"Jesus, teach me to come to You poor."

But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin anymore.”

(John 8: 2-11)

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)

What could these two passages possibly have in common? What could be similar between a devout widow giving her last coins and a woman caught in the very act of adultery?

I suggest that both women – in very different contexts – capture the heart of Jesus by their absolute poverty.

We can look at Luke’s passage for the purpose in coming to Jesus poor. In just four short verses, Luke reveals a critical understanding of what is attractive to Jesus’s heart. In fact, we may ask ourselves, why does Jesus notice and applaud this woman who clearly gave much less than those who were wealthy? Or, what was so bad about the rich keeping some for themselves to live off of? Is that not just prudent decision-making?

I don’t think Jesus is asking us to make any decisions that would put us in unnecessary financial peril. But I do think he is asking us to look at the poor widow and the way in which she gives everything she has.

In Lk 21:4, Jesus condemns the others who have all made offerings from their surplus wealth and praises the woman who, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood. Here, He is no longer speaking simply of monetary contributions. No, Jesus goes much farther than worldly riches. Notice the degree to which each character lives their life. According to Jesus’s words, those who are wealthy live their life from their surplus. What is a surplus? In one word, it is “excess”. Thus, the wealthy in this passage are living their life only from their excess; only from that which they have chosen to share with others; the externals; the qualities that they deem desirable by society, hiding their character flaws and working to put forth an image of themselves that is no less than perfect. In sum, what they give is only parts of themselves and never the whole. The poor widow on the other hand, lives from her poverty and in turn offers her whole livelihood. She does not “short-change” God or those around her by holding anything back. Rather, she accepts who she is, unafraid of sitting in her poverty, of being empty. Without rejecting her riches, whatever they may be, she merely accepts her poverty along with them and thus remains whole and capable of offering everything, her whole livelihood – of living to the full. 

Now, the poverty of the “poor widow”, as she is called, may be a little more obvious, but what about the woman in John’s passage? Let us look at the ways in which she comes poor before Jesus.

First, we see that she is exposed in her sin – a sin that is punishable by stoning according to the law of the well-known and revered Moses. Because of this she is in perhaps the most vulnerable moment of her life with no control over its outcome, powerless and reduced to silence. Without hope, she is regarded as if to have no dignity, as if to not even be a human person. Shamed publicly, she is at the hands of her accusers and completely dependent on Jesus’s decision. After being physically forced where to go and how long to stand there and given no opportunity to defend or speak for herself, she is used as merely a pawn – as bait – to try to catch Jesus between a rock and a hard place. Not only is she “nobody”, she is “nothing”, and she knows it.

With everything that she has, with all that she has done, and with all that she is, the woman stands before Jesus totally revealed, her life literally in His hands. She may not have chosen to, but she has arrived before the Lord in utter poverty. What happens next leaves everyone but Jesus astonished, and as her accusers all drift away one by one beginning with the elders, she is left alone with Jesus – in the privileged encounter of His mercy. Broken, yet her whole self, she experiences forgiveness, acceptance…love. Although it was not her original intention, this day she has come to the feet of Jesus just as she is. And it is only here that she will find her true identity as the beloved daughter of God and discover a love that spans the stretch of time and beyond giving her the grace and courage to go and sin no more.

The experiences of these two women cause me to look at my own life. In what ways do I choose to only give from my wealth? How hard do I work to put forth an image of myself that is always agreeable to others and accepted as “the best”? How often do I find myself exhausted from trying be perfect for everyone? These could be signs that I’m only living from my surplus.

On the contrary, in what ways do I live from my poverty? In how many instances do I allow myself to be vulnerable by sharing fears, difficulties, faults, and weaknesses? Do I accept that this brokenness is a part of who I am or do I do my best to deny it? Do I allow myself to admit that I am wrong or do not know the answer to a question or dilemma put before me? But most importantly, do I come before Jesus in prayer as I am? Or, do I insist upon being “perfect” even there in the intimacy of communion with my Creator who knows my every thought before I do (Ps 139)? Am I building a wall between us by carefully placing many offerings of the “parts of myself” before Him rather than entering into a full embrace by throwing my whole self in His welcoming arms?

We must come to Him poor! For, it is in our poverty that we come to depend on Him completely, for everything, not on ourselves. It is in coming to Him with empty hands that He can fill them and we can truly be satisfied. It is only in our poverty, in offering our whole livelihood, that we will discover the riches of being His beloved children.

Let us pray: “Jesus, teach me to come to You poor.”