AND SHE GAVE HER ALL


Mark 12: 41-44, The Message

I think of the “poor widow”’s offering, two measly cents, on the offering box in the synagogue, during the time of Jesus.  The Master commended her.  NO, He acknowledged her.  And her offering was greater “than all the others put together” - simply because she gave her all. 

What does the two cents mean for her?  How much was its equivalent during the time of Jesus and to the present time?  Does it even have something to do with the economic value of the offering, in the first place?  It doesn’t seem to sound so based on Jesus’ words, she gave her all.  The two cents meant everything to her – her meal for that day, medication for an illness (for sure, growing old and poor must pose this kind of physical danger), repairs for her home (or maybe it’s rental instead?), school fees for the children, addition for her wardrobe, or makeup perhaps?  Of course, the latter items in this enumeration are my exaggeration.

But the point is, for a poor widow in the first century Palestine, the two cents must have meant every thing.  Being a widow, the woman was in a very pitiful situation.  At a time when men held the important role in the society, and women were treated as inferior, being husbandless was truly an unfortunate situation.  I can’t imagine the ostracisation she must have faced.  Perhaps, like what I usually see today, she must have been repeatedly ridiculed and looked down for scrapping on some leftovers in someone’s garbage.  Did she beg for help from others?  Perhaps she did, if she was a really poor widow.

But here in this passage, out of the abundance of her heart, the fullness of a generosity that springs from somewhere outside herself, she gave what every poor widow would have fought for themselves.  She couldn’t have done it for suicidal tendencies ( mas maayo pag mamatay nalang ku ugma kun wa na kuy kaunun,ma-ung aku nalang ning ihatag ang akung kwarta).  Apparently, Jesus saw through her heart, that the quality of her giving wasn’t like the others.  It was something that meant every thing to her.  She would surely miss everything, perhaps all of her life, if she would give it.  And yet, she did. 

I wanted to tear through the pages of my Bible to check what happened to the poor widow after she gave her all.  So, did some rich man place a bag of gold coins on her doorstep?  Did a religious teacher offer to adopt her and pledge to give her food daily?  Did some influential women gather a support group for other widows like her?  But I didn’t see those events.  Nothing even came close.  The following verses simply talked about the next things Jesus did.  Was she left out?  After giving her everything, after being recognized for the quality of her heart, was she now set aside and left for forgottenness?  I must have missed something here.

But that’s exactly Jesus’ point.  All other issues and concerns regarding the woman pale in comparison to the greatness of her trust and dependence on her Yahweh.  Surely she didn’t just give for heroic purposes.  Surely she gave because she knew and believed and trusted that the God of the Jewish people like her would care for her.  Yes, she probably didn’t know what she’s gonna eat at lunch time for that same Sabbath, but she had a heartfelt confidence that Yahweh will provide for her, just as HE did for her ancestors in the desert on the way to the Promised Land.  

The poor widow was able to give her ALL because she has entrusted her ALL to this God.   She was able to put in her last treasure because she’s sold out to the truth that God is rich and able enough to provide for her.  She gave her ALL, which includes her FUTURE, to the Hebrew God who promised that He “knew the plans for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Her passion was not on the act of giving, or on the subject of the giving, but to the One whom she gave.  And for Jesus, that was all that matters. 

It’s not that her meal wasn’t important, or that her house should better be left for destruction, or her children better be abandoned (the passage didn’t even mention any child).  At the end of everything, at the end of the day, at the last breath of our being, only one thing REALLY matters in this life, and the poor widow had grasped it: Does God mean everything to me?


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