In the Gospel of Mark, the Tuesday of Holy Week was an extremely full day for Jesus. Stretching from Mark 11:20 to 13:37, these Tuesday scenes describe a day in which Jesus passed the withered fig tree, entered the temple, taught and debated with priests, scribes, elders, Herodians, and Sadducees, and then left the temple to share fiery words about trials and tribulations to come.
Amid this long day of dramatic confrontations and challenging teachings, Jesus paused. He watched a poor widow put two little coins into the treasury. This was such a small amount of money that the donation seems almost pointless. These two coins were quite literally worth next to nothing.
And yet, Jesus praised this woman’s generosity and called his disciples over to consider it. Why? Yes, the widow’s mites have served as a great example of humble and faithful stewardship across the ages. Even more, her actions pointed—then and now—to Jesus’ crucifixion.
Like a penny in a treasury, what’s the value of the death of a marginally recognized religious teacher on the edge of a global empire? What’s the point of well-intentioned but failed attempts to change the world through faith, hope, and love? Very often, the answer appears to be “next to nothing.”
The cross of Christ, however, remakes and redefines our value systems. Emptiness becomes abundance. Condemnation, failure, and death are turned into acceptance, reconciliation, and newness of life. Upon those experiencing humiliation and weakness, the Holy Spirit breathes the worthiness, grace, and peace of the risen Christ.
On the Tuesday before his own journey into worthlessness and emptiness, Jesus marveled at the truth, power, and value of the poor widow and her gift. Once again on this Tuesday, he calls us over to behold and live into this gift with him.