Sharing

Is it bad to take pride in what we do?

Then he said to them, “How can they say that the Messiah is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ David thus calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?” In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.” - Luke 20:41-21:4

Jesus warned his disciples not to be like the scribes who walk around in long robes, seeking respect for their position in society.

But it is not just the fact that they claim the best seats and put themselves above others that bothers Jesus.  He accuses them of stealing form the poor, taking from the treasury for their own benefit, leaving the widows and orphans to starve.

This is serious stuff.

If we keep our focus on the scribes who violate their positions of power, we might miss an important lesson for ourselves.  So, Jesus shifts our attention to the treasury box, where rich and poor alike come to give for others.

Those who have the least, he says, give the most, for the percentage of their livelihood they offer as a gift, is great.

But there is something going on here that I think is far more sinister.  The widow gives everything she has, a sign that she has given up.  

Perhaps, she may be thinking, another like me will be able to benefit from this meager amount, but my life is over.

Jesus wants us to see that it is the scribes, those responsible for helping the widows and orphans who are to blame for her decision to quit life and die.

They are supposed to be helping and instead they are parading around as though they are more important.

There is a lot of talk these days about the rich and how they need to pay their fair share.  How much is that?

I believe it should be a personal matter for each of us to determine the amount we share.  If it is just taken from us, we do not get to make the sacrifice, and so, we don't help out of love, but out of responsibility.

That's not the same, is it?

Imagine you are a child in a school cafeteria, and you have a sandwich but the student next to you forgot his lunch.  What do you do?

Chances are, you offer half of yours, and maybe another child shares his dessert, and another shares her milk.

How does the child who forgot his lunch feel?

How do the ones who shared feel?

Now if a teacher had come along and told you to share, the feeling wouldn't be the same, would it?

Jesus wants us to be like the children.  They do what they do out of compassion, asking themselves, what would I want someone to do for me?

Maybe we should ask the same question.

More to come...