Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost: The Impoverished Widow

Readings

1 Kings 17:8-16

Psalm 146

Hebrews 9:24-28

Mark 12:38-44

Devotion

Peace be with you!

The impoverished widow puts her last two coins in the offering plate, and Jesus says she has contributed more than all the rest (Mark 12:42-43). The widow had practically nothing to her name, yet she put in all she had. Meanwhile, the scribes dress in the best robes and want to be greeted in the marketplace and at banquets with honor. They really believe that it’s “all about them.” The scribes are the ones who are given authority over the Jewish laws. The scribes are supposed to live humbly among God’s people, yet they live “high on the hog” instead. The scribes are supposed to tend to the needs of the poor and needy, yet they fill their wardrobes with most elegant clothes.

Jesus is appalled by the scribes’ lack of caring for God’s people. He laments over the fact that the poor widow feels the need to give all she has to the treasury, yet no one tends to her needs as a child of God. The poor widow has nothing, yet she tends to the needs of others. Something is wrong with this picture, according to Jesus.

As God’s people, we are called to tend to the needs of the poor, people with disabilities, and others who need help. It is not enough to just read God’s Word and pray. God wants us to live in community with each other and take of each other, especially those who are less fortunate than ourselves. God entrusts us with resources not so much for our own pleasure, but to enable us to take care of one another.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for entrusting us with the responsibility to care for one another. Help us not to be like the scribes, but rather to be caring to one another. Give us a loving heart to show compassion to individuals who are poor, disabled, elderly, and less fortunate. Thank you for giving us a community to live in as your people. Amen.

Works Cited

Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below.  Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the comment covenant.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like. 

1. Who are the scribes in today’s world?

2. Who is the poor widow in today’s world?