The story of the widow's mite is not what you think

 In Luke 21 we come across a brief story about a widow’s offering.

“As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.

I’ve read and heard this story many times in my life and it has often been read as a story about how it’s not the amount of money in the offering that’s important, but the level of generosity. This widow showed great generosity by putting in all she had. From this perspective, we should all follow the example of the widow and give sacrificially, just like she did.

But there’s a few details in the story that suggest that this is not the meaning of the passage at all. 

Firstly, in the passage immediately prior to this story, Jesus says to his disciples,

“Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Secondly, the text immediately after the widow’s story is the following,

“Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

So the story of the widow giving her offering at the temple is placed between two texts. In the first, Jesus is warning against those religious leaders who “devour widow’s houses”. In the second, Jesus says that this temple and its system will be torn down. 

The third thing to observe in the story itself is that Jesus does not actually encourage his disciples (or anyone) to follow the example of the widow. Rather, he says that out of her poverty, she had “put in all she had to live on.” In the first century, a widow was vulnerable and at risk in a society structured in such a way that the wellbeing and financial security of women was often reliant on their husband or other men. This vulnerable woman, whose husband had died and was living in poverty, had been pressured by a manipulative religious system to put in the little that she had, leaving her destitute and with nothing left.

This story is included, not to encourage us to emulate the widow, but to condemn any system (especially religious ones) that takes advantage of those who are vulnerable rather than caring for them. Jesus pronounces a judgement on that kind of system, and says that it should be (and will be) torn down.

What does this mean for us now?

In a time of global anxiety, of economic uncertainty and with many struggling to figure out what the future looks like, we are challenged in stories like this to be the kind of community that gathers around, supports and resources those who are in need. What could it mean to be a community that embraces this way of being? What does it mean for those of us with plenty to spare? What does it mean for those of us who are struggling to get by and to make it? How do we care for each other, both in our church communities and in our wider society, rather than take advantage of others for our own gain?

Michael Frost