Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary time. Year B 10th November 2024.
Lectionary Readings: 1 Kings 17 v8-16; Psalm 146; Hebrews 9 v24-28; Mark 12 v38-44.
Compassion plus ? = Justice
Mark tells a story about a poor widow who placed all she had, as a gift, into the Temple offering box. (Mark 12 v41-44).
Jesus noticed this and pointed it out to his disciples. Why? Was Jesus testing his disciples to see how they would react to this situation?
Or, was Mark challenging us, his readers, to ponder what our reaction should be to evidence of extreme poverty?
Neither Mark nor Luke (see Luke 21 v1-4) tell us what happened next. Presumably the poor widow returned home to die in a state of destitution.
It would be nice to think that Jesus or one of his disciples went after the woman to see what they could do to help her. That at least would be consistent with the nature of Jesus.
Is Mark asking us to consider the wider issue of Social Justice? To ponder what factors contributed to the woman’s poverty? Mark hints at this in the story just before this one; when Jesus tells his disciples to be on their guard against unscrupulous religious leaders who exploit the poor. (Mark 12 v38-40).
In order to complete the equation in the title of this reflection we need to replace the question mark with ‘Christian Action’, action motivated by love.
The Methodist Church launched a campaign in 2021 on the theme of Justice entitled ‘Walking with Micah: Methodist Principles for Social Justice’ led by Rachel Lampard.
When asked how God wanted his people people to worship, to respond to God’s love, Micah replies:
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6 v8) (NIV)
Mark’s challenge is just as valid today as it was in the first century. Widows and orphans are still waiting for justice.
Fred Kaan writes about our need of God’s help in the quest for justice in his hymn ‘For the healing of the nations’. (Singing the Faith 696 v1).
For the healing of the nations, Lord, we pray with one accord;
for a just and equal sharing of the things that earth affords.
To a life of love in action help us rise and pledge our word.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version.