The Widow and the Cross
As he taught, he
said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and
to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the
best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows' houses and
for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater
condemnation."
He sat down opposite the
treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich
people put in large sums. A poor widow
came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and
said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all
those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them
have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in
everything she had, all she had to live on."
-- Mark 12:38-44
Not a black
spider with red hourglass on her back
Not a
hairline peak on a combed-back forehead
Not a walk
on the rooftop in wartime waiting
She, a woman
intimate with grief’s grip on her throat
She, a woman
befriending fear like the neighbor’s cat
She, a woman
weak like candle smoke in men’s windy ways
Yet, Jesus
points his unmanicured finger her way, not theirs
Yet, Jesus
extrapolates her silent penny to God, not their flapping bills and lips
Yet, Jesus notices her aloud, the mimetic mirror of his own complete giving
Not an
Easter bun with sweet drizzled icing
Not a verb
for getting to the other side of the street
Not an
ornament for church or neck or ring
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