The Eternal Conflict of Gratitude and Greed
AM Psalm 107:33-43, 108:1-6(7-13) • PM Psalm 33
Isa. 66:1-6 • 1 Tim. 6:6-21 • Mark 12:35-44
The first thing I do when I get home from school in the afternoon is to fill up the bird feeders in our back yard so that the cardinals, jays, chickadees and sparrows who share our home with us will have an abundance of food. I thought about this whilst reading the verses for today. The lectionary seemed to dwell on an eternal conflict: be thankful for the abundance you have been given, but do not fall into the habit of continually wanting more. In short, what we see in the readings today is the conflict between gratitude and greed.
The Old Testament readings set this up nicely. On the one hand, there is the reassurance that God, in his love, will provide for us. Psalm 107 begins by proclaiming “He changed deserts into pools of water….He settled the hungry there...they sowed fields and planted vineyards and brought in a fruitful harvest” and Psalm 33 adds that “the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him...to pluck their lives from death and to feed them in time of famine”. But it is not that simple. Moving to Isaiah, we are cautioned about the misuse of that abundance: “Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who kills a human being, whoever sacrifices a lamb like one who breaks a dog’s neck”.
The New Testament readings explore this tension still further. Timothy begins with the beautiful line “Of course there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment….if we have food and clothing we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation.” In other words, it is right to be grateful or thankful for what you have, but don’t go lusting after more than you actually need. However, it is the reading in Mark which for me illustrates this theme most beautifully with the story of the widow who puts two copper coins into the treasury of the temple, in humble contrast to the large contributions of other, wealthier patrons. Jesus, watching this, turns to his disciples and comments that “this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had.”
Taken together, these readings are a useful meditation on the perpetual and delicate balance that must be kept between being thankful for what God has given us while at the same time not collapsing ourselves into that abundance.
Written by Stephanie Barr
I am the life skills teacher at Harrison High School and my husband Tim and I enjoy puttering in our garden, serving our cats, and bird-watching along the Buffalo River when we are not fleeing to Fayetteville for its walking trails, book stores, and of course for St. Paul’s.