Pentecost 25, 2024
1 Kings 17:8-16
Psalm 146
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I really do love the first lesson we heard this morning, where Elijah comes to the widow because God sent him to her. God says, “I have commanded a widow to feed you there.” How's that for specific? And how does Elijah even find this one particular widow? We don’t get any clues from the reading. But Elijah shows up and it feels a little uncomfortable when he gets there to be honest. A widow who has nothing is being asked to give this stranger a portion of the tiny bit she has left. And she complies. Oof.
She says, I’ve only got a tiny bit of flour. In fact, so little flour that I was planning to make a small cake for my son and myself to eat, and then we will die. And Elijah seems to completely ignore her dire situation and says, make me a little cake before you feed your family. ANY person in their right mind would say, “Um, no thanks. We’ve got just enough to die; we can’t spare anything for you, lest we die sooner!”
We can’t tell for certain, however all the details here suggest that if Elijah hadn’t shown up, this woman and her son would have been dead the next day. She’s made her plan. Gather some wood for a fire. Make a little cake. Then lie down with my son and die.
This is how it was for widows in those days. Which is EXACTLY why God says over and over throughout both the Old and New Testaments that people are to care for widows and orphans and immigrants. Just look at the second half of today's Psalm. Unless someone intervenes, they are destined to make a little cake to eat and then lie down and die. Because people don’t care. Because that’s just the way life is. Widows and orphans and immigrants live at the mercy of others. And that’s why God cares. In that culture (and ours), widows and orphans and immigrants need people to care what happens to them. And over and over God says, so care what happens to them!
But here is the interesting thing about this story. If the widow had stuck to her plan. If she had said, “No, I can’t help you, I’ve got to take care of my son and my family before I give you any extra,” she and her son would have died. If she had adopted an attitude of circle the wagons, the pie is only so big, everyone has to fend for themselves, me first, my country first . . . well, she’d be dead.
It is only in sharing that the miracle of abundance can take place. It is only in putting others first that we find there is always more where that came from. And—in case it’s not obvious—this reading ties in quite nicely with the timing of our Stewardship Campaign. She could very justifiably have said, “I don’t have enough to share because my family is on the edge.” Just like, as a church, we could say, “We don’t have enough to share with our neighbors, because budgets are tight, and the bills don’t take a vacation, and we’ve got to circle the wagons, and the pie is only so big.”
And each one of us could sit at our kitchen table and say, “I can’t make a pledge to the church because the price of eggs is so high, and I’ve got to feed my own family first, and where will we find money next week, or next month, or any time?” I know there’s a risk of sounding like a televangelist if I keep going in that vein, so I won’t.
But sharing what we have is what leads to truly living. We need to consider the example of this widow when we think about our personal finances and how we spend our resources as a congregation. Because if this widow hadn’t been willing to share with Elijah, she’d be dead. If she hadn’t been willing to give a small portion of what she had left, she would not have survived. It is literally by giving away what she has that she finds what she needs to carry on.
I don’t want to push this point too hard—because of that televangelist angle I mentioned—but it’s not too far a stretch to say that in giving things up, we find life. In fact, Jesus says it all the time: in losing your life, you will find it. In sacrificing, you will find fulfillment. In dying, you will find life. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first. It’s true for us as individuals, and it’s true for us as a parish. The more we are willing to surrender to God, the more God has to work with. But enough of that, let’s turn our attention to the gospel, where another widow gives up all she has!
But that’s not the point I want us to take away from this gospel reading. There’s an entirely different point I want to make, and it is related to what we’ve experienced this past week. Or what some people have experienced this past week. I want us to notice who gets lifted up by Jesus.
Jesus begins by describing the lives of the scribes. These are sort of wealthy educated people who are respected in the community. They walk around the marketplace getting noticed for being so awesome and drawing attention to themselves. And that bit about devouring widows houses is because scribes fell into the role of what we think of today as a conservatorship, a position they then used to routinely steal from the women in their care.
So Jesus opens with a sharp condemnation of the kinds of people who walk around being flashy and popular and in control, who rip off the vulnerable ones who are at their mercy. And then Jesus goes and sits down to watch what happens at the treasury. More flashy people come and go, making sure everyone knows that they are giving tons of money, because they have tons of money to give. And isn’t that just swell! Does Jesus point to them and say how great they are for giving so much? No he does not. He doesn’t say a thing about them.
But then, along comes this poor widow who puts in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. And that’s who Jesus notices. And that’s where we take the wrong message from this story. We have centuries of talk about the “Widow’s Mite” and you’ve probably even seen little boxes with that phrase printed on it. Give a couple pennies to the church, just like this poor widow did.
We want this to be a story about how a person with very little gives everything she has. We want this to be a story about proportional giving, especially since it lines up so perfectly with our annual Stewardship Campaign. But I don’t think this is a story about the percentage one person gives compared to another. No, I think this is a story about who Jesus notices.
Societies elevate the people who are like the scribes in the marketplace. The people who walk around the country club and give lots of money to the symphony. Societies elevate the people who control hedge funds that rob widows of their investments while contributing nothing of value to the community. Societies elevate those who have contributed “out of their abundance,” as Jesus puts it.
But Jesus notices the poor widow. The one who is ignored by everyone else. Jesus focuses his attention on the outcast, and the marginalized, and those whose very existence is threatened by the decisions of the majority of people around them. If the majority are happy with their rights and their privileges and their status, why should we pay attention to the widows and orphans and immigrants? If the majority are happy, why should we care about the trans kids, and the gay community, and the people of color? In fact, why not use them as scary distractions in our attack ads to get elected to office? If everything is fine for me, why should I pay attention to anyone else? Let me just walk around in my flashy robes at the banquets and say my long prayers! Who’s gonna even notice what happens to these other people?
Well. To those other people, let me say clearly: Jesus notices you. Jesus sees you when you don’t fit in. Jesus sees you when the larger society would rather cast you off. Jesus sees you when you find it is hard to have hope.
Jesus saw the widow who gave everything she had. And Jesus sees you when you think you have nothing left to give. No matter what society is telling you, Jesus sees you. Jesus loves you. And Jesus is here for you. No matter what you are going through right now, Jesus sees you. And Jesus is here for you.
Amen
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