Small Things with Great Love

Gospel Reflection for November 10, 2024 - Mark 12:38-44

And he said to them in his doctrine: Beware of the scribes, who love to walk in long robes, and to be saluted in the marketplace,

And to sit in the first chairs, in the synagogues, and to have the highest places at suppers:

Who devour the houses of widows under the pretence of long prayer: these shall receive greater judgment.

And Jesus sitting over against the treasury, beheld how the people cast money into the treasury, and many that were rich cast in much.

And there came a certain poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing.

And calling his disciples together, he saith to them: Amen I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury.

For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want cast in all she had, even her whole living. (Mark 12:38-44 DRA)

The Gospel reading for this Sunday is an example of a favorite method used by Our Lord in His teaching, namely to first correct with the truth, then demonstrate the truth through an example, usually a parable or in this case with an event directly witnessed by Himself and the apostles. He first points out the sin of the scribes, those who were tasked both with writing down the dictates of the Jewish authorities and, in the process, of interpreting what they transcribed, as was the common practice in the ancient world. Due to their great importance, they were given seats of honor, public recognition, and teaching authority in the synagogues. Christ could seem to be correcting this practice, and many interpreters of this passage will present it accordingly, as though wearing long robes and receiving public salutation or places of honor was in itself their error. Such a view could lead one to doubt the validity not only of priests and bishops in the Church, who wear long vestments and seat in the sanctuary at Mass, but even of secular figures, like court judges, who do similarly.

This, however, is an instance of imposing one’s own preconceived notions onto the text. Christ never says that these practices are wrong in themselves; indeed, He applauds the soldier who tells Him, “For I also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.” To which Christ “marvelled” and replied, “Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel.” (Mt 8:9-10) Christ also said that the apostles would have this kind of authority in the Church: “And I dispose to you, as my Father hath disposed to me, a kingdom; That you may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom: and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Lk 22:29-30) The true error of the scribes, then, was not this but rather their vainglory, their love of praise and esteem from the people out of pride and selfishness, as St. Bede explains:

We must observe that He does not forbid that those, to whom it falls by the rule of their office, should be saluted in the marketplace, or have chief seats and places at feasts, but He teaches that those who love those things unduly, whether they have them or no, are to be avoided by the faithful as wicked men: that is, He blames the intention and not the office; although this too is culpable, that the very men who wish to be called masters of the synagogue in Moses’ seat, should have to do with lawsuits in the marketplace. We are in two ways ordered to beware of those who are desirous of vain glory; first, we should not be seduced by their hypocrisy into thinking that what they do is good; nor secondly, should we be excited to imitate them, through a vain rejoicing in being praised for those virtues which they affect. (Catena Aurea)

Unlike these scribes, who were “of this world” (Jn 8:23) and “judge according to the flesh”, (Jn 8:15) Christ desired for the apostles, and all Christians, to be like the widow, who through her profound charity and self-sacrifice did not belong to this world but judged according to the spirit. (The cover image chosen for this reflection, by James Tissot, also adds an interesting twist: the widow is usually assumed to be elderly, but Tissot shows her as young and with a child, which is quite plausible and makes her gift even more impressive - it also connects well with the mother and child from the first reading.) For most people, then and today, the value of charity depends on the amount given – though few would say this openly, a rich man who gives hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year to his parish will be tempted to feel as if by doing so he is more favored by God and deserving of greater esteem from others, even to be given more say in the running of the parish.

The widow, however, expects to receive no acclaim for her donation, which to most seemed like nothing and would contribute little to pay for the expenses of the Temple’s upkeep and charitable programs. As with the promises from the Psalm, which would seem to be rather unrealistic as many of the downtrodden people whom God helps often appear in this life to go on being victims with little relief or hope of rescue, the widow’s donation counts for very little. Nevertheless, to Christ her gift is more valuable because of the love with which she gave it – in spiritual terms, the inner disposition of the widow, which is eternal, is far more valuable than the outer treasure which is given by someone whose eyes are fixed on the ground and whose mind values only what is considered practical to the world. From an eternal perspective, the widow is heavenly while the rich are earthly; her reward is in Heaven, just as the victims in the Psalm, even if they go on suffering now, are promised an eternal salvation in Heaven. This is why Christ prayed, “I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to the little ones”, (Mt 11:25) and why St. Paul wrote, “the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong.” (1 Cor 1:27)

Theophylact offers an even deeper, allegorical interpretation of this lesson:

That widow is the soul of man, which leaving Satan to which it had been joined, casts into the temple two mites, that is, the flesh and the mind, the flesh by abstinence, the mind by humility, that so it may be able to hear that it has cast away all its living, and has consecrated it, leaving nothing for the world of all that it possessed. (Catena Aurea)

Satan, as “the prince of this world”, (Jn 14:30) is the cause of all worldliness. He rewards those who think only in worldly terms, who prioritize the approval and esteem of men over obedience to the will of God and who value worldly power and practical worth over purity of heart and virtuous character. This is why, in this life, that which is good is hard, toilsome, time-consuming and easily ruined, whereas that which is evil is quick, easy and difficult to fix, as we all know. A human adult, whose life required unimaginable levels of complexity and risk to bring about, can be killed in an instant. A magnificent painting that took ten years to paint can be disfigured in a second.

For this reason, the saints have often lived in great poverty and persecution, while we frequently see those who publicly celebrate grave evils, even the murder of unborn children, openly blaspheme God and give little or nothing to the common good, be given celebrity status, fame, wealth and influence in the world. This should not discourage us – in fact, there is little more dangerous or cautionary than the approval of men and the comforts of worldliness, since they often indicate which master we truly serve and the fate which awaits us in eternity. Therefore, imitate the widow in her humble charity, whether you are rich or poor, clergy or lay; by doing so, you will imitate Christ. As St. Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”