Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms. Ramalli, and welcome to today's RE lesson, which forms part of our unit on Jesus.

How did He speak truth to power? In today's lesson, we are gonna focus on the theme of Jesus and generosity.

Okay, let's start today's lesson.

Today's lesson outcome is I can explain the story of the widow's mite and the key teachings within the story.

To help guide us through today's lesson, there are five key words.

Our key words are generous, Jewish, mite, temple and widow.

Generous means being kind and willing to give.

Jewish is a person belonging to the religion of Judaism.

Mite refers to a Jewish coin.

Temple refers to a special place or building where God is worshipped , and widow is a woman whose husband has died.

Today's lesson on Jesus and generosity takes two parts.

So first of all, we are going to begin by exploring what is the story of the widow's mite followed by What are the key teachings of this story? Aisha explains what we mean by theology in religious education.

Aisha says Theologians are interested in stories, texts, and traditions.

We can better understand people's worldviews by examining what the deeper meaning of these stories, texts, and traditions are.

We can also look at the difference they make to people to today.

In this lesson, we will be using the tools of theology to better understand different Christian worldviews about the biblical story of the widow's mite.

Izzy is investigating the story of the widow's mite.

To find out more, she asks Fergus, who has a Christian worldview and attends an Anglican church.

Izzy asks, "What was society like when Jesus taught the story of the widow's mite Fergus?" Fergus replies, "At the time of Jesus, the Romans were in control and society was very unequal.

The rich people had power and comfort, and many poor people struggled to survive.

There was no support given by the government to those who needed it." Izzy asks, "Why is the story of the widow's mite set in the temple, Fergus?" Fergus replies, "Jesus was Jewish and the temple in Jerusalem was the centre of Jewish life and worship.

The temple is also where Jewish people went to give their offerings to God." Let's pause and complete a check for understanding.

Select three reasons the temple was important to Jesus.

A, the temple was the centre of Jewish life.

B, Jesus was Jewish.

C, offerings were made to God in the temple, or D Jesus was Christian.

Pause the video here and press play when you are ready to check your answers.

Well done if you selected A, B, and C as the correct answers.

Three reasons a temple were important to Jesus is because the temple was the centre of Jewish life, and Jesus was Jewish, and offerings were made to God in the temple.

So, here we are going to read or listen to the story of the widow's mite.

One day Jesus was at the temple with his friends, watching people give their offerings, money they gave to help run the Jewish temple and to help those in need.

Many rich people came by and gave lots of coins.

They made a big show of dropping their money into the offering box so that everyone could see how much they gave and what a good person they were.

Then a poor woman came along.

She was a widow, which meant her husband had died and she didn't have much money at all.

She quietly dropped in two tiny coins called mites.

They were worth only a little bit, almost nothing.

Jesus noticed what everyone was doing with their gifts and offerings at the temple.

He smiled and said to his friends, "Did you see that?" Jesus said to his disciples, "This poor widow gave more than all the others.

They gave from what they had left over, but she gave everything she had even though she needed it." The story of the widow's mite shows Jesus challenging society and the religious leaders in power.

Jesus taught that it was wrong to show off and draw attention to yourself when giving money to God.

The correct way to give money and be generous is to do so quietly.

The widow acted correctly and Christians today should follow her example in their giving of gifts and offerings.

Okay, let's check you've understood the story that you've just heard.

According to Jesus' story, who showed the most generosity? A, the poor widow.

B, the rich people or C, the Levite.

Pause the video here and press play when you are ready to check your answer.

Well done if you selected A.

According to Jesus' story, the poor widow showed the most generosity.

Izzy asks, "Why did Jesus tell the story of the widow's mite, Fergus?" Fergus replies, "Jesus told the story of the widow and the mites to teach a powerful lesson about what is true generosity.

Jesus teaches that it is what is in our heart rather than the amount that we give that is the most important in giving gifts to God.

True or force, the story of the widow's mite teaches that Christians should be generous and give lots of money to those in need.

Pause the video and press play when you are ready to check your answer.

Well done if you said that statement is false, Why is that statement false? Well, the story of the widow's mite teaches Christians that it is what is in their heart when they give that is the most important to God rather than the amount that they give.

They should always be generous.

So now we are going to pause and complete a practise task.

You are going to retell the story of the widows mite in four statements.

Use the images to help you, and these key words, Jewish, temple, widow, mite, and generous.

Good luck completing the practise task.

Pause the video and press play when you are ready to check your answers.

Welcome back everybody.

So your response could include the following points.

One day Jesus was at the Jewish temple with his friends, watching people give their offerings to those in need.

Many rich people came by and gave lots of coins.

Then a poor widow came along and she didn't have much at all.

She quietly dropped in two coins called mites worth almost nothing.

Jesus said to his friends, this poor widow gave more than all the others.

They gave from what they had left over, but she gave everything she had even though she needed it.

Jesus was pleased as she had been generous in her giving to God.

Well done completing the first practise task.

So now we're going to move on to the second part of our lesson on Jesus and generosity to explore the key teachings of the story of the widow's mite.

Izzy is investigating the story of the widow's mite.

She wants to find out how would people at the time of Jesus have reacted and how the Christians today interpret the teachings.

To find out more, she will interview two people with a Christian worldview.

Asher regularly attends a free church and Niamh occasionally attends a Roman Catholic Church.

Izzy asks, why did Jesus criticise those who gave a lot? Weren't they being generous? Asher replies, in this story we can see how Jesus challenged those with wealth and power, which people were using the temple as a place to show off how generous they are.

Jesus felt that this was not true generosity.

Much of the money came from working with the Romans.

