[Jesus] 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.”New Revised Standard Version
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Measuring loss
If the rich and the destitute lose all their material possessions, whose loss is greater?
I’m asking the question because of recent remarks by Barbara Bush (noted here, here, and here) about displaced people from New Orleans being sheltered in Texas. She seems to be clueless as to what it’s like to walk in those shoes, with the apparent conclusion that if one loses what little one has, the loss is little.
I think of “The Widow’s Offering,” from Mark 12:41-44:
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5 comments:
what's worse is she seems to think that not only is the loss little if you're poor, it's actually a GAIN because you get to go to the Astrodome. How anyone in their right mind could think such a thing is beyond me.
Forget the politics....nuisance at best.
Focus within.
What do you personally do about the money issue?
I don't do much...because that's not what God's talking with me about.
No pressure.
Not in / from any quarter.
No norms, rigid parameters or "ought to".
YES to life in Christ within beyond all the crap that stops us moving into who we can really BE before we try and DO.
I swear I could hear, "Let them eat cake."
I think clueless is the operative word.
I think that Lutheranchik is right, clueless is the term. Barbara Bush has never been in those shoes and will never be there. She has a safety net like so many of us do.
Most of us will never know what poverty is really like. It's a foreign world to us. However, I do believe there is something that does transcend, and compassion is the key element. If any true good has come out of Katrina, it's the acts of compassion and love that has demonstrated.
Cathy
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