Mk 12:38-44
Powerless widow: The passage brings to an end the continuous reading of Mark during the weekday cycle. For the remaining 26 weeks, Matthew and Luke will be read. The other sections of Mark’s Gospel are read on other Sundays during Cycle B.
Powerless widow: The passage brings to an end the continuous reading of Mark during the weekday cycle. For the remaining 26 weeks, Matthew and Luke will be read. The other sections of Mark’s Gospel are read on other Sundays during Cycle B.
Jesus here warns his hearers about the inappropriate behavior of the scribes. As has been seen in the previous verses, their teaching is appropriate, but their behavior is not in line with what Christian behavior should be.
Appropriate behavior is modeled by a poor widow. She, who is a societal outcast and powerless, deposits two small coins worth only a few cents into the Temple treasury. Jesus declares that she gives from her poverty. She is now even more powerless and dependent than she was before her meager (magnanimous?) donation. Like a child, the widow is dependent on others.
This appropriate behavior is contrasted to that of the scribes, who “like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets” (vv 38-39).
The way of the authentic Christian, the authentic follower of Jesus, is through dependency, poverty, powerlessness, and disdain.