NOTES:
1] Jesus has no time for those who posture, the down-side of 'what you see is what you get'. 2] In the 'poor widow', Jesus is a keen & sharp observer of human nature. 3] The method of giving here was via wide-mouthed tubes feeding through a wall directly into the treasury. (Deposit-only ATM)

WARMING UP:  Shut your eyes & name everyone in your group & where they're sitting.

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Afterthoughts from, follow-up to last week's Group, or since?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

38-40    What appears to lie behind Jesus' attack on the scribes? Do they deserve to be singled out for such criticism, or are they simply one example close to hand of a kind of behaviour he pours scorn on? In which case, which other groups might the cap also fit - then? / now? What's the real issue at stake here? Why should we 'beware' such people? What's wrong with 'dressing up', 'parading around', wanting (or, needing?) to be acknowledged publicly?
             What's the connection between how we dress, where we sit, etc. & the way we treat people in need (individuals & families)? What about those who 'go on' (& on & on!) in praying? Isn't a long prayer necessarily better than a short prayer?
             How important is it to us to have 'our' particular seat in church - or anywhere else? Do we ever find ourselves offended because we don't get the 'right' seat or place in church? on a plane? at a wedding, or funeral? at the theatre? etc. etc.? What makes one seat the 'right' seat? Are there times when we really do have the moral / legal / personal right to a particular  place or standing? If we take on board what Jesus says here, are there some principles we need to bring to matters such as personal standing, acknowledgement, status, kudos, etc.?

41-44  Do we ever peek into the collection to see what others are putting in - or wonder if any- one's watching us? Does either matter? Do we ever wonder if some of the concern we / others can show about church 'giving programmes' is about how little we may want to give as compared with how much? Is / are the methods of giving provided for in our congregation to our satisfaction or not? Has anyone ever come up with an entirely satisfactory system? Could we come up with one? Why is money always such an important item on church agendas anyway?
            Why is 'stewardship' such an unpopular topic in some churches? Might it have something to do with seeing 'stewardship' as being related to 'surplus' rather than as a 'first charge' on our income? What is Jesus indicating here as to the way he sees things? Would it ever occur to us to put into 'the collection' 'everything we have to live on'? Is that realistic? Doesn't God expect us to be realistic in the way we manage our finances - & everything else? Have we been able to work out the relationship between realism & generosity? What makes that so difficult? Does it have any- thing to do with what causes the behaviour of the kinds of people Jesus is critical of throughout this whole passage? Is there a relation between our in-church giving & our wider community giving?
            How much is the way we manage our finances related to whether we understand ourselves as operating independently of God or dependent upon him?