Do Not Be Dismayed
By: Rev. Christina Miller
Author L.R. Knost writes: “Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break and all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you."
This last week has brought up a lot of emotions for us following the election, ranging from celebration and relief, to grief and fear. These polarities are indicative of the divisions that have existed among us for a long time. They bring to light the brokenness of the systems we are a part of. In these times of stress it can be difficult to see a way forward, but what if when we gather together all of our daily acts of love and the light that we are each bearing, it really is powerful enough to mend the brokenness in our world? As the writer of Song of Songs says: “Love is as strong as death. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.”
I think our Gospel reading speaks to this idea of illuminating unjust systems, so that we can choose a different way that is based on the heart of the commandments: to love our neighbors as ourselves. So, let’s take a look. Jesus is at the Temple with his disciples where we overhear him saying, “Beware of the Scribes.” The Greek word for “beware” means to see or perceive, to discern, or contemplate. So, I don’t think Jesus is saying, “Stay away from these scary bad people!” I think he is saying, look more closely at what is really going on here.
Scribes were members of a religious class of people who had extensive knowledge about Israel’s law and could draft legal documents and contracts, determining things like who got inheritances, or was allowed to marry, or buy land. Jesus is showing his disciples that these Scribes are more concerned about all of their privileges than about using their role and power to care for people in need. Instead of helping to secure widows’ homes, when women had few rights to begin with, he says that they devour them, selling off their land and houses. While these Scribes appear very pious with their long robes and long prayers, they are not aligned to God’s intention for the sacred community of Israel that went all the way back to the commandments given to Moses, when God put in place laws and systems to help protect the vulnerable, and ways to ensure everyone was taken care of; that no one was exploited or left behind.
Jesus is pointing out a discrepancy between the heart of the law and how it is being carried out. Not to create more of a division between the Scribes and his disciples, but to illuminate the brokenness of their system, so they can return to loving their neighbor as themselves. Not just in the time of Moses and their forebears, but in the world that they are currently in.
Jesus next turns their attention to a poor widow who puts two small copper coins, only worth a penny, into the Temple’s Treasury to pay the Temple tax. The Temple tax was a a small flat fee given for the Temple’s maintenance. While other taxes varied based on people’s age or gender or landowning status, the Temple tax was the same for everyone, because it was said that everyone could afford it, even the very poor. The tax was two Roman denarii, which was the equivalent to two days’ wages of work. But this widow puts in two small coins that are only a fraction of this amount, because it is all she has to give. Yet, Jesus tells his disciples that this widow has contributed more than anyone else, because others contributed out of their abundance, while she gave out of her poverty, putting in everything she had to live on.
In the past, I thought that Jesus was praising this woman, setting her apart as an example to follow. I felt challenged to give more generously and to not put my trust in my own financial security but in God. Today, I am reading this differently. I don’t hear Jesus praising her for giving away the little money she has to live on. Instead, I hear him pointing out a gross injustice and in doing so, raising hard questions. Such as: Why does this poor widow have to give away all the money she has, when it puts her very survival at risk? What rights does this poor widow have to begin with…isn’t she a vulnerable member of their society like those the laws were supposed to protect?
Jesus isn’t praising the poor widow’s virtue, he is calling to account people like the Scribes who instead of challenging this broken system are participating in it and saying it is fair, while not even noticing the suffering they are causing. This system isn’t good for anyone. It is taking away some of their humanity—whether it is through the Scribe’s being inflated with ego and greed, or the widow being diminished by poverty. Spiritually speaking, no one is benefiting.
In helping his disciples see more clearly the systems they are a part of, and how these systems are impacting both the elite and those without any privileges, the disciples can find a different way forward. They can humbly find ways to love this poor widow, and others like her, as their neighbor, and they can be aware of the snares of ego and power that can so easily entrap any one of us, and perhaps even have compassion on their oppressors.
In our post election moment, many of us are looking for a different way forward. A way that can bridge the gaps we are experiencing and bring unity. We are longing to mend the brokenness in our world. But where do we start?
Some of you may know that in addition to being Priest Associate at St Andrew’s, I am the Chaplain at Christ Church Day School, an elementary school in Coronado. This last week I got to teach the Godly Play story on Mother Teresa. We learned about how she cared for the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, and how she also worked for peace and won the Noble Peace of Prize. Mtr Teresa said, “If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends, you talk to your enemies.” She also said, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
A couple students said they could follow her example by helping someone who is hurt, or doing their chores at home. One of my younger students said they could give someone a hug. Another student summarized our lesson saying that all the little things we do add up to make a big difference. This is our calling right now: To find and do the small things that make a big difference. To put all of our energy into loving our neighbors as ourselves and into making our own light shine brighter, so that our presence in the world can bring healing, and so that we can all see more clearly what is really going on.
So, “Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break and all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”
