Devourers

In the course of his teaching Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation."

He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." (Mark 12:38-44)

They devour the houses of widows.  At first, this seems to be a strange claim.  I’ve read: (begin) The phrase devour widows’ houses means “greedily cheat widows out of their property.” In ancient times widows held little or no power in the courts. It was common for a husband to appoint in his will a Jewish legal expert—a scribe or Pharisee—to be the executor of his widow’s estate. Essentially, this gave the executor authority to oversee the widow’s finances and assets. It would not be hard for a corrupt lawyer to find legal ways to trick a widow out of her house and other property—and this is precisely what the religious leaders were doing. It could be that’s why the poor widow Jesus noticed in Mark 12:42 only had “two very small copper coins” to give.

Jesus denounced the scribes and Pharisees for exploiting the needy so that they could grow fatter and richer. These religious hypocrites were so spiritually callous that, after greedily pilfering from the needy, they would put on a public show of prayerful piety. (end)

We often focus on the last part of this reading about giving out of our surplus wealth versus giving when it hurts.  I prefer to focus on the first part that is damning to religious leaders.  Bishops. priests, and deacons have special privileges given to them by the Church.  We have obligations to serve consistent with Jesus’ teaching and commandments.  

An example of how the Church, Jesus, and the people we serve have been betrayed is provided by what recently has been revealed in Illinois (and elsewhere). According to the AP News: (begin) More than 450 Catholic clergy in Illinois sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950, the state’s attorney general found in an investigation released Tuesday, revealing that the problem was far worse than the church had let on.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul said at a news conference that investigators found that 451 Catholic clergy abused 1,997 children in Illinois between 1950 and 2019, though he acknowledged that the statute of limitations has expired in many cases and that those abusers “will never see justice in a legal sense.”

“It is my hope that this report will shine light both on those who violated their positions of power and trust to abuse innocent children, and on the men in church leadership who covered up that abuse,” Raoul said, crediting the accusers for making the review possible. “These perpetrators may never be held accountable in a court of law, but by naming them here, the intention is to provide a public accountability and a measure of healing to survivors who have long suffered in silence.” (end)

In this case, we are not talking about victimized widows.  We are talking about sexual abuse of children by men with seats of honor in churches and places of honor at banquets.  We are talking about men who devour the innocence of little ones!

Deacon David Pierce