Rev, F. Robert Tafel. Pastor Emeritus
Cambridge Swedenborg Chapel
www.swedenborgchapel.org
SUNDAY MORNING FORUM
BIBLE STUDY & SWEDENBORGIAN IDEAS
THE WIDOW’S TWO COINS
Jesus’ commentary on the offering of two small coins by a poor widow is more than an
invitation to reflect on our own charitable giving – although it is that. The encounter corresponds to
spiritual relaities in every follower of religion. We all have two gifts to present in a life of usefulness;
namely, our faith and our love joined in service.
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Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which
belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow
was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a
cup, that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring
me a morsel of bread in your hand.” So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have
bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple
of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake
from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus
says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run
dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ “ So she went away and did according to
the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was
not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke
by Elijah.
I Kings 17:8-16
I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has
inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. ...I found trouble and
sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
Psalm 116:1-2, 3b-6
Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around
in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the
best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.
These will receive greater condemnation.” Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how
the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor
widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to
Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than
all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out
of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
Mark 12:38-44
Some quotations from the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg:
By the poor and needy are signified those who believe that they know nothing of
themselves, and also those who do not know, because they have not the Word. By the hungry
and thirsty are signified those who continually desire to possess truths, and to be perfected by
them.
Apocalypse Explained #118
‘Any widow’ means those who have good that is without truth, and still have a desire
for truth. This is clear from the meaning of ‘a widow’ as good that is without truth and
nevertheless has a desire for truth. The reason why ‘a widow’ has this meaning is that ‘a man’
(vir) means truth and his ‘wife’ (mulier) good, so that when this man’s wife has become a
widow she means good that is without truth....
Elijah came to Zarephath of Sidon, to a woman - a widow - to sustain him. He told her
to bring him a little water to drink, and then to bring him a small piece of bread in her hand.
She said that she had a tiny amount of flour in a jar, and a tiny amount of oil in a flask, to
make just a cake for herself and her son. Elijah said, Make me a small cake from it first, and
bring it to me; and make one for yourself and your son after that. She did so; and the jar of
flour was not used up, and the flask of oil did not fail. 1 Kings 17:9-15. Obedience, and the
that good has for truth, is described by her giving the prophet water, as she had been
commanded to do, and then by her making a cake for him first from the little she had, and for
herself and her son after that.
Good and its desire for truth is described by her charity towards the prophet, greater
than towards herself and her son, ‘a prophet’ being teachings that present truth, as has been
shown above.
desire
Arcana Celestia #9198.1, .6, .7
‘Still the rich ought not to rate the munificence and excellence of their charity higher
than the pittance one poor man gives another. For we know that everyone acts in a manner
appropriate to his station, the king to his, the judge to his, the officer to his, the courtier to his.
Charity regarded in essence does not depend upon the rank of the person and thus on the gift
he can confer, but on the depth of affection which motivates the charitable act. Thus the
footman who gives a small coin may bestow his gift in fuller charity than the lord who gives
or bequeaths a fortune. This too is in accordance with this passage: ‘Jesus watched the rich
throwing their offerings into the treasury, and saw too a poor widow throwing in two pennies.
He said, Truly I tell you that this poor widow has contributed more than all the others....’
True Christian Religion #459.9
...Surrounding every person in the world and also surrounding every good spirit there
is a general sphere of endeavours from hell and a general sphere of endeavours from heaven.
The sphere from hell is a sphere of endeavours to do harm and destroy, that from heaven is a
sphere of endeavours to do good and to save.... By these spheres a person is kept in a state of
equilibrium and has the freedom to think and will what is evil or to think and will what is
good....
Arcana Celestia #6657
11 / 12 / 2006