A Gift

Text: Luke 21:1-4

Maybe it can be blamed on the division of the text into chapters and verses. Maybe it's because of the familiarity of the story. I confess that, for whatever reason, I had previously missed the obvious connection between the end of Luke 20 and the beginning of Chapter 21. The teachers of the law who loved being the public spectacle were hiding their true nature, so that it would not be noticed that they were cheating widows out of their property. Next scene: an impoverished widow. Is she one who had been victimized by the very practice just described?

We don't know the answer to that. Yet the point was probably not lost on the disciples as they did a bit of observation of people presenting their gifts at the Temple; nor should it be lost on us. We do not know what the circumstances are of the giver behind the gift. Nor do we always know the source of the gift which looks the larger. Though involuntarily, the widow may well have "given" when her property was confiscated.

People today give in so many ways which never find reward in the form of plaques and namesake buildings. They give of their labor to some wealthy business owners who then make a show of turning a portion over to the church of what should have gone as further compensation. They give with their hours to the work of the kingdom, feeding, comforting, caring, clothing, and guiding the steps of many an otherwise wayward soul. Though poor, or at least not wealthy, they give everything they have. And Jesus takes note.

There are two thoughts to carry with us as Lent's soul-searching time moves slowly toward its climax. One has to do with our assessments of what someone else gives--and the need to abandon them. The other has to do with our own honest appraisal of what we actually contribute, financially and otherwise, to the ongoing work of the kingdom of God. How is it that we put resource to our prayer that God's will be done--on earth? A poor widow knew her answer.