The Second Gaze - Coins
Heads or tails? This is a question we've heard countless times in our lives. A coin is tossed at the start of a game, to determine who is first, or even as the final tiebreaker to decide an election (link). Winners and losers. First and last-. Yes, there are times those are a reality but either/or doesn't need to govern the whole of our lives. In my sermon yesterday, it ultimately came down to a both/and of how we see ourselves and see others through God's eyes.
In the story of the widow giving her two copper coins, I was drawn in by the fact that, in the midst of the busyness of the space and of the crowds, Jesus saw this woman. A woman who was likely used to being unseen, literally and figuratively. Jesus saw her, like he sees all- as one created in God's own image. He saw her and honored her and her story continues to be told 2000 + years later.
So one side of the coin is whether we can see ourselves through God's eyes-as beloved, as seen, as bearers of the image of God. And the other side is whether we can seek to be as Jesus to see others as beloved, as seen, as bearers of the image of God. Not an either/or but instead a holy both/and.
He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.
Luke 21:1-4
https://youtu.be/BCXrWV347yw?t=784