Sunday November 7th : 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday Reflection by Brian Maher OMI

“The poor widow has put in more than all.”
Mark 12:38-44

What was it about the Scribes, the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, that annoyed Jesus so much?

Of all the groups mentioned in the Gospels Jesus reserves his harshest criticisms for these religious leaders of his time. And he did not mince his words either. His criticisms are strong and harsh. Imagine calling someone a ‘whited sepulchre’ – clean and beautiful on the outside, rotten and smelling on the inside. Yet, the strange thing is that Jesus did associate with Pharisees; he ate in their homes, he attended the synagogue each Sabbath and we know that some of them accepted him, even defended him publicly (Nicodemus is the best example of this). His criticism, then is directed at the ‘group’ of Pharisees, while acknowledging that there are authentic, sincere Pharisees among them.

So what was it that he saw in this group of people that infuriated him so much?

Clearly, we can say that it was hypocrisy, and we would be right. But I think there is more to it than that. These men spoke in the name of God, they were listened to and respected because they were God’s chosen. Their wealth came from Temple funds – from the offerings of the poor. So it is not just that they are hypocrites, but that they use the name of God to justify their hypocrisy. It is this that he cannot tolerate and like it or not, be they powerful and wealthy or not, he will call them on it. And he calls them on it, not behind their backs but publicly, to their faces.

It makes me wonder what Jesus might say to us if he came to our Churches on a Sunday, or dined with us at home, or walked through the towns and cities with us. He would see the homeless sitting in the doorways, he would see the queues of people outside food banks, he would see the tortured faces of mothers and children grabbed from the sea and placed in inhuman detention centres until they can be returned to the horrors from which they ran, he would see our selfish blindness in the face of climate change and our desecration of the beauty  which God gifted us, and he would say…… ?

I don’t know what he would say, and I am not either naïve or foolish enough to think that there are simple answers to complex questions. I also don’t see in the Gospels any indication that Jesus offered simple answers to the difficult issues of his time, either political or social. In fact he pointedly avoided becoming drawn into arguments about things like Roman occupation and poverty.

 He did what he could. He healed and fed and forgave and listened to everyone who came to him. He exhausted himself so that “sometimes he did not even have time to eat”. He had to get up during the night to find time to pray and he did all of it gently, simply and sincerely, walking those lonely roads between towns and villages without pretence, accompanied by a small, ordinary group of fishermen and others who were attracted to his teaching.

What would he say in our Church this Sunday?  Maybe it would begin, “woe to you…..” or maybe it would be, “tonight I will dine in your house,” and maybe – probably – it would be a bit of both!

Only I can say what Jesus might say to me. I know he will not tolerate hypocrisy and will search to see if my actions match my words. I know that if I attempt to use God to justify or excuse injustice or selfishness or any actions which hurt or abuse or humiliate another, he will call me on it, harshly and to my face, and will not apologise for doing so. But I also know that if I ask him, simply and sincerely, he will heal me, feed me, forgive me and listen to me – always.

Today’s Gospel calls us, not to worry or fear walking with Jesus or meeting him in our Church this Sunday, but simply to ponder our actions and our motivations. We need not make judgements, or be overly critical, or hard on ourselves. Jesus will not expect us to have simple answers to today’s issues. No! sitting with Jesus we can ask him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” and his answer might just be a lot simpler than we think. Try it!

And it is the idea of ‘sitting with Jesus’ which leads me to the second small but wonderful story in today’s Gospel.

When I read the Gospels I often look for, what I call, the ‘tiny clues’ which tell us something about the person of Jesus. In the small story of the widow’s offering we get, I think, one such ‘clue’.

It is at the very start of the story: “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.”

Here we see Jesus, not doing anything, just sitting, hopefully resting, relaxing and idly watching the people come and go into the Temple. It is a restful scene.

As he was watching, not really looking for anything, he noticed the poor widow come up to make her offering. What he saw touched him in some way, it affected him and his heart goes out to her. In fact, it affected him so much that he calls his disciples to point out to them what this wonderful woman has done.

For me it is a beautiful, restful picture of Jesus – sitting, watching, observing what is happening around him. And it is not the wealthy and well-dressed he notices, but a poor widow, insignificant in the eyes of the world. Her few copper coins, valueless to the magnificence of the temple are what is most important to him. Of all those present she stands out to him and he makes her greatness known to the others who would never have noticed her.

You see, Jesus watches, and he notices all of the tiny, insignificant, unconscious even, good things we do. A kind word, a smile, an acknowledgement, a ‘thank you’, stopping for a moment to listen to someone, a hug, a kiss, ‘I miss you’, ‘can I help?’, ‘don’t worry’, and so, so many other tiny copper words and actions we don’t notice or forget. They may be unnoticed by others, forgotten by us, but never lost to God.

We are good at spotting our sins. We are not so good at spotting the good we do. But Jesus does spot our tiny acts of kindness and he does not forget them. They stand out for him. They touch him.

How could we ever fear the God revealed to us in this Gospel? I can’t, even if I try!

Brian.

Brian is the director of Oblate Partners in Mission and is based at Denis Hurley House, Quex Road, Kilburn. If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email Brian at b.maher@oblates.ie

Thank you for reading and reflecting with us!