The Widow's Might: Mark 12:38-44 - Fourth Sunday in Lent

For many years, a picture has sat on the shelf of my office. It’s a picture of the women from the sewing circle at my home church, and they invited me into the picture as they were about to send home a prayer shawl for someone who was ill.

My grandmother had been active in the sewing circle for decades, and they did some amazing work, making quilts, blankets, handbags, altar linens, paraments, you name it…

Most of the women in the sewing circle were widows.  But their ministry wasn’t limited to shawls and blankets.

When my grandmother developed dementia, they made the 100-mile round trip to visit her. They constantly sent cards and gifts. They even made these beautiful photo memory boards that I’ve brought with me today. 

Photo by Danie Franco on Unsplash

And it was during the meals they planned that my pastor and fellow church members encouraged me to consider a vocation in ministry.

They organized dessert auctions to help fund my seminary education.

When Elizabeth and I got married, they organized a second wedding reception for us in the church basement. 

I could never put a price tag on all that ministry. Their works are truly divine. 

This is why I can’t help but think of my grandmother and all these faithful women as I consider today’s Gospel. 

Jesus is teaching inside the temple, and there he warns his disciples to beware of religious authorities who demand people honor them. They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers for the sake of appearances.

Click here to read the Scripture text

Then Jesus observes a poor widow contributing two small copper coins to the temple treasury; a paltry sum worth about one or two dollars in today’s money. Given the vastness of the temple industrial complex, this is barely a drop in the bucket. For the widow, this was everything she had.

Clearly, Jesus is indignant over the fact that she gave away all she had to fund an exploitative system, not unlike the many charities, churches, and preachers who fleece their flocks to fund lavish lifestyles. 

But if this Gospel text inspires only anger, we’re missing the point.

In the kingdom of this world, this widow and her gift are inconsequential. Nobody would miss her or her paltry offerings if she were not alive. 

In the Kingdom of God, however, she stands as tall and mighty as a California Redwood, while the corrupt religious leaders dressed in fancy robes are mere stink bugs.

We get to see this widow, and others like her, as Jesus sees her: someone who is devoted to God, someone whose scarcity cannot hinder her generosity, someone whose vulnerability cannot diminish her strength. Seeing her, Jesus surely knew that widows like her would be pillars in his church. 

It's not hard for me to imagine a widow like her volunteering at the food bank or the clothing closet, teaching Sunday school, preparing meals for a grieving family, sacrificing the comforts and conveniences we take for granted so that she can make an offering every week at church. 

But the widow is not the hero of this story. This is a story about God, empowering ordinary people to do extraordinary things. With God, simple gifts make a huge impact. With God, love prevails in the face of suffering and evil. This is the power of God revealed in the crucified Jesus, liberating the world from sin and death. 

The beauty of belonging to the Body of Christ is that you get to see the self-giving love of Jesus in ordinary people. Not only do you get to see it, you get to be blessed by it. I hope this Gospel has reminded you of all the people whom God has used to make an impact on you. I hope their ministry to you is inspiring you to extend that same selflessness and grace to others. The Kingdom of God does not care if you’re dressed in fine robes or if people admire or respect you. What matters is what you do with what God gives you. What matters is having the love of Jesus alive in your heart. What matters is what you give away.

Be prepared for the Holy Spirit to invite you to give of yourself as the widow does. There will always be that voice in your head spouting off the myriad reasons why you shouldn’t give: “you don’t have time;” “that’s too much;” “you need that money more than they do.” Tell the devil, “Not today! Today, I’m going to do what’s right. Today, I will be mighty in faith! Today, I will trust God to do more with me and my meager gifts than I ever could, to help bring the world one step closer to the Kingdom of God.”