The Widow’s Mites is a little story that only appears in Mark and Luke. It’s only a few verses long in both and in the same place in the same series of conversations. Things don’t always line up so perfectly when reading through the Gospels nor are they meant to. When a synchronicity shows up like this, scholars get curious: “Why is this story here? What is its role in the bigger conversation? How does it flow from and into the rest of the story?”

Before we get there, though, consider how much you give. We’re not thinking about tithing or charitable donations or about how generous we are with people. We’re asking as a whole and not about select situations. How much do you give in life, of yourself to people, of your whole to things that matter? How much do you give? How much do you hold back?

The Widow’s Scene in Context

Leading up to the widow’s story, Jesus had just addressed a bunch of issues from different groups. From taxes in this life and marriage in the next, to the notion of Messiah being a son of David, Jesus was addressing the theological questions about how his teachings challenged their beliefs.

Jesus’ last statement was, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces 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. They will receive the greater condemnation.” (Luke 20:46-47).

After all this, Jesus watched people bringing their temple offerings.

“Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, ‘Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'” (Luke 21:1-4).

A Simple Gift – Everything
She gave more because she didn’t do it the way religious people did. The widow gave more because it cost her more. It took actual faith and sacrifice – she believed what she was giving to was bigger than herself. There wasn’t pomp and circumstance, no long, drawn-out prayers, and no ulterior motive. She was poor and gave the last bit she had.

We may be tempted to embellish the story or to assume we know how it ends. Neither Mark nor Luke lets us have the pleasure. Once Jesus talks about her, she doesn’t show up again. Jesus doesn’t say that her rent will be provided, will have food the next day, or that her unspoken health condition will be healed. There is no promise. A poor widow, in that time and society, gave the last coins she had and left with no answers.

In contrast to the religious leaders who had their lives figured out, including their attire and how to get more out of giving than what they gave, this woman was living out of faith. Her gift was a gift. There were no conditions or expectations. She didn’t secretly hope God would fix something for her. She wasn’t looking for security – she gave because she had more security in giving. She believed in giving more than in holding on to the last bit for herself.

A Giving Perspective
Someone who helped me get sober gave me a widow’s mite necklace. It reminds me to give even when I don’t think I have anything to give. It reminds me to give myself as a gift and to give for the right reasons. It reminds me to give myself to things I believe in because of their worth and not mine. It reminds me that some things are worth sacrificing for because they give life to more than me. It reminds me to give when I think I have nothing else to give.

It’s easy for us to think our view of reality is real. It’s mostly perspective and reaction. Victim, scarcity, or grandeur mindsets are tempting – they’re essentially the same with different applications. If I take on those mindsets, I am unable to be fully giving since I am no longer present and available. I’ve closed myself off within my psyche. In this state, outward actions have to be filtered through the invisible barriers and lens I’ve constructed. Even good intentions come out marred.

People don’t want things – they want experiences. People want people. My kids want their father present and lovingly engaged. They want me alive and authentically me. My girlfriend loves plants and shiny rocks but she wants me. My marketing clients want more than money – they want clarity, empowerment, and hope. My greatest failure in life has been not fully giving myself to it. I missed out on so much.

The simplicity of the Widow’s story is what challenges our faith. Could we do the same thing?

Jesus Ain’t Done Yet
This may seem like a tangent, but it’s not. It’s what Mark and Luke are doing. It flows right from a measly widow’s gift. Maybe it’s dealing with a similar idea. The widow had just given to the Temple.

After Jesus’ discourses on the flaws of their religious system, one of his disciples declared how beautiful the Temple structure was. Oops. Jesus quipped back that even the Temple would one day no longer stand. His disciples immediately freak out and ask, as we all would have, “When?!”

Jesus’ answer is telling:
“See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” (Luke 21:8-9)

Jesus does not answer their question – he doesn’t say when it would happen. Jesus felt it necessary to warn his followers to be on guard against people who would. “See that you are not led astray.” He gives a “prophecy” about people making prophecies and using His name to proclaim the end times have come. Wars and tumults will happen – it’s the world. Many have come and gone since Jesus first said this. Many are happening now. There’s never been a time without some happening. If people use Jesus to incite visions of end times to distract people from the real gospel of Jesus, it’s not the gospel. John’s point in his first epistle is along the same line.

Jesus on End Time Perspectives

We can easily hear this passage from their perspective and not Jesus’. They assumed there had to be a divinely appointed time. Maybe there was. Jesus’ point was that even the Temple wouldn’t last forever. He’d said similar things about other things. The temple would one day not exist because it was a physical thing. There had already been previous temples and a tabernacle before. Jesus’ point doesn’t have to be that complicated or eschatological. Don’t put faith in a building – it can be torn down. Don’t get distracted by all the talk of end times – every generation of humanity has been fixated on it.

Jesus was aware that other people would steal His message and identity for their reasons. When people start talking like this, you know it’s not of Him. We are tempted as individuals and tribes to look at our circumstances to assume our reference frame is the Truth. It’s not – it’s a frame, a perspective. Often how we see things is what is off. It affects how we view people, ourselves, the world, and God. It governs how we give and why we don’t. It’s another image of ourselves that we are caught staring at instead of reality.

When he answered their questions, Jesus thought the temple wouldn’t be torn down immediately. He may not have been thinking of any specific time. He was thinking about the future though and times like ours. When he warned about others coming in his name, he implied generations would roll into another, his message would reach people, and some people would abuse it. Such things take time. Such things have now been happening for centuries.

When we look at those coming in his name today, who speak of the end times, and warn of his coming, can we see the fruits of Jesus? Make sure we’re not led astray – it may not be the same Jesus and there’s enough to focus on now.