The nature of leadership in the service of God

THE TRAGEDY of Jesus' death is approaching now, as Mark's gospel hurries to its close, and in today's story we encounter two of the elements in that tragedy: the mass enthusiasm of the crowds, and the hostility of Jesus towards the religious establishment, here described as "scribes".
The episode opens with the crowd: "and the majority of the crowd listened to him gladly", and Mark goes straight on to indicate what it was that so delighted them. It turns out to be fairly anarchic stuff: "steer clear of the scribes who want to prance around in prayershawls".
It must be said that the scribes, those with the precious gift of literacy who could therefore consult Holy Writ and make a judgement on points of law, were by no means all bad; but Jesus was always implacable against anything that looked like a lust for power in religious leaders.
He expected them to be motivated solely by a desire to serve, but instead sees an enthusiasm for protocol and 1 Kings 17:10-16 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44
32nd Sunday of the Year position: "they want greetings in public places, the best pews in church, and places at the top table at dinner-parties".
It does not really matter that the accusations are or may be unfair when applied to scribes; for Jesus, what is at issue is the nature of leadership in the service of God.
And certainly anything like injustice or oppression is completely out of the question: "those who devour widows' houses and make long prayers for show, will receive a more abundant condemnation".
Possibly because of the mention of widows, Mark now relates as an incident that happened to Jesus the story of the widow's mite, which may, in the view of some scholars, originally have been a parable told by him. Whichever of these is the case, is a beautiful tale, and we must be grateful to Mark for relating it.
The story concerns the contrast between the rich who put great sums into "the treasury" (we do not know, and need not ask, what this treasury was), and the widow, who puts in a contemptibly small sum.
If we think of it as a parable that Jesus told, it makes it easier to understand how he knew what she had given. "Amen 1 say to you, this widow put the most of all who contributed to the treasury".
And the reason is a striking one, and reminds us powerfully of the religious figures mentioned earlier in the passage: "for they all gave from their abundance".
The widow, on the other hand, on the margins of society, is in a position of dire necessity; and her gift, the gift that God .aIways demands of us, is nothing less than everything: "she, from her lack, gave everything that she had".
Suddenly we remember that in a very short space the same religious establishment is going to confront Jesus, and his loving obedience to his father's will is going to mean that, like the widow, he gives everything he has. Including his life.