Tag Archives: widow

Truth!

Bible Study, , ,

TRUTH!

“All who were there, watching and listening, were surprised at how well He spoke. But they also said, ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son, the one we’ve known since He was a youngster?’

“He answered, ‘I suppose you’re going to quote the proverb, “Doctor, go heal yourself.” Do here in your hometown what we heard you did in Capernaum. Well, let me tell you something: No prophet is ever welcomed in his hometown. Isn’t it a fact that there were many widows in Israel at the time of Elijah during those three and a half years of drought when famine devastated the land, but the only widow to whom Elijah was sent was in Sarepta in Sidon? And there were many lepers in Israel at the time of the prophet Elisha but the only one cleansed was Naaman the Syrian.’  Luke 4:22-27 (The Message).

‘Hey Jesus! Aren’t you treading on thin ice? That’s not the way to win friends and influence people!’

What was He thinking? Was that the way to cash in on His popularity? Why antagonise the people of His own hometown when He had the opportunity to gain a strong following from the ones who already knew Him?

But Jesus was not interested in popularity. He was continually sifting people’s hearts —   looking for followers who would stick with Him through thick and thin because they believed in Him and were convinced that He was the Son of God. He purposely said things to offend, not to be offensive but to expose their reactions.

He knew that “familiarity breeds contempt”. Because He was so well known to them, they would not examine the evidence but write Him off because He was “just a village kid.” They knew His parents and there was nothing special about them.

But there was an even deeper offense that Jesus raised in His examples — Gentiles! This was always a flashpoint for them. It was the Gentiles who had been their undoing throughout their history — they were surrounded by them and they persistently followed their ways and their gods. They had failed to extirminate the Canaanites from the Promised Land. God had warned them that, if they did not, they would be a “thorn in their sides” and they were.

It was the Gentiles who were causing their suffering now, and any mention of them, and especially God’s kindness to them, was like a red rag to a bull. Jonah’s bad experience came from his effort to escape from having to take a message to Nineveh that he knew would result in God’s mercy to THEM if they repented and he was not prepared for that! The people of Nazareth were just like Jonah.

“That set everyone in the meeting place seething with anger. They threw Him out, banishing Him from the village, then took Him to a mountain cliff at the edge of the village to throw Him to His doom, but He gave them the slip and was on His way.” Luke 4:28-30 (The Message).

That didn’t turn out very well, did it? Out on His ear the first time He preached at home. Where did it all go wrong? His fellow-villagers were so blinded by familiarity that they were not prepared to examine the evidence. And they were not the only ones. Wherever He went, there were those who rejected Him because they believed they were right.

It’s this arrogant assumption that we are right that robs us of the wonder of exploring, evaluating and embracing truth wherever we find it. Jesus kept saying, “Look at the evidence,” and His opponents kept insisting, “You are wrong; we are right!” And they killed Him because they believed they were right.

When He walked out of the tomb, who had egg on their faces?

Whose Perspective Counts?

Christian Life, , , , ,

WHOSE PERSPECTIVE COUNTS?

“Just then He looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection plate. Then He saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, ‘The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these others made offerings that they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford — she gave her all.'” Luke 21:1-4 (The Message).

He noticed! Isn’t that just like God?

I don’t think Jesus was sitting near the temple treasury specifically watching and judging people as they dropped in their offerings. He just happened to notice an obviously poor woman, mingling with the rich people, giving her gift as they put their offerings in the collection box.

Why did she stand out among the crowd? Did her threadbare clothing give her away? Was she wearing widow’s garb? The wealthy people would have dressed accordingly, and she would not have blended in with them. Perhaps she attracted Jesus’ attention because His heart was always for the underdog.

In the Sermon on the Mount, He has spoken out against the practice of the ‘hypocrites’ who gave their money in such a way that they wanted to attract attention to their ‘generosity’. The collection boxes were trumpet-shaped containers which prevented would-be thieves from helping themselves because the base was too narrow to get their hands in. If a person wanted to be noticed, he would toss his coins into the funnel so that it would make a ringing sound, hence the saying, ‘Don’t blow your own trumpet.’

Amid the ostentation of the rich, this poor widow slipped in and unobtrusively dropped in her two small coins, the smallest denomination in their currency. And Jesus noticed! Once again His comment puts our ‘generosity’ into God’s perspective which differs so much from our own. He noticed, not how much she gave, but how much she had left.

Of course, that should not put us on a guilt trip. God is realistic. He does not expect us to give our entire livelihood away. What would be the point of that? But He does hold us accountable as stewards of what He has entrusted to us. The difference between the attitude of God’s people and the people who refuse to acknowledge Him should be, but is not always, that we are guided by God’s requirements and not by greed. He gives generously so that we will share our resources with others.

The first thought that comes to me is that this widow’s generosity was prompted by her identity with poor people. As a widow, if she had no family to support her, she was dependent on the generosity of others. She knew what it felt like to depend on others for her livelihood. She also knew what it was like to have nothing. Her two little coins were not much, but it was all she had to share with others.

Secondly, to give all she had meant that she had faith in God to supply her need, risking, everything on the faithfulness of God. That introduces another dimension to our responsibility to obey God — faith, which is spelt r-i-s-k. It is not difficult to take faith-risks in other areas of our lives but in the money category…that’s different!

This little woman caught Jesus’ attention because her action lined right up with God’s perspective. He did not see her as a poor nobody because of her appearance or her station in life. He saw her as great in God’s kingdom because she understood, believed and put into practice God’s will, and God always responds to obedience.

God works, not by giving to us according to our need but by meeting our need when we take care of the needs of others. When we give, we create a current that brings God’s supply to us through the generosity of the others. That’s God’s wisdom!!