Di Gift Wey Cost Everything

Clink. Clank. Clatter. Handful of heavy coins dey rattle enter di offering boxes for di temple. Then, so quiet say you fit no hear am: tink, tink. Two very small coins. And Jesus talk, una see dat one?

Na di last week of di life of Jesus, and e dey teach for di temple courts for Jerusalem. Di city full with people for Passover. Jesus don dey argue with priests and scholars di whole day. Small before, e warn di crowd about religious teachers wey love long robes and di best seats, wey dey pray long prayer for show, and wey dey swallow widows houses. Now e sit down opposite di treasury, where people dey bring dia gifts for di temple. And e dey watch.

Plenty rich people dey pass. Dem put plenty, Mark talk. Maybe dem make sure say people notice: full purse, wey dem empty with style. People for nod head and whisper. Dat man get open hand. Then one woman come. She be widow, and she dey poor. For dat time, widow no dey usually get anybody wey go provide for her, no husband income, maybe no son to look after her. She come reach di box and she drop two lepta, two of di smallest coins wey dey dat time. Together, Mark tell im readers, dem make one quadrans, one very small Roman coin. E almost be nothing.

Jesus call im disciples come. True true I tell una, e talk, dis poor widow don put pass all di people wey dey give for di treasury. Di disciples go don look each oda face. Pass? Two small coins? Then Jesus explain. All of dem give from dia plenty, from wetin remain for dem. But she, from her poverty, put everything wey she get, all wey she get to take live. Di rich give wetin dem fit spare. She give wetin she no fit spare. Heaven no dey measure gift by how big e be. E dey measure am by how much e cost, and by love.

Mark no tell us her name. We no ever hear wetin happen to her after. She waka go, maybe without ever knowing say Jesus see her. But e see her. And inside few days, Jesus imself go give everything wey e get, im whole life, for cross outside dat city. Di widow give two coins. Jesus give imself. Na dat one be di gift wey cost everything. And na di One wey first come meet us as poor baby, wey dem lay for manger, give am.

Di Mishnah, one collection of Jewish teaching from around AD two hundred, talk say thirteen collection boxes dey for di temple, wey dem shape like trumpet, narrow for top and wide for bottom. Each one get label for different kind of offering. When coins drop inside, people fit hear dem as dem dey fall, and maybe na one reason why di gifts of di rich people dey so easy to notice.

Di Gift Wey Cost Everything. You go find am for Mark chapter twelve, verse forty-one to forty-four. For Christmas, people dey measure gifts by how big dem be or how dem cost. Jesus dey measure dem different. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Wetin you fit give dis Christmas wey go really cost you something, wey you give because of love?