Our Scripture meditation is based on Mark 12:41–44, an account from next week’s Gospel Reading.
[41] And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. [42] And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. [43] And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. [44] For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
It is no surprise that worldly people would see the wealthy offerings superior to the widow’s pittance. Through the eyes of faith, we see the greater value of the widow’s sacrifice. But Jesus is not only making this observation. His life mirrored what he witnessed outside the treasury.
When Jesus was born, the Magi looked for him in the King’s household in Jerusalem. Yet at birth Jesus could be found in a stable, his mother the wife of a carpenter.
When Jesus made the Triumphant Entry (Matthew 21:1-11) at the start of the Passover, worldly people would have expected him receive a crown in Jerusalem. Instead, Jesus was proclaimed “King of the Jews” on an inscription nailed to his cross.
The reason worldly people and the people of God see the world differently is explained in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15:
[14] The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. [15] The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.
Thanks be to God for providing us with spiritual insight and knowledge, especially about Jesus.
Kevin Wilson 360 