This Sunday, November 10, 2024, there is another story we reflect on as Christians in our offering. The widow’s offering in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verses 41 to 44, provides another teaching for the disciples of Jesus.
Here is the short story:
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you; this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.’”
In Jerusalem’s Temple, there were thirteen chests or “trumpets” where offerings were placed. They were called “trumpets” because they were narrow at the top and wide at the bottom.
Each chest was labeled for a different type of offering, and the funds collected in them were earmarked for specific uses.
Two chests were reserved for the temple tax—one for the current year and one for the past year. Chests 3 to 7 were for collecting funds for the appointed value of turtledoves, pigeons, wood, incense, and golden vessels, respectively. If a person had set aside more than the stipulated price for an offering, they would deposit the leftover amount in one of the remaining chests.
Chest 8 was for money left over from sin offerings. Chests 9 through 12 held funds left over from guilt offerings, the sacrificing of birds, the offerings of Nazirites (Jewish men or women who voluntarily took a vow abstaining from wine and all other grape products, such as vinegar, and refrained from cutting the hair on their heads), and the offerings of lepers. Chest 13 was for voluntary contributions.
The place for offering these gifts was the Temple treasury, also known as the Court of the Women. This court was located to the east of the Temple itself, with a paved area overlooking the Mount of Olives. It is an excellent place to meditate on the many events described in the New Testament. It is also called the Court of the Women because that was as far as women were allowed to enter the Temple courts.
In this Court of the Women, during the Triumphal Entry, the people cried out in the Temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David” (Matthew 21:15).
After Judas had betrayed Jesus, knowing that he had condemned himself, he cast the thirty pieces of silver “in the Temple” (Matthew 27:3-5). Again, this would not have happened in the Sanctuary itself, but in this court, where the thirteen money boxes were located.
Continuing the tradition of Jesus’ teaching in the Treasury, the disciples taught here daily. In Acts 5:20,42, we read that Peter and John were commanded to do so by an angel of the Lord.
Back to the story of the widow’s offering. Jesus had been teaching in the Temple in the same area. Perhaps the widow and other Jewish devotees frequently visited the Treasury.
While Jesus was sitting down opposite the place where the offerings were placed, he observed a woman who offered “two very small copper coins.” Jesus knew she was a widow. He said, “Truly I tell you; this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Jesus contrasted the gifts of the rich people with the “two very small copper coins.” How did he know the widow had cast in two small coins? Thirteen wooden boxes with trumpet-shaped bronze funnels to guide the coins into the box were placed under the colonnades of the Court of the Women. This area was the actual Treasury. The sound these coins made against the metal would have indicated how much people offered to the Temple.
The widow’s offering condemned the greed of the Pharisees and Sadducees, reflected in what they received from the offerings in the Temple. While Jesus teaches what offering is acceptable or pleasing to God, he also shows the unequal conditions of society in his time and the lack of social justice.
The rich people gave from their abundance, but the poor widow, out of her poverty, gave all that she had. This explains why Jesus could say the poor widow gave more than anyone else. The others gave out of their abundance, but the poor widow offered a true sacrifice.
Jesus teaches about offering based on faith, one that springs from the will of the giver. The rich offered because it was the law of the Jewish religion, but the widow, in the midst of her poverty, offered in obedience to God’s will.
The widow’s offering challenges the rich. It is an offering of the poor as an expression of faith, love, and justice.
God loves a cheerful giver. The offering is a reminder that everything that belongs to humanity comes from God, and the one who gives the offering should believe in the God of justice. God is just, and He offered His only Son as a living sacrifice for the whole world.
As Christians, we teach our siblings that our offering to God is an expression of gratitude for the graces bestowed upon us, as good stewards of the wealth that God has given us.
It is ironic, however, that we accept the offerings of every Christian. We accept the offerings of Christian plunderers, Christian miners, Christian loggers, Christian human rights violators, and Christian killers. We are even happy to announce their “generosity” during our religious celebrations.
What is the real message for us in the widow’s offering? It teaches us to offer ourselves to God, and we should decline to receive the offerings of sinful people—the plunderers and their cohorts. Jesus was an offering from God to us, to humanity. As followers of Jesus, we ought to follow him—to actualize his teachings and deeds here on earth.
Here are some of Jesus’ teachings that we should further reflect on and try to follow and obey:
Matthew 19:16-30: The Rich Young Man
- 16 Once a man came to Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what good thing must I do to receive eternal life?”
- 17 “Why do you ask me concerning what is good?” answered Jesus. “There is only One who is good. Keep the commandments if you want to enter life.”
- 18 “What commandments?” he asked. Jesus answered, “Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely;
- 19 respect your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
- 20 “I have obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else do I need to do?”
- 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.”
- 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich.
Matthew 14:13-21: Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
- 13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.
- 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
- 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
- 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
- 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
- 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said.
- 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
- 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
- 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Acts 4:32-37: The Believers Share Their Possessions
- 32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
- 33 With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all
- 34 that there were no needy persons among them. From time to time, those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
- 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
- 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”),
- 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
We should be reminded that the widow’s offering is not different from the abundance of kindness shown by Jesus and his disciples in actualizing the justice of God as Good News.
Our offering is our own selves. We must not hesitate to offer our lives for national salvation, social justice, and lasting peace. We do it because we are followers of Jesus, the Messiah, the Liberator.
