Lent Exercises: Give - Competing Perspectives on Value

This week the US Senate is in confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.  Her story is inspiring.  The daughter of schoolteachers Ketanji discovered an aptitude for learning and for oratory when she was still in high school.  She attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School and served in a number of judiciaries.  She is poised to become the first black woman in to serve on the supreme court.  

There’s something so American about Ketanji Brown Jackson’s story.  On one hand it’s a story of opportunity, of breaking through institutional barriers through diligence and hard work.  It’s a story of transcending the limitations imposed by racial assignment, gender, and class.  On the other hand, her story is also a marker of the institutional barriers we don’t like to talk about.  

As I reflect on the American-ness of this story, I’m struck by what happens inside me.  I too believe the American mythology.  I believe success is just around the corner if I really am willing to work hard enough.  I believe there is some hidden genius within if I’m just diligent enough to cultivate it.  I believe I can breakthrough to the “good life,” if only…. 

The way of Jesus invites me into a different story.  In today’s reading (Mark 12:41-44), Jesus sits by the treasury of the temple watching people bring gifts.  Jesus watches as rich people offer large sums as a part of their worship.  These donors are the elites of Judean society.  They are the patrons, decision makers, influencers, and leaders.  They are the people that people like me aspire to be like.  

Jesus doesn’t disparage their offerings.  Instead, he notices a poor widow.  No one would have noticed her or her offering.  Her two small coins together weren’t worth very much.  But Jesus points to her offering as more than all the others.  From Jesus’ perspective the value of one’s contribution isn’t determined by how big it is in the eyes of the world.   

I wonder what the widow thought as she brought her offering.  Did she think her little gift wouldn’t make any difference?  Did she feel, in her body, the cost of the daily bread her gift was going to cost her?  Did she look at the rich patrons making gifts and think, “it must be nice,”?  Did she dream about how her life might have been different, or whether she might still be able to marry and change her status? 

For all its strengths, the American story values the powerful and wealthy.  Our value is tied to our ‘success’.  Jesus’ story is different.  He applauds the barely visible acts of the ignored, foolish, and marginalized.  This is good news for the vast majority of us who’s stories will never make headlines.  Your small acts of generosity, service, or contribution matters way more than you think.  As mother Theresa used to say, “we all want to do great things, but we are called to do small things with great love.”  

How might you do a small thing with great love today?