Gospel Notes by Michael Whelan SM
As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:38-44 – NRSV)
Introductory notes
General
Matthew and Luke follow Mark in his account of Jesus’ denunciation of the scribes – see Matthew 23:1–7 and Luke 20:45–47. Luke again follows Mark in his account of the widow’s offering – see Luke 21:1-4
“While Jesus’ critique of the scribes’ efforts at self-promotion (12:38–40) and his apparent praise of the generous widow (12:41–44) can be taken separately, they are better understood as a diptych that contrasts two kinds of “religious” persons. The scribes are criticized first for drawing public attention to themselves (12:38–39) and then for using their piety as a cloak for making a profit on vulnerable members of society (12:40). The poor widow in 12:41–44 is praised for her generosity shown in contributing what she had to the Temple treasury. Because she contributes “out of her poverty” she is actually more generous than all the rich people who contribute large sums out of their surplus. By placing the story of the widow between Jesus’ condemnation of the scribes (12:38–40) and his announcement of the Temple’s destruction in 13:1–2 Mark seems to hold up the widow as an example of the true piety and generosity that exists among God’s people. At least this is the traditional and most obvious interpretation of the figure of the widow” (J R Donahue, & D J Harrington, The Gospel of Mark, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002, 364).
Specific
Beware of the scribes: “Ben Sira’s positive ideal of the scribe is affirmed in the nt by what is often called Matthew’s self-portrait: ‘Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old’ (Matt 13:52). Other Synoptic passages, however, are critical of scribes, or ‘lawyers’ as they are sometimes called. In Luke 11:45–52 (which reflects Q) the ‘lawyers’ are the objects of three ‘woes’ from Jesus on the grounds that they make life difficult for ordinary people, that they build tombs for the very kinds of persons they would kill, and that they take away ‘the key of knowledge’. Matthew in ch. 23 greatly expands the critique found in Q, and lumps together the scribes and Pharisees as the objects of Jesus’ criticisms. In teaching and preaching on Mark 12:38–40 one should note that these criticisms are not applied to all scribes without exception (see 12:28–34), and be aware that this passage as well as Luke 11 and Matthew 23 all carry the potential to encourage anti-Semitism when applied to all Jews at all times” (J R Donahue, & D J Harrington, op cit, 365).
he sat opposite the treasury: In the ancient world temples, including the Jerusalem Temple (see 2 Maccabees 3), also functioned as banks or treasuries, and so were often targets for robbers and foreign kings in search of money. The assumption in Mark 12:41–44, however, is that Jewish people were contributing money for upkeep of the Jerusalem Temple. Whether the Greek word gazophylakion is to be taken generically as ‘treasury’ or more concretely as the collection-box or receptacle is a matter of dispute among scholars. According to the Mishnah (m. Sheqalim 6:5) there were thirteen trumpet-shaped chests in the sanctuary, each one labeled for its different purpose (yearly taxes, bird offerings, etc.)” (J R Donahue, & D J Harrington, op cit, 363).
a poor widow: Widows can be among the most vulnerable in any society – including modern day Australia. In ancient Israel, if the wife’s husband died, she had no inheritance rights. With a few exceptions, widows had to rely on their children or charity. Widows – and orphans – suffered badly in this society. This is acknowledged in the Hebrew Scriptures – see for example Deuteronomy 14:29, Jeremiah 49:11 and Psalms 68:5 & 146:9. The “levirate marriage” – where the deceased husband’s brother married the widow – sometimes took care of the situation. Jesus has already alluded to the injustices that might be done to widows when he criticizes the scribes because “they devour widows’ houses”.
Who is the widow?
In today’s Gospel – Mark 12:38-44 – there are two references to widows. Those references call for special attention. In the Psalms we read: “Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation” (68:5). The implication is that there is a certain category of people – represented by “the widow” – who are special to God. Also implicit in these words from the Psalm is a precious insight into the mutuality of our lives. Living is both giving and receiving. The widow – and all those who find themselves amongst the marginalized, the destitute, the vulnerable and the powerless of this world – have something to give us. Each is a bearer of God’s presence with a word to be spoken “out of their poverty”.
In the Torah we read: “Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns; the Levites, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work that you undertake” (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). The Prophet Isaiah condemns those “who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey!” (10:1-2).
In the first reference to the widow in today’s Gospel, Jesus is, in effect, leveling a most serious accusation at the religious authorities. He is accusing them of a grave injustice and a scandalous violation of the Torah. To make matters worse, these same people “like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!” Their displays of righteousness are offensive. They refuse to give to the widows what they ought to give. They are therefore unable to receive from the widows what they might receive.
Their behavior is contrasted with the astounding generosity of the widow who, “out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” The words, “out of her poverty,” are key to understanding this extraordinary moment. The pathetic coins she gives have little or no value, as such. What gives value to those coins is her “poverty”.
One of the most powerful texts to come out of the Second Vatican Council is found in the opening words of the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes): “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ.”