Matthew, a former tax collector, reflects on the strange economics of Jesus

I wonder if she was aware that Jesus noticed her, that poor widow, slipping in to make her offertory in the Temple?

And what would she have felt if she knew she had been seen and commented on?   I expect she’d have been mortified! 

She stood in stark contrast to the others around her. Jesus had already pointed out their hypocrisy:  how they parade themselves in posh clothes, seeking recognition and prime position in their religious and social lives.   They were most likely impatient with this widow, with her measly offering, delaying and indeed sullying their own grand act of giving.   When she at last slipped out of the way, their moment came as, with exaggerated style, they counted out their money and made a big thing of placing it in the collection box.  They weren’t embarrassed to be watched – they intended to be noticed!  The bigger the audience the better!   That’s why they did it: to be noticed.

But not this woman.  Her way was to sneak in quietly, not wanting to draw anyone’s attention. I’d put her down as a no fuss kind, simply doing her bit and probably a little embarrassed that her bit was so small.   She herself wouldn’t think her giving worthy of note.  But Jesus noticed her. He took the time to stop and see. He appreciated her.

Her gift, as much as it was, would not have made much of a difference to the Temple coffers.   As a tax collector myself in the past, I knew it amounted to nothing.  Give me the rich men and their offerings, any day!  But this is not how Jesus thought of it.  He didn’t see the amount; he saw the cost. To you and I, let alone the rich men who went before her, her gift was nothing; a trifle we would not miss at all.  But to her it was everything.   Not just a penny; her only penny!  And she gave it just the same.  

And Jesus noticed that. Yes, he did!   He saw that her giving was on a different plain entirely to the others!  They gave without pain, of what they had spare.  She had nothing to spare, but gave anyway.  Her gift was a costly one.   

And Jesus saw that.  He called us to see it too. 

Of course, he didn’t make a song and dance of it all, calling her out as a public example to shame the others; that would have been cruel and unwanted.  The woman would have fled in embarrassment!  Jesus recognised that and honoured the woman by his silence – but he did want us to see what he had seen.  He wanted us to see and take note, just as he did.  Such giving must not and did not go unappreciated.  More importantly, he insisted, this woman needed to be seen and appreciated.  She may have been overlooked by many, but not by Jesus and not by us.  He called us to see her just as He saw her… And if she had only known, that would have been an incredibly affirming gift.  She is not unnoticed. God sees. God knows.

But what was it about her in particular, that Jesus wanted us to see and take note of?

Well, her sacrificial giving was surely worthy of note.

 And, as a lesson in his new economics, it was insurmountable.  Even I, as an ex-accountant understood it: the smallest amount is the greatest amount when its everything you have to give.  Or, to put it another way; It’s not so much how much is given, but what is left over after you have given, that is the real measure of the gift’s worth.

But thinking back to what Jesus was saying earlier, some of us have been wondering if Jesus wanted us to see something more than this. Something more challenging and radical.  Maybe Jesus called our attention to her offering not simply to praise this woman’s generosity, but to challenge the system that values the costless giving of the rich over the costly giving required of the poor?   I mean, tythes and offerings, however great, don’t really mean that much so long as you have food in your belly and a place to rest you head, do they?  But what if you have neither of these and are still compelled to give?   Then what we are called to note is not astounding generosity, but blatant exploitation! 

One thing that is becoming clear is that Jesus is not impressed with anything to do with the Temple.  Earlier, he held back no punches in condemning those who revel in the system, accusing them plainly of “devouring the widows’ houses” whilst making a show of their lengthy prayers. Maybe his purpose in pointing out this widow was not to divert us from that ugly truth, but to drive home his point and condemn those who exploited her in this way?

Why did this woman have to give her everything?  When everyone in the queue with her could have upped their offertory quite easily to cover her few coppers, why was she still expected to give?  It would have been nothing to them, but it cost her everything.  And yet still she was expected to give! The scribes may not have literally gone out and seized her home but everything she had was eaten away, regardless.

And Jesus took note of this, calling us to take notice too.  Did he want us to see how corrupt a system it is when the poor have everything to lose, while the rich take little risk and gain so much?    Did he want us to wonder whether we will ever come to a point when we not only honour the poor, admiring their so called ‘generosity’, but also do right by them?  Must the poor always pay a disproportionate amount to a system that cost the rich so little?   Must the poor always take the pain, while the rich take all the gain?  

Most challenging of all I reckon, however, is this; Jesus saw this happening, not in the market place or in the palace, but in the temple!  The house of God!   Isn’t the Temple supposed to support the poor in God’s name, not use God’s name as an excuse to take more from them? (Remember, Jesus showed no mercy when he saw the house of prayer being turned into a den of thieves!)

I realise that this raises big and disturbing questions, but let me remind you; Jesus saw what happened in the temple today and took note. 

He saw the widow in her poverty, giving her everything. 

He saw the rich ones gaining all the prestige while their giving, on his count, even when all put together, didn’t amount to as much. 

He saw the costly gift and he saw the costless one.

He saw the ugly reality behind the show. 

Jesus saw it all and he called us to see it too.

Because all of this needs to be seen clearly

And seeing makes a difference.    

Eye-opening God,

No act of generosity or greed,

Of giving or grabbing,

Goes unnoticed by you.

You see it for what it truly is.

You call your followers to do the same.

Open our eyes

And lead us to act on what we see

So that every hidden hero is honoured,

all hypocrisy is exposed,

and all powers and systems that frustrate human flourishing are challenged and transformed into the Kingdom of God.

Through Christ who sees it all. Amen.