“WHAT
HAPPENS OUT THERE MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN HERE, AND VICE VERSA”
(Homily text: Mark
12: 38 - 44)
What happens out there (in the
world), makes a difference in here (in the household of God)….what happens in
here (among God’s people), makes a difference out there (in our actions and in
the world)….
In today’s gospel reading, we come
upon the scene as Jesus is sitting in the temple in Jerusalem. He has already made His triumphal entry into
the Holy City earlier in the week. Since
that time, His various adversaries, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Scribes
and the elders, have all come to pose questions to Him, seeking to trip Him up
so as to be able to bring charges against Him.
He has bested all His foes, so that Mark is able to tell us that “no one
dared to ask him any question” (12: 34).
Now, sitting across from the
treasury, He watches as various people come by. Some are dropping coins into
the thirteen different metal, trumpet-shaped containers that ancient documents
tell us were in use in the temple to receive the offerings of the people. Metal coins hit the metal receptacles, and
Jesus is able to hear the resulting sounds, so He knows what people are
contributing. No doubt He is also able
to see the coins as they make their way into the throats of the different
containers, each one set aside for a separate purpose.
Among the passersby are some scribes. Since Jesus makes some comments about scribes
in general, we need to remind ourselves about this group and their function in
ancient Judaism….the scribes, as their name implies, were able to write (and to
read). Armed with this ability, they
functioned as lawyers and as theologians, interpreting the Law of Moses and
drafting legal documents.
It is in their legal function that
Jesus makes a remark that exposes the disconnection between the scribes outward
appearance and their behavior…Jesus says that they are corrupt, taking away the
assets of defenseless widows through their legal abilities, possibly by
crafting documents that, instead of protecting the widows, actually takes away
their property.
As we look at Jesus’ description of
these prominent men, it becomes clear that their focus is entirely on
themselves….notice what Jesus says:
“They like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the
market places, and the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at
feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers.”
As we look at this behavior, we
could remark in response: “What happens
in here (in their walk with God) is supposed to make a difference out there (in
their actions).”
The “out there” of this statement
encompasses all of our behaviors and attitudes.
The “in here” refers to God’s presence and God’s demand for holiness and
integrity of life.
The actions that Jesus is describing
serve to make the scribes the center of attention….their distinctive dress
marks them apart from others in society, while their places in the synagogues
and banquets make them visible to everyone else gathered. There is no connection between the scribes’
actions and attitudes, and God’s demands for holiness of life. There is no integrity between everyday life
and life in God.
While the scribes are going about
making themselves the focus of attention, a poor widow woman enters, dropping
her two copper coins into the metal collection box. She has now given all that she had to God,
everything, as Mark tells us, that she had to live on. Her entire focus seems to be in God’s
direction, for she has cast her last means of support into the treasury for the
support of God’s presence among the people.
“What happens in here makes a
difference out there.”
Indeed. The widow’s outward actions tell us that she
is being faithful to God, even to the last bit of treasure she had.
Life lived in God’s sight and life
lived with God’s guidance is supposed to change our narcissistic ways. God’s call demands that the focus of human
attention be directed toward God and toward others. We affirm this reality by beginning our Holy
Communion service with a recitation of what is known liturgically as the
Summary of the Law: “Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto
it: Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.”
The widow woman gives until there is nothing more to give. Her future now rests in God’s hands, and in the hands of God’s people who are commanded by the Law of Moses to care for the widow and the orphan. Alas, it seems unlikely that the scribes will remember that part of the Law to come to her aid, given their self-absorbed ways.
The human condition that today’s
gospel describes hasn’t changed all that much….many of those who claim to be
God’s children continue to engage in attitudes and behaviors that deny the
power of God to change lives and the call of God to amendment of life. At the root of many such attitudes and
behaviors lies a narcissistic, self-centered focus on the individual. Such attitudes are often learned in the
secular world around us, and are imported, intact, into the hearts of the
people of God. God’s call to love Him
above all else, and to love our neighbors as ourselves, will find little room
in the hearts and minds of those whose eyesight is so nearsighted.
Amendment of life begins by
realizing that “what happens in here (in the house of God) is supposed to make a
difference out there (in the world).”
God’s call is to holiness of life,
and to such an integrity of life that our interior attitudes are matched by our
exterior actions.
Today’s gospel call serves as our
call to action, our call to a different way of being, thinking, and doing.
May God’s Holy Spirit enable us to
hear that call.
AMEN.
