My Two Cents
Psalm 127; Mark 12:38-44
When I was a kid, there was a TV show called, Good Times. It was about a family in Chicago living in public housing who was always struggling to get by, but doing so with hard work, and humor, activism, a heavy dose of realism and a hilarious bunch of neighbors. Next to JJ’s “Dy-no-mite” declaration at some point in every show, the theme song was memorable, soulful, upbeat and catchy. However, I wonder if most of us actually knew the lyrics that included lines like:
Any time you meet a payment.
Good Times.
Anytime you need a friend.
Good Times….
Not getting hassled, not getting hustled.
Keepin’ your head above water,
Making a wave when you can.
Temporary lay offs.
Good Times.
Easy credit rip offs.
Good Times.
Scratchin’ and survivin’.
Good Times.
Hangin’ in and jivin’
Good Times.
Ain’t we lucky we got ’em
Good Times… An attitude chosen, despite not having two cents to rub together that got them through hard times.
I could say that Mark 12:38-44 is about sacrificial giving. That Jesus hoped his hearers would recognize God’s value system as different from the typical person’s financial practices. I could say that the widow in the text is a model disciple whereas the scribes at the top of the text represent the opposite of true discipleship. I could say, like many preachers before me, that the woman is an example of the kind of generosity that Christians are called to have. But suggesting that in order to be a true disciple one should give and give until one can’t give anymore doesn’t seem very authentic – as I can’t ask you to do something that I’m not willing to do. Nor does it seem very realistic in our context or society – though we have plenty of experience with Jesus asking us to do hard things. But most of all, asking someone to give until they can’t give anymore, doesn’t sound very caring.
All people have needs… Most people in our country and in the world have to navigate an economy that isn’t always favorable to them. Like the song says, so many are just trying to ‘keep their heads above water’ ‘scratchin’ and survivin.’ Good. Times.[1] Here’s a question, Do you think that telling a rich man to sell his possessions for the poor is the same as telling a widow to give her last coins to the temple? Would Jesus really have this poor widow give her last two cents?
Let’s mind this, oh, so familiar story for deeper truths today. Mark is setting up the contrast between scribal affluence and those in the most socially vulnerable classes. In Early Roman Palestine/Judea, before the days when Jake from State Farm would issue a payout to cover the bills in the event of your spouse’s death, the Scribes stepped in as trustees over the estates of widows. Because women could not be entrusted to manage their deceased husbands’ affairs! Through the Scribes’ public reputation for piety and trustworthiness (what Jesus called in vs 40 their making of lengthy prayers) they had earned a legal right to administer estates. As compensation, they would usually get a percentage of the assets. They were notorious for embezzlement and abuse. How did Jesus put it? “They devour widow’s houses.”[2] Any inheritance she might have received would have gone to the sons back then (if she were fortunate enough to have sons), leaving the widow to be provided for by her eldest son and his family until she died.
It seems, this poor widow in Mark 12, has not been left with any inheritance, land, or family to care for her. Her care is left up to the Temple and here she is…most likely exploited by her religious system. Jesus has taken a position seated facing the temple treasury. The setting would likely have been “Thirteen trumpet-shaped chests placed round the walls of the Court of Women in which the people threw their offerings.” He was probably also within earshot of donors declaring the amount of their gift to the priest in charge, everything visible and audible to the onlooker…” This is the scene that Jesus scrutinizes, knowing that the temple had already accumulated immense wealth. The rich put in from their abundance. And one poor widow put in two little coins –the smallest coins in circulation. Ched Myers writes, “As if in disgust, Jesus ‘exits’ the temple – for the final time” in the gospel of Mark. One scholar said, I feel the Gospel of Mark is asking the question, When does a temple of God hit rock bottom and lose its reason to exist?
The Jesus we know does not ask the destitute to squeeze any more out of their purses to give to God. Jesus comforted and blessed the poor. What’s happening in Mark 12, is a reprimand of the systems and economic structures that keep the poor poor! And Woe to the religious systems, the church and her leaders, when we uphold those systems rather than advocate against them and advocate for the least of these in our Jerusalems, Judeas, and Samarias…. Our SE Huntsville, North Huntsville, Black belt counties of Alabama.
Someone at the Alabama CBF meeting on Thursday said that “advocacy” was one of those “loaded words.” I knew what they meant. Politicized. Charged. Hot-button. That when folks hear it they associate it with a particular ideology. I thought, This is Why I’m at Weatherly. At Weatherly we understand and believe that advocacy is just a word for the other side of hands-on ministry. And Jesus calls his followers to do both! (Just as he called his disciples that day, “Come, look at what’s happening…”)
You’ve heard this parable about a village near a river. One day, a villager noticed a person struggling in the river, being swept downstream. Without hesitation, he dove in, pulled the person to safety, and brought them ashore. But just as he finished, he saw another person drowning in the river, needing rescue. So, he waded back in, helping them too.
Soon, other villagers noticed more people being carried downstream, all struggling, drowning and in need of help. The entire village joined in, each person doing their part to save those who were washed downstream. It became a daily task, with the villagers tirelessly rescuing one person after another. They set up a system, working shifts and building makeshift rafts to save as many as possible. But no matter how hard they worked, people continued to come down the river.
One day, a villager spoke up. “Why are there so many people in the river? Shouldn’t we go upstream to find the source of the problem?” Some villagers were unsure. “But what if more people come while we’re gone?” they asked. “Who will save them?” Still, a few of them were determined. Leaving the others to continue the rescue efforts, they traveled upstream. After a long journey, they found the source of the problem: a broken bridge. The bridge had a large gap, causing anyone who tried to cross it to fall into the river.
The villagers gathered tools, materials, and more helpers to repair the bridge. Once it was fixed, no more people fell in, and soon, no one was left needing rescue downstream.
The parable’s message is that while helping those in immediate need is necessary, it’s also important to look upstream—to address the root causes of suffering and prevent the problem from arising in the first place. True compassion involves both immediate aid and lasting change.[3]
For most of us, our greatest risk is not in giving a tithe or offering to the church. If we can do that, we should. And like the two cents the widow gives, no amount is too small. I think perhaps too many people think, if I can’t give at least this much, or a tithe, or as much as the so-and-so’s, then what’s the point? But I believe that it’s really most important just to give something. Start somewhere. Do what you can to be part of the church’s mission which requires money, and people’s giftedness, and time. Your intellect is needed. Your creativity. Your passion. Your voice. These are the ways folks at any stage of life can contribute to making this church a light for love and justice in this city. We want to be compassionate helpers and problem solvers in our community. We want to be the kind of church that helps pull people out of the river AND who risks our voice, our energy, our resources to make the long, arduous journey up-river to ask questions like: Why do so many children at MLK need extra food over the long breaks? Why are there so many children in foster care who need bedding and beds? Why are there so many LGBTQ young people on the streets? Why do our E-S-L learners need so much help navigating basic tasks in our city?
These are the kinds of questions we are going to keep asking here at Weatherly because the church universal cannot continue to uphold economic systems that oppress the poor, the outcast, the stranger. That’s why I’m at Weatherly. That’s why I give to Weatherly. And that’s my two cents for today.
[1] Anderson, T. Denise https://www.christiancentury.org/sunday-s-coming/ordinary32b-anderson
[2] Myers, Ched Binding the Strong Man A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus
[3] https://www.ahiah.com/inspirational-thoughts/parable-of-the-river