Widows and Giving out of Poverty: Sermon For Nov 11th, 2018 Lect 32

Texts: Psalm 146, Mark 12:38-44

Mark 12:38-44   ³⁸ As he taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! ⁴⁰ They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” ⁴¹ He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. ⁴³ Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. ⁴⁴ For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who asks us to trust.

I am reminded of the same story every time I read these two texts from 1 Kings and Mark. It’s from Bishop Zellmer, he talked about it at a Fall theological retreat a number of years ago. In his first or second call he was out visiting a widowed member at her house, a small house outside of the town, just her by herself. When he walked in she handed him an envelope that said offering on it. He, of course, said thank you, but then over the course of their visit he came to find out that she had started to buy and eat dog food, so that she would still have enough money to give to the church and pay other bills.

It’s a horrendous situation, one no one should resort to. And it puts a different light on both texts that we find in front of ourselves today.

We finished up our stewardship series last month, but often this text is raised up as a wonderful stewardship example. Give! Trust! See Jesus says the woman is a wonderful example, give all you have! See, the widow of Zaraphath made bread out of what she thought was her last, but God provided more. So, give, give, give, money, money, money.

But, it’s not Jesus’ main point. We rush to this section of the reading. We just jump to the widow and her two coins, we gloss over and ignore what is introducing this teaching of Jesus.

Jesus is in one side of the temple courtyard, and he points out to the disciples some of the scribes of the temple. They are the ones who take care of the temple money, they also do things like manage the money for widows. Widows were seen, as women, as unable to take care of their own financial situation in that age. So, the scribes would manage the money for them. For a fee. And often, a fee and management that took advantage of this situation.

Jesus says, look at them. The peacocks, strutting around making sure everyone sees them. They’re wearing tuxes and top hats while at church, sitting right up front, making sure they are seen, drawing out their prayers with fake enthusiasm, so people know they’re important. But, Jesus says, here’s the real deal, they devour widow’s houses. They don’t care about them. They only care about the money and the appearance it grants them.

Then Jesus takes them to the other side of the courtyard, where the temple offering is given. There again are these rich people plunking in large amounts. The giving is done through a metal horn type opening, you’d put your money in and it would go through a wall to the treasury, but it would clink. The rich people would clink and clamor and cause a discord of sound. Then he shows a widow, drop two coins, clink, clink. And Jesus says, she’s the important one. She cares even though she has nothing.

Why does this widow only have two coins? Because the scribes who lord it over everyone else, have taken the rest. Why did that widow eat dog food? Because we live in a society where padding our own pockets is more important than making sure all are fed.

This text is a condemnation of those who do not care for the least, who only see profits and dollar signs. It’s a condemnation of those who allow widows to get into the situation where they have to eat dog food to keep giving. This text is an eye opener to what it is that God cares about.

Psalm 146 today, certainly tells us plainly what God care about.

⁷who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger.
The Lord sets the captive free.
⁸The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
⁹The Lord cares for the stranger;
the Lord sustains the orphan and widow,

God gives justice to those who are oppressed, those who others hold down and keep from raising up. This contains things such as racism, sexism, agism. Etc.

God gives food to those who hunger, sets the captive free, the captives being those wrongly imprisoned, imprisoned through improper laws and rules, who are not given proper justice.

God opens the eyes of the blind, if we remember from a few weeks ago with Blind Bartimaeus, the blind are those who that society has says have no value, and therefore shuns them. In our society these are like those with mental illness, the homeless and abandoned, soldiers with PTSD, veterans we honored as they served and ignored when they returned. We treat these people just as the people of Jesus’ time treated the blind. Jesus healed and brought them back into society, we shun and abandon them. Restoring sight to the blind is not only about blindness or seeing, it’s restoration to community. It’s about making the community see them as a person.

The Lord cares for the stranger. The stranger, the foreigner, the immigrant, the alien. And those are using just the different translations of the word used.

The Lord sustains the orphan and the widow. The poorest of poor, who have nothing, and can do nothing.

How does God do all these things? Through us. This psalm and Jesus words in our gospel ask us. What do we care about? What do we trust in? Do we care about our appearance and our money or do we seek to show our love to God no matter what? Do we seek to follow Christ and do what God asks of us, do we care for who God cares for or do we only care about ourselves?

So, what can we do. How do we behave? In Luther’s thought, where’s the grace? Here’s where we go back to the widows.

When we talk about giving, offering, stewardship, it’s so important to see that giving to God is more than money. It has to be more than money. When it’s about money, stewardship is a thing, and those who give the most money are the best at it. Stewardship is not about how you give a check to God. This widow who gives two coins, gives her all, it’s not referring to her money, it’s referring to her trust, it’s referring to her life. She gives her all to God. It’s how you live your life with Christ at the center. You may not have money, but you can live your life for God. You may not have a big check, but you know how to scrimp and save and coupon and find sales that help to provide for so many. We don’t need money to care for and assist those in need.

The widows in our texts tell us that it’s not about how much you give. God doesn’t care how much you can put into the offering plate each month. God cares that you care.

God cares that you care for the orphan and widow, that you stand up for the oppressed by confronting racism and sexism, God cares that you feed the hungry, and set the captive free, God cares that you open the eyes of the blind, that you work to restore people to community.

And God cares for you.

Psalm 146 is for us as well, God gives you justice, feeds you, sets you free, brings you into community, cares for you, and sustains you. God has come to you in Christ. And in that God knows you. God sees you. God lifts you up, gives you justice. And so, Know that God sees you in work, know that God sees that you care.

Trusting in God, because God trusts in us, may we be like the widows. May we trust in God so much that we do everything we can to show forth our love of God. May we be scrimpers and savers, may we see that through Christ we are free to think of the other first. May we live our whole, our complete, lives for God