Scripture Scribbles: November 7, 2021
the Gospel
Mark 12 : 38-44
In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds,
"Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes
and accept greetings in the marketplaces,
seats of honor in synagogues,
and places of honor at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext
recite lengthy prayers.
They will receive a very severe condemnation."
He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
"Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood."
OR:
Jesus sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
"Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood."
the devotion
I imagine sitting next to Jesus that day. He picks a spot where he can see the treasury and invites me to watch too. I am beginning to know His heart now. And yet, I wonder what He is seeing and what He wants me to see, next to Him. I am dazzled by the well-dressed rich and the large sums they contribute. I anxiously consider myself and my own capacities. And just then, He nudges me and I see deep emotion - tenderness, love, gratitude - in His eyes. He gestures to the widow. She is the one He came to see.
He came for her little gift.
And I begin to see it now. What He sees. How precious her poverty is to Him. How open her heart is to Him in her total desperate need. Her little gift is the great gift of total trust. Her little gift allows Him to give her more than she could ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).
.
I think about how the Lord so tenderly loves the poor. How throughout Scripture He speaks words of love and protection over the orphaned, widowed and lowly. And my own heart breaks open to Him. Out fall grief and brokenness, exhaustion, frustration and fear. I am tired of holding on so tightly trying to fix it, trying to make it all work.
Sitting at the treasury today, He tells me He aches for my poverty, too. He wants to feed me, to bind up my wounds, to turn my grief into joy, to give me more than I could ask or imagine. He invites me to open my hand and press it all into him.
Today’s devotion was written by Lucia Parker.
