A Sign of Hope among Us

A Sign of Hope among Us

Luke 21.1-4

Frail and stooped with the ravages of illness, out of the hospital… her only yearning: to go to church. Out of the hospital into the sanctuary… wearing joy upon her wrinkled face, she is full of light. Her hand shaking, she places her offering on the plate. O God, a widow’s mite! This day in this time lovingly, cheerfully offered to her Lord… O God, a widow’s mite, a sign of hope among us!

“The Widow’s Mite,” by Ann Weems

Prelude to an Offering

It was without exaggeration the sacred center of Jewish life and practice; the temple in Jerusalem. Its foundations reached deep into the rich and storied history of Israel, having been built under the watchful eye of king Solomon countless years before the time of Jesus. And the temple itself reflected the tenacity of this people – Israel – created and preserved, time and again, by the faithfulness of God. Destroyed at the time of the Babylonian exile, the temple was rebuilt within a century. Desecrated and defiled by the Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes, it was liberated and consecrated anew at the time of the Hasmonean rebellion, some one hundred and fifty years before Jesus first journeyed to Jerusalem and cast his gaze upon its glory.  And yet the temple on which he gazed was again a temple under renovation, by order of King Herod.  This sacred temple, indeed, reflected both the rich history and tenacity of Israel whose faith it symbolized.

Here alone, at the center of Jewish faith, was sacrifice offered to God. And to this sacred place pilgrims would journey from afar to celebrate the high holy days. In the precincts of the temple the noblest minds of the day would gather to ponder pressing questions of faith and politics; the relationship of Israel to Rome, the validity of belief in the resurrection, and the possible advent of God’s Messiah.  And to the temple the faithful would flock daily to offer both prayers and alms to God.

On one occasion, as Luke tells the story, while teaching in the temple precincts, the gaze of Jesus was drawn to a solitary, insignificant figure, one of the least of the faithful who came to offer her meager gift to God. It is amazing, is it not, that in this place so noble and sacred, so rich in history, a place abounding in wisdom, power, grace, and affluence; it is amazing that the gaze of Jesus could be drawn away from the temple itself to the actions of this insignificant widow.

Moreover, in the context of Luke’s story, Jesus had every right to be oblivious to the daily routine of the temple, and to be preoccupied by the efforts of the Jewish leaders to trap him in some blasphemy, to detect in his teaching some evidence on which to turn him over to Roman authorities. “Tell us, Jesus, by what authority do you disrupt the sacred temple activities and presume to teach within its confines?”  “Jesus, should we pay taxes to Rome or not?”  And again, “Jesus, if a woman outlives all of seven husbands, whose wife will the woman be in the so-called resurrection of which you teach?”

For this Reason Alone

In view of both the place and the circumstances, it is amazing, is it not, that Jesus’ gaze was drawn to the actions of a solitary, insignificant widow who made her way into the treasury and quietly dropped in two small copper coins. Despite the fact that no one else took notice of her, Jesus observed her approach to the treasury, heard the faintest tinkling of the coins as they dropped into the coffer, and, surely, he smiled.  “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

Jesus observed the actions of the widow and he smiled.  But it was certainly not the amount of her offering that evoked his approval, for it paled in comparison to the offerings of the affluent. Two copper coins; the widow’s mite. One would have to wait while over fifty widows filed through the treasury with such an offering to pay one day’s wages for a peasant farm worker. No, it was not the amount.  It was, rather, the heart of the giver that brought a smile to Jesus’ lips. For her gift was free and joyful, unencumbered by any sense of obligation or duty.  Her gift was a grateful, unmeasured response to the loving presence of God in her life. For this reason, and for this reason alone, it was cherished by God.

Jesus observed the actions of the widow and he smiled; not, however at the thought of coffers full to overflowing; and not at the thought of all the good deeds that could be accomplished with the money. He smiled in recognition of one who had been made whole, and who in turn reached out to share that blessing with others.  Here in the midst of the temple reeling with hypocrisy, pretension, and even betrayal, walked one of the truly faithful. “O God, a widow’s mite, a sign of hope among us!”

There Will be Hope

A gift freely given regardless of its amount, the grateful expression of a life made whole. This was the only gift cherished by God in the Jerusalem temple so long ago, and it is the only gift cherished by God in our day.

As we, in our temple, prepare to consecrate our pledges to God through the Church, pledges to give of both who we are and of the possessions with which we have been graced, it will be the gift of the widow’s mite that will bring a smile to God’s lips. For so long as a widow’s mite is found in our midst, there will be hope; hope that the good news will transform and heal lives; hope that individuals will reach out with their time, talents and possessions to touch the lives of others; and hope that the journey of faith on which we have embarked will be open to and shared freely with all, that no one need fear walking alone. May God grace us with the courage to share the journey and walk together along the way of faith.