A Walkin' Contradiction, Partly Truth and Partly Fiction
- davidwperk
- Dec 6, 2024
- 7 min read
Devotional Reflection, Friday, December 6, 2024
The week of the first Sunday in Advent
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:
45In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, 46'Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. 47They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.'
He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; 2he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3He said, 'Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.'
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 936)
AM Psalm 16, 17; PM Psalm 22
Isa. 3:8-15; 1 Thess. 4:1-12; Luke 20:41-21:4
Today we celebrate the Feast of Nicholas of Myra. (See below.)
David's Reflections
Kris Kristofferson could have written his song “The Pilgrim” about the scribes and Pharisees in today’s reading. The chorus goes like this.
He's a poet, oh, he's a picker, he's a prophet, he's a pusher
He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned
He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth, partly fiction
Takin' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home.+
The author of Luke’s Gospel was the master of contrasts. He structured his narratives throughout with contrasting and related episodes juxtaposed. Here, we have a prophetic oracle of Jesus condemning the greed of some of the devoutly religious who were unscrupulous in their treatment of the powerless, especially widows. That oracle comes just before a devout widow gives her last coins to the Temple treasury. Religious insincerity and lack of integrity stand in strong relief over against the widow's devotion and sacrifice. They were walking contradictions, partly truth and partly fiction.
Jesus condemned the religious leaders for practicing their religious devotion to gain recognition and public acclaim. He condemned them for making long public prayers while oppressing and exploiting widows. Widows were especially powerless; there were few honorable professions for them and they had little or no recourse in the courts (See Luke 18:1-8). We are not told exactly how Jesus’ adversaries were exploiting widows. Perhaps they were accepting exorbitant fees for their services, which was forbidden. Or, perhaps they were foreclosing on houses put up as pledge on loans made by the husbands, loans which the widows could not repay.
The scribes' root lack of integrity lies at the heart of Jesus' condemnation. The God of Israel sets free the oppressed and resists the oppressors. The Moses narratives and the story of the Exodus were graphic reminders of God's nature as redeemer/deliverer of the powerless, and these passages were well-known to the scribes. No person who claimed to worship this God could oppress the poor and powerless and be rightly related to a God for whom redemption and deliverance define that God’s essence.
The contrast between the scribes and the widow could not be more stark. Their attention-getting, ostentatious style of life and their grasping, exploitive greed bear no resemblance to her radical giving. She only had two lepta in her possession. The lepton was a tiny copper coin, the smallest coin in circulation in Palestine. Her devotion to God and her faith that God would care for her needs set her free to give radically.
The wealthy who stood in the same line gave large gifts out of their abundance. Their giving represented no sacrifice, nor did it require faith that God would care for them. They had plenty left over to care for their needs. But, this widow believed in God. Hence, her freedom to give all she had, which Jesus said was more than the larger financial gifts of the well-to-do.
Her self-giving and faith remind us of Jesus’ self giving. In his life and death, Jesus gave himself to us and for us without reserve. That self giving love continues to express itself to and for all people. Jesus’ self giving reveals and expresses the self giving of God. If I have faith in that God and relate personally to that God, I will be incapable of oppressing and exploiting the poor and powerless without undermining that relationship. Otherwise, I would be in league with the spirit of the king of Egypt who turned the Hebrews into slave labor and opposed to the purpose of the God who sent Moses to free them.
What a stark reminder of the inconsistencies the human spirit can entertain! The incongruity that existed between the scribes' religious practice and their mistreatment of the widows finds its parallel in the incongruities in our lives. I remember vividly my pastor during my high school years in Louisiana advocating segregation of the races while preaching the Gospel of a God who shows no respect of persons (In his later years, he reversed himself in this area and became an advocate for racial justice.).
God's love transforms us from self seeking to self giving creatures, but that transformation remains a work in progress. We can ill afford a smug sense of superiority to the scribes. Better to make war on our inconsistencies than to be “a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction.”
One more observation--our financial faithfulness to God cannot be measured by how large the gift might be; rather, our giving can be more accurately measured in terms of what we have left after giving. The Scriptures do not teach equal giving but equal sacrifice (See 2 Corinthians 8-9).
+Kris Kristofferson
Collect of the Day, The First Sunday of Advent
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 211)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Nicholas of Myra, patron saint of children, giver of gifts (died 6 Dec 326 CE, uncertain).
Collect of the Feast of Nicholas of Myra
Grant, Almighty God, that your church may be so inspired by the example of your servant Nicholas of Myra, that it may never cease to work for the welfare of children, the safety of sailors, the relief of the poor, and the help of those tossed by tempests of doubt or grief; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for Fridays
Lord Jesus Christ, by your death you took away the sting of death: Grant to us your servants so to follow in faith where you have led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness; for your tender mercies' sake. Amen. (BCP, 123)
In the Order of Worship for Evening
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)
A Collect for Mission
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 280)
The Daily Office Gospel Luke 20:41-21:4
41Then he said to them, 'How can they say that the Messiah is David's son? 42For David himself says in the book of Psalms, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, 43until I make your enemies your footstool.'" 44David thus calls him Lord; so how can he be his son?' 45In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, 46'Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. 47They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.'
He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; 2he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3He said, 'Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.'
Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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