Holy Week 2022 Day 1: Luke 21

Day 1: Luke 21

Luke 21 is a patchwork of stories that take us through, but I found that the stories that bookend the chapter really shed light on the rest of the passage. 

First, we see the poor widow who offered all she had. There’s a lot to unpack here— obviously, are we willing to give up all that we have, even if it’s little?— but for me, it doesn’t seem like it’s just about giving up our money. This passage is about putting your trust in Jesus. 

Let’s say that your parents have decided that they were gonna get you a new phone. In order to do that, you would have to give up the phone you have and give it into them. In other words, you would have to be without it for a few hours or even a whole day. But when our parents ask for the phone, we’re not thinking of what we lack. We sit, clicking our heels together and swinging our legs in the back seat, because we know that there’s something better that’s coming, just because they said so.

All my life, I wondered about this widow. How would she go grocery shopping if she puts in all she had into the offering basket? Yes, it’s a moment of great sacrifice, but what happens to her right afterward? How would she, well, live, especially without anyone to lean on?

The only way for her to be able to give up all the money she has in that moment is in trust that, if she needed money, He would continue to provide for her, just as He always has. In order to give everything like that, she would have to focus less on what she gave up; her attention would have to be on what God would provide for her. 

And then there’s the fact that she was alone. So often, we have or give our things and our money away in the presence of others. Others’ evaluations of these transactions tend to define or validate the way we feel about them. As communal creatures, it’s only human nature, really. But this widow, also a communal creature, was not conscious of other, well, humans. She was more conscious of what God was going to do and think. His presence, his existence, and his providence was more real than her surroundings, community, or circumstances. 

The other passage that bookends Luke 21 is the passage where Christ exhorts and charges us to be on guard, so that we do not forget that He’s coming amidst all our worries in this world. 

For me, this feels like a final echo of the first passage. 

We are so focused on what we need while we’re in this world; therefore, we’re even more fixated on what we produce to meet these needs. While Jesus might be our “number one” through our words, our actions tend to point to the fact that other needs are more urgent. 

And this is valid. Things like food on the table and a roof over our heads are fundamental needs. But in the middle of their urgency, do we focus more on fulfilling these needs than looking to a God who provides all our needs, yes, even these? 

Maybe at first glance, it’s just about money. But money is security. Money is a ticket to stability. Money is what we need in this society. To look to God more than these things, you would need to trust that, one, God can provide these things to you, and that two, God is genuinely more necessary than these things. 

Discipleship means to follow God and not your worries. Not that you won’t have them, but that you follow God first. 

What does this look like for you this day? I invite you to take this time to take ten, and before you work or make money or whatever you do, just worship God and thank him. Offer him your time today. Give him credit. Ask him for his presence with you, no matter what the day brings. Ask him for discernment to put him first.