Breaking the Word

When he looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."  (Lk 21:1-4)

Every religion gives opportunities to its followers to give offerings. Revelation is the means through which God communicates with the people. Offerings and sacrifices are the means through which people approach God. God is the creator of all things and hence everything belongs to God. Everything should go back to God. Offering is a way through which people live this aspect of their faith.

This is the reason why Jesus permits offerings and makes comment on it. He watches people making offerings to God. Rich people make their offering into the treasury. Probably they were putting into the treasury their tithes. This could have been a sizable amount for a rich person. The rich person is happy and proud to give his tithe to God.

Jesus makes his comment on the poor widow who put in all what she had for her living. She lived out her faith: everything is a gift of God and hence everything belong to God. Her approach to God was not partial or limited rather she offered everything to God. She was totally submitted to God and surrendered to God Her faith was lived out to the full.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats… (Mt 25:31-46)

Jesus Christ is presented as a king. That is he appears in glory and all the angels are around him. So is something heavenly and nothing of this world. Only the language and the symbols are of this world. He would sit on the throne of glory. All the nations are assembled in front of him. So he is the king of the whole world and in fact, of the whole universe.   

The work he does is the work of separating the sheep form the goats. It is like the creation story wherein God separated the waters from the earth; light form darkness; water above from water under the earth and so on. So what Jesus does is the work of new creation. Jesus Christ is creating the new heaven and the new earth it seems so. This work he does so as a shepherd would do in separating the sheep from the goats. So he is a shepherd king and not a political king.

The sheep like people (people who have seen God in others and served God on others) continue to live in the presence of god where there is rejoicing and gladness and celebration. The goat like people (people who did see God in others and serve God in others) will not have the closeness of god. This would be their punishment.