And the soul felt its worth
Mark 12: 38-44
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
November 8, 2015
The following story is one that Jesus
could have told alongside the story from Mark’s gospel of the robber baron
scribes and the widow’s offering of all she had. It comes from Calcutta, India, from the
Missionaries of Charity and their former superior, Mother Teresa.
Unfortunately it was
nothing unusual for her, just an entire family in one of the slums of Calcutta
that was suffering from malnourishment, nearly on the brink of starvation. Mother Teresa put some rice into a sack, a
few handfuls—all that she could spare—and delivered it to this desperately
hungry family. The woman who received
this gift was so thankful and joyous, she instantly took the bag of rice into
their small cooking and living space. In
a few moments she came out with half of the rice in a container and rushed down
a small alley. Puzzled, Mother Teresa
called after her, “Where are you going with that rice?” The poor woman replied, “I know another
family who has nothing to eat, who also needs rice.”
We
can see how these two stories could be intended for a Stewardship Sunday. There are two interpretations of the reading
from Mark. The traditional understanding
is that Jesus is praising the widow’s religious devotion, for giving all she
had to live on, in contrast to the offerings of the rich, who are giving what
will not be missed. The other
explanation is that Jesus is lamenting that this poor woman is being taken
advantage of by the religious authorities, paying for the expenses of the
temple out of an already impoverished pocket.
Both of these interpretations are entirely valid.
I
would like to propose a third approach to reading this passage. The widow, having no one else, sees herself
as connected to a larger, wider family, that of her faith. Like the poor woman in Calcutta, in her
giving the widow helps to create community; she does not wait for community to
trickle down to her. She realizes that she too can give, like those around her. The widow knows her worth as a child of God
and gives accordingly. What Jesus
praises is that she knows her own worth, that she has not devalued herself
because she is a poor widow.
When
Jesus observes the scribes in their long flowing robes, sitting in the best
seats, requiring acknowledgment and respect from others, and saying long
prayers just for show, I doubt these scribes saw themselves as connected to the
poor, the outcast, to the orphaned and the widowed. Most people who strut have not only an
inflated sense of self but, more often than not, are also fearful and
insecure. They are more likely to be
disconnected, lonely, and isolated. When
Jesus says that they will receive the greater condemnation, it can also mean
that not only will they suffer the consequences of their actions and attitudes,
but they will do so alone—separated and apart from others.
The
great gift of the incarnation, of God with us, is the realization that we are
all connected, one to another, and to the earth, to the creation itself.
Long lay the world, in sin and error
pining,
‘til he appeared and the soul felt
its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world
rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious
morn.
Jesus could also be
lamenting the rich scribes because they don’t yet realize that their worth is
not dependent on money or influence or power or education or achievement but
simply that they draw breath. In the
first creation story, when God made human beings and breathed life into them,
God declared them good before they had done anything. When as yet Jesus had not yet begun his
ministry but had simply risen out of the waters of baptism, God affirmed that
he was a beloved child.
But we human beings tend
to size up others based on appearances and actions rather than seeing the
deeper kinship we share. Too often we
put ourselves in the place of God, forgetting that it is God who judges “people
and nations by [God’s] righteous will, declared through prophets and apostles.”[1] It takes a lot of hard work to see all people
the way God sees people—as beloved children.
And that is because we don’t yet recognize our own worth. We don’t yet see ourselves as rare and precious. We don’t yet fully realize the hope that God
has placed in each and every one of us.
The Son of God lay thus in lowly manger
In
all our trials born to be our friend.
He
knows our need; our weakness is no stranger,
Behold
your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold
your King, Before Him lowly bend!
We would hardly classify
ourselves as behaving like the scribes.
And yet, more often that we wish, we come face to face with someone
else’s inability of behaving or giving what we think is reasonable to
expect. “I said what I meant. Why didn’t they hear me?” “I can’t believe that person’s attitude!” “I only asked for a simple favor.” “Why can’t they just accept the
situation?” “Why are you resisting
me?” “Don’t they realize I need their
support?”
One of the hardest lessons is to
accept that on any given day, people may not be capable, may never be capable
of giving what we need from them, for whatever reason. Usually it has nothing to do with us. They give what they can, out of the poverty
of their spirit. We all do this, and
some days are better than others. We
are better on some days than others. The
measure of grace we extend to others is the measure of grace we extend to
ourselves. If our treasury of grace is
running low, how often do we put ourselves in the mercy seat and receive the
outpouring of God’s overflowing love for us?
Or have we made a
habit of getting by on what we’re willing to receive rather than living
abundantly on what God is willing to give?
All she had to live on. And the soul felt its worth.
We don’t come to know our worth
just on our own. In Africa it is said
that we become a person through other people.
It is through our connections, our relationships, through a sense of
belonging and nurturing those bonds that we know our own worth. The more connected we are, the more engaged
we are with others, accepting of what they and we have to offer on any given
day, we begin to see ourselves and others the way God sees us: as something so
much more than an impoverished spirit or our resume or our ego, what we’re
capable or incapable of giving; as something more precious than one of the many
labels that have been placed on us or that we own with pride; as something greater
than one individual who feels one person can’t make much of a difference.
Do we, New Ark United Church of
Christ, know our own worth as a body of Christ?
Do we realize how rare and precious we are in the eyes of God? How do we experience and share the hope that
God has placed in us? How do we value what
we give and the community we create with it?
When we know the truth about
ourselves and embrace who we are, we give not out of our abundance what we
won’t miss but put in everything we have, all that we have to live on, to the
fulfillment of God’s kin-dom. We give so
that others may know that we are kin to them and they are kin to all of
creation. And the soul felt its
worth. All she had to live on. Love is its name.
Truly
He taught us to love one another;
His
law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains
shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And
in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet
hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let
all within us praise His holy name.
Christ
is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His
power and glory evermore proclaim.
His
power and glory evermore proclaim.
Amen.
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