I imagine upon reading the Gospel of Mark
the unnamed disciple was glad he remained anonymous. Only moments before the
disciple exclaimed “Look teacher!” Jesus had elevated an invisible widow and
two small copper coins above the offerings of excess from those who, like large
stone buildings, made themselves hard to ignore. Of course we too are enamored
by an impressive edifice of flesh or stone, more often than not our own. But
the temple was more than just an extraordinary piece of architecture. In the
mind of the people it was the only place where heaven and earth met, where the
Holy consecrated the profane, where the presence of God hidden behind a curtain
kept watch over Israel. The temple had become more important to the faith than
the One it was built to house and so Jesus directed the disciple to look more
closely. Do you see…? God does not dwell in a house made by human hands but in
the heart of a widow. It is a word for those who might be impressed by stone
structures of denominations or distressed at their possible demise. Do you
see…? It applies to the beginnings of the birth pangs as well, which might
indeed be cause for alarm but for the promise at the end of this chapter
“heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not.” Do you see…? It is a
question for all who are alarmed by personal conflicts within and without, by
divisions, by everyday disruptions that make one hunger for something stable
and trustworthy. Do you see…? It is in this different way of seeing that God is
found for when all appeared lost for Jesus all in fact was won. “My God, my God
why have you forsaken me?” is the prelude to “It is finished” in the same way
that the birth pangs, as alarming as they may be, anticipate the advent of
something new. Do you see?
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