Izzy has another question, how was the widow's behaviour different? Niamh says, at the time of Jesus, widows were among the poorest and most ignored people.

Although her offering was small, Jesus saw her gift was a much bigger total of what she had.

The rich would not need the money they gave away.

The widow gave as much as she could afford.

Let's pause and complete a check for understanding, which of these is not true of society in Jesus's time.

A, widows were some of the poorest in society.

B, some rich people use a temple to show off their wealth or C, Jesus and his followers refuse to give money.

Pause the video and press play when you are ready to say the correct answer.

Well done if you said the correct answer is C.

Jesus and his followers refuse to give money is not true of the society in Jesus' time.

Izzy wants to find out what this story means to Christians today.

"How do you interpret the story, Asher?" Asher responds, "My interpretation is that it is not about how much you give, it is about how you give.

The poor widow gave with generosity even when it was hard.

I believe God sees into our hearts and knows our intentions." True false, Asher believes God knows what is in a person's heart when they give.

Pause the video and then press play when you are ready to see the correct answer.

Well done if you said this statement is true? Why is this statement true? But Jesus taught that it is not about how much money is given, but whether the gift is generous or not.

What being generous means is different for each person depending on their circumstances.

Izzy asks, "How do you interpret the story, Niamh?" <v ->Niamh replies, "I notice that Jesus always focuses</v> on the most ignored people.

I believe Jesus wanted his followers to see that every person matters no matter how poor or unnoticed they are.

The widow is an example to everyone." Okay, let's pause, we're gonna complete a check for understanding.

What does Niamh notice about Jesus in this story? A, he focuses on the poorest in society.

B, he does not like rich people or C, he does not think people should give money to the temple.

Pause a video and press play when you are ready to check your answer.

Well done if you said A is the correct answer.

Asher and Niamh think about what Jesus was teaching about how people should be generous.

Niamh says, "I think another important message is not showing off when being generous.

Jesus warned about religious leaders who liked attention and made a big show of giving.

Asher says yes.

Jesus contrasted this with the widow who gave quietly without making a fuss.

Christians should do the same.

True or false? Jesus taught that it is important to gain attention when being generous.

Pause a video, press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Well done if you said that statement is false, Why is that statement false? Jesus used the example of the widow to teach Christians to give quietly and without making a fuss.

Asher explains how he follows the example of the widow.

"Each month I pay money to the charity Christian Aid.

I pay the money through my bank account.

Making payment this way is confidential and means that I'm not drawing attention to myself.

I want to be generous, but I don't want to draw attention to this." Izzy is reflecting on being generous.

"It's important to me to be generous.

I don't have much money, but I can give my time or help people in other ways." Do you think generosity is important? What is more important, how much you give or your intention? Why do you think that? Pause a video here and either with your partner or in a small group, discuss the questions.

Press play when you're ready to move on with the lesson.

So now it's time to complete our second and last practise task.

So this practise task takes two parts.

First of all, you need to decide if each of the following statements is true or false.

Then correct the full statements.

So the statements are, Jesus was a Christian.

The story of the widow's mite was set in the market.

Jesus taught that it is not about how much money a person gives, but the reasons behind it.

Jesus taught that not every person matters, and Jesus taught that the widow was the most generous.

So remember, you are deciding if each of the following statements is true or false, and if you think the statement is false, then you need to rewrite it so that it is true.

Good luck completing the practise task.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Welcome back everybody.

So let's look at the first part of the practise task.

Decide if each of the following statements is true or false.

Jesus was a Christian is false.

The story of the widow's mite was set in the market, that statement is also false.

Jesus taught that it is not about how much money a person gives, but the reasons behind it, is true.

Jesus taught that not every person matters, that statement is false.

And lastly, Jesus taught that the widow was the most generous, that statement is true.

You then needed to correct the full statements.

Your statement answers may look like this.

Jesus was a Christian should read Jesus was Jewish.

The story of the widow's mite was set in the market, should read the story of the widow's mite was set in the temple.

And Jesus taught that not every person matters should read, Jesus taught that every person matters.

Fantastic, well done on completing the first part of the practise task.

The second part of the practise task is you need to show your understanding of how Jesus spoke out against people in power and how these teachings still influence Christians today.

To complete the second part of the practise task, complete these sentences.

A, in the story of the widow's mite, Jesus criticised.

B, Jesus criticised powerful people for, C, Christians today like Asher and Niamh might say, and D, an example of how Christian might be influenced by the teachings is.

Good luck completing the practise task.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to reflect on your answers.

Welcome back everybody, your answers may look like this.

In the story of the widow's mite, Jesus criticised people with wealth and power.

Jesus criticised powerful people for using the temple as a place to show off how generous they were.

Christians today, like Asher and Niamh might say that this is not about how much you give, it is about how you give.

Jesus wanted his followers to see that every person matters, no matter how poor or unnoticed they are.

And lastly, D, an example of how a Christian might be influenced by the teachings is that they might donate to a charity such as Christian Aid.

This can be done confidentially without showing off.

Fantastic, well done on completing the second and final practise task.

So that brings us to the end of today's lesson on Jesus and generosity.

And here is a summary of our key learning points.

At the time of Jesus, there was extreme poverty and wealth within society.

Jesus taught the story of the widow's mite to challenge people's ideas on wealth and power.

The poor widow was an example of how to be generous.

The story teaches Christians that every person matters no matter how poor or unnoticed they are.

The story teaches that God sees what is inside people's hearts and their reasons for being generous.

And the story influences many Christians in that when they are being generous, they do so quietly and without drawing attention to this.

Thank you very much for joining me for today's RE lesson.

Goodbye.