Starting Off
Begin your time with the children by discussing poverty. What is poverty? How do the children think someone ends up in poverty? Can a person move out of poverty? Why or why not? Allow the children to wonder about the topic and ask them to dig deeper into their ideas, exploring why they hold these beliefs. Share with them that today’s Scripture reading looks at poverty in Jesus’ time. Encourage them to hold this discussion in the back of their heads as you read the passage aloud.
Exploring the Passage
Prepare to read Mark 12:38-44 aloud. Provide some context for the reading by sharing background information about the two main “characters” in the passage: the poor widow and the scribes. Widows, in Jesus’ time, were some of the most vulnerable people in the community. Without their husbands, they had little protection or means for providing for themselves. They were at the mercy of the community to care for them. While a widow’s husband may have left money or property to be used for her care, the widow in this passage has none of this. She is a “poor widow,” entirely dependent on the community.
Note that scribes were leaders within the Jewish Temple who studied Scripture. Because they were interpreting the word of God, they were considered very important and thus were powerful people within the community. They were trusted by believers and often took on important roles such as helping a widowed woman manage her husband’s property and money. Widowed women were not allowed to deal with these finances; so a trustworthy man, such as a scribe, would be put in charge of them. Jesus believes the scribes in this situation have abused their power, using it to take the best of everything, including a widow’s money.
Read Mark 12:38-44 aloud. Have the children discuss how the scribes and the widow are described in the passage. You may want to record their ideas on a piece of chart paper so that they clearly see the contrast.
Focus on how each of the two characters gives to the community. Note that the treasury mentioned in verse 44 was likely a box located in the Temple where believers could make financial offerings to God. The treasury would be used for the work of the Temple, including caring for the space and its staff. What does the poor widow give to the treasury? How much does she sacrifice? How does this compare with what we know that the scribes do with money that they are entrusted to manage? We see that the widow gives all that she has as an offering to God. She sacrifices all of her money. The scribes, on the other hand, are the reason why the widow is poor. They take from the widows (“devour their houses”) as they manage their estates.
Relating the Passage to Our Lives
Ask the children to wonder about Jesus’ purpose in sharing this story. Why does Jesus talk about the greed of the scribes and the generosity of the poor widow side-by-side? What is he saying about the role that the Temple plays in caring for those living in poverty?
Connect this discussion back to the earlier discussion about poverty through an activity. For this activity, you’ll need a large number of pennies or a bag of small candies such as M&Ms. Divide the coins or candies into piles with each pile including a different number of pieces. Make sure one or more of the piles has very few items in it and one or more includes a very large number. If you’re working with several children, give each child a pile of pennies or candies. If you are working with only one child, layout the piles in front of him or her explaining that each grouping represents one person in the community.
Tell the child(ren) that the pennies/candies are all of the money that they have. Each piece represents a more substantial amount than one cent. Ask them to discuss what percentage of the pennies/candies they should give to the care of the community. Highlight that they are agreeing on a percentage, not the number they will share. They may choose to all give the same percentage or they may make individual commitments.
After they have decided how much they will give, ask them to move that number of pennies or candies into the center of the table. Discuss how this giving affects the resources they still have available. Does each person have enough left for their own needs? Why or why not? Does giving affect some more than others?
Finally, ask the group to consider what to do with the resources that were placed in the center of the table. The reason they gave was to care for the community. How should they distribute the pennies/candies? If they begin to talk about using the resources for projects that don’t affect the people around the table, remind them that they are the community. The people who they need to care for are the people involved in this activity!
Once they have agreed on how to distribute the resources, move the pieces from the center of the table to the people who will benefit from them. Discuss the effect their choices make on the whole community.
Joelle Brummit-Yale is the director of children’s and youth ministries at Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian in Chapel Hill, N.C. When not at the church, she can usually be found at home with her son and husband caring for their many animals and developing their family homestead.
