their neighbor (Lev 19:18), but these teachings at the heart of Israel have not been taken to their hearts. The result is hypocrisy, pretense, and duplicity. They say one thing and do another. Jesus is watching

Basically, self-love has replaced the love of God. What the scribes like about being a scribe is not the Law and the righteousness that comes from deep understanding and obedience. They love all the superficial externals: long robes, salutations, in the marketplace, and the best seats at synagogues and banquets. What they gravitate toward is anything that makes them the center. Even when they pray, for the sake of appearance. They do not genuinely open themselves to God. Their complete dedication is to how they are being perceived. The ego, always unsure of itself, needs constant adulation. The scribes are owned by their egos.

Also, self-love has replaced the love of neighbor. In this passage, the neighbor is a widow whose meager resources are plundered by scheming scribes. The widow is a symbol of the most vulnerable in Israel. Therefore, God cares for her in a special way for God is “Father of orphans and protector of widows” (Ps 68:5). God also makes justice toward the widow a condition for residing with the people of Israel (Jer 7:6). But the most vulnerable is also a prey for the most rapacious. Could the scenario be that the widow in her desperate circumstances prays to God for help? And who is there to help her with those prayers but scribes who allegedly know the ins and outs of divine favor? Of course, there is a fee, and the longer the prayers the more the fee. Their concern for the widow is a pretense for enriching the self.

Throughout the Gospel, Jesus has consistently championed human needs over the hardened practices of the synagogue. Now he targets the Temple treasury. When he sits opposite the treasury, it symbolizes that he is opposed to the whole temple atmosphere around money. It is a public affair with the rich parading their large sums. But Jesus is not concerned with the rich. They are never exploited. They give to the temple out of their surplus. Piety will never carry them away. Like the scribes, the rich take care of themselves.

But the widow divests herself of all support. Her generosity plays into the devouring greed of the Temple. Those who are supposed to protect her leave her, literally, penniless. What is most frightening is that she cooperates with her exploitation. This is a condition that is often mentioned in the literature on oppression. The exploited are so thoroughly co-opted that they do not see what is really happening. They even unconsciously contribute to it. This mistake is common. In St. Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors” (Luke 22:25). The oppressed think the oppressors are actually benefiting them. Is the house of God to which the widow goes really benefiting her when contributing to it despoils her own house? Jesus named the Temple “a den of robbers” (Mark 11:17; NAB reference to Jer 7:11). Has the woman freely donated the last of her livelihood or has a subtle theft occurred? The widow may not grasp all that is going on, but the Integrated One who is sensitive to all duplicity has not missed it.

 The Treasury of Poverty

Reflection
Fr Michael K. Marsh

We all know this text as the “widow’s mite.” We’ve read the commentaries and heard the sermons – “The poor widow is an example of generosity. You should be generous like her.” I suspect most of us have heard that one or something similar more than once. Sometimes I think that we are so familiar with this story that we no longer hear or even look for another meaning. So we expect and settle for the usual interpretations. We are not surprised when this text is used for the annual stewardship campaign. Or we anticipate its use to criticize the rich for not giving more. And it holds before us the fact that there is an unequal and often unfair distribution of the world’s resources reminding us that the majority of the world lives without enough – without enough money, food, shelter, education, and healthcare.

All of that is valid. There is truth in those interpretations. But there is also something else going on in this story. This gospel is not simply about the treasury of money. It is, rather, about the treasury of poverty. Hafiz, the great Sufi poet of the fourteenth century, offered this prayer:

“God, grant me the riches of poverty for in such largesse lies my power and glory.”

The riches of poverty. Most of us, I suspect, have not seen or experienced the riches of poverty very often. Instead, we tend to view poverty as a problem to be fixed and not as a source of power and glory. Poverty is often a problem to be eliminated and solved but not in today’s gospel. The poverty of the poor widow is not a problem to be fixed but rather a virtue to be interiorized. The poor widow becomes our teacher and we, her students.

She embodies the virtue of spiritual poverty. She has no need for the money of the rich, the long robes of the scribes, or marketplace respect. She has no need for the best seat in the house or even the appearance of holiness. The absence of the widow’s need to have becomes her need not to have. So she does what makes no sense. She gives her last two coins. “She out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” For what else does a poor widow have to give? She has no abundance, only the riches of poverty

The riches of poverty come not from acquiring but from letting go. All authentic spirituality is about letting go: letting go of comparison, competition, expectation, and judgment; letting go of status, reputation, and appearances; letting go of the need for power, to control, to succeed, to win, to be right; letting go of our need for approval and perfectionism; letting go of all the illusions we create or buy to make ourselves feel better. Ultimately it means letting go of ourselves and the ones we love most.

Spiritual poverty begins with letting go and it always reveals the fragility of life. It takes us to the border between life and death where there are no guarantees – only hope, where there are no answers – only faith, and where there is no security – only love. This is where the poor widow lives. This is where God lives. And they live in a union as one. In the face of the poor widow – the face of spiritual poverty – the Christ sees and recognizes himself.

Spiritual Commentaries and Teachings are excerpted from The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers by John Shea © 2004 by Order of Saint Benedict. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Used with permission.

Spiritual Reflection from, Interrupting the Silence. Fr Michael K. Marsh. Used by permission