Giving (1)

As I was reading recently in Matthew, I was surprised to see the way in which David Stern (Complete Jewish Bible) had added some detail to the context of a familiar passage. In Matthew 6 starting at verse 19, he divides the paragraphs slightly differently than many other translations putting together verses 19–24. Thus he draws together the concept of where our treasure is with our ‘eyes’. Verse 19 reads,

“’The eye is the lamp of the body’. So if you have a ‘good eye’ [that is, if you are generous] your whole body will be full of light; but if you have an ‘evil eye’ [if you are stingy] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.”

I had never connected those two ideas together before but decided that perhaps it merited further investigation.

I was familiar with Luke 6:38 which speaks of our need and responsibility to be giving people and the extraordinary way in which God promises to respond to that giving – “full measure, compacted, shaken together and overflowing will be put right in your lap …”

I was also familiar with Jesus reflection and observation of the episode in the Temple area where the offering box was kept. Here we are told that Jesus sat down and watched as the retinue of worshippers dropped their offerings into the boxes. Yes, the rich gave their large sums! But along comes a widow who places two small coins into the box and becomes the instigation for an object lesson for the disciples. “Yes, I tell you, this poor widow has put more in the offering box than all the others making donations.”

Did I read that correctly? “… than all the others making donations …”. Impossible we react – how can that be? But here we begin to see that Christianity in its purest and biblical sense has a different way of reckoning than we are used to in our economy driven cultures. Jesus goes on to explain His perspective:

“For all of them, out of their wealth, have contributed money they can easily spare; but she out of her poverty, has given everything she had to live on.”

Things are becoming clearer, but I am not sure that I like what I see. Perhaps Stern is right in that our ‘eye’ and our ‘wealth’ are more closely associated than we want to believe.

[To be continued.]