A Different Angle for Perspective

Jesus' observations in Mark continue to challenge first sight.

This closing section of Mark 12 gives us three short scenes — each one a disruption of religious assumptions.

First, Jesus questions an apparently commonly-held belief that the Messiah would be merely “David’s son.” While that idea comes from Scripture, Jesus points out that David himself speaks of the Messiah as his Lord. In doing so, Jesus invites people to think bigger. The Messiah won’t just restore a throne — he’ll redefine kingship entirely.

Then, Jesus takes aim at the religious elite. The scribes may look impressive — long robes, high status, front-row seats. But Jesus sees through the performance. Their self-centeredness, especially their exploitation of vulnerable people, is damning. (And that really is the biggest travesty on the list - the robes are one thing, but just clothing. Cheating widows is another level of evil.) Prestige in God’s kingdom isn’t about appearance. It’s about justice.

And finally, Jesus notices one of those widows, a woman whose two coins are all she has to live on. No one else sees her. But Jesus does — and says she gave more than anyone.

Jesus is helping us see beyond the obvious or the humanly-calcified presumption, to invite us into a larger view of reality (his), to lift up those the world too often overlooks.

Mark 12:35-44

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “Why do the legal experts say that the Christ is David’s son? David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said, The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right side until I turn your enemies into your footstool.’ David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ so how can he be David’s son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.

As he was teaching, he said, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets. They long for places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off they say long prayers. They will be judged most harshly.”

Jesus sat across from the collection box for the temple treasury and observed how the crowd gave their money. Many rich people were throwing in lots of money. One poor widow came forward and put in two small copper coins worth a penny. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I assure you that this poor widow has put in more than everyone who’s been putting money in the treasury. All of them are giving out of their spare change. But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had, even what she needed to live on.”

Psalm 146:7-9

God…who gives justice to people who are oppressed, who gives bread to people who are starving!
The Lord: who frees prisoners.
The Lord: who makes the blind see.
The Lord: who straightens up those who are bent low.
The Lord: who loves the righteous.
The Lord: who protects immigrants, who helps orphans and widows, but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn!

Prayer

God,

You see beyond the surface. Where others are impressed, you are discerning. Where others overlook, you notice. Where others exploit, you defend. Thank you for being a God who lifts the lowly, confronts injustice, and receives the quiet offerings of those who give all they have.

Teach me to see as you see. Challenge what I think I know. Interrupt the patterns I’ve inherited that keep me from your justice. Let me not be swayed by appearance, but formed by truth. And like the widow, may I live with courage and trust, even when my offering feels small.

Holy Father of all creation:
I see your loving justice in Jesus of Nazareth.
By your Spirit & in Christ, make me more like him.

Amen.