“Hopeful Giving” Colchester Federated Church, November 10, 2024, Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (Mark 12:38-44)

Over the last several weeks, the theme of humility has been cropping up in the stories of our faith.  James and John wanted to be on Jesus’ right and left in his glory.  Instead, Jesus spoke about being a servant: “whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant.”[1]  Blind Bartimaeus was scolded and shushed when calling out to Jesus for healing.  But Jesus saw him and invited him forward saying that Bartimaeus’ faith would make him well.  Then Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the Way.  Last Sunday, we remembered that the saints in our lives can be famous figures of the Church or ordinary people who make a difference with their loving-kindness.  A saint is anyone for whom God’s light shines through. 

The thread that connects these stories is humility.  We can consider that humility is freedom from pride and arrogance.  Humility is an absence of feeling that we are better than other people.  Humility comes with wisdom.  Humility is hard, and it seems that humility is sometimes not valued.  Following in the footsteps of Jesus the Christ and living as Jesus taught us is not about power and might.  We hear that message over and over again throughout the Gospels.  Sometimes that knowledge is so uncomfortable that perhaps we ignore Jesus’ teachings about humility or interpret those teachings to say that it’s not what Jesus actually meant.  But what about the meek inheriting the earth and the merciful receiving mercy and the peacemakers being called children of God and the last being first in the Kingdom of God?

Today’s Gospel story from the Gospel according to Mark continues those themes of humility and what matters and who is great.  Jesus said to his followers, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets.  They long for places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets.  They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off they say long prayers.  They will be judged most harshly.”[2]  Jesus often got into arguments with the scribes (legal experts who were far more educated than others and occupied an elevated position in society).  Keep in mind that only 10% of the population was fully literate.  Therefore, knowledge was power on a level that’s hard to imagine in our modern lives. 

And instead of having knowledge and passing it along to create a more educated society, it seems that these particular scribes were more interested in lording their status over everyone else.  Their expectation was to be greeted with honor, and to be seated in places of honor at banquets and in synagogues.  Yet, the scribes are the ones who would cheat widows out of their houses and say long prayers just to show off.  The large egos and hypocrisy were evident.  Jesus says that they will be judged for these actions.  Because it’s not the fancy outfits and seats of honor or long-winded prayers that matter so much to God as how we treat the widows—the powerless on the margins.  These are the words of Jesus as shared in Mark’s Gospel. 

Old Testament prophets repeatedly condemned the powerful for taking advantage of widows and orphans because these groups were the most vulnerable in society.  There was not a patriarch around to take care of them and advocate for them in a society that was set up in that way.  The prophet Isaiah once said, “Doom to those who pronounce wicked decrees, and keep writing harmful laws to deprive the needy of their rights and to rob the poor among my people of justice; to make widows their loot; to steal from orphans!  What will you do on the day of punishment when disaster comes from far away?  To whom will you flee for help; where will you stash your wealth?”[3] 

These words from Isaiah are part of the prophetic tradition that Jesus is drawing upon when he cites the scribes cheating widows out of their houses.  As if they aren’t at enough of a disadvantage.  Jesus is drawing upon this rich tradition to make sure that we know exactly what’s happening because it’s happened before and unfortunately it may well happen again.  This is about vulnerable people being taken advantage of by those in power who too often care more about looking good, sitting in the best seats at fancy banquets, and holding onto their privilege than helping those in need.  God is still speaking.

To bring the message home, Jesus turns his attention to a widow.  Jesus observes a person who practices what he’s been preaching.  Jesus is sitting across from the collection box for the Temple treasury and watching how the crowd is giving their money.  Many of the rich people throw in lots of money.  But one poor widow comes forward.  She puts in two small copper coins that were worth only a penny.  Jesus sees her and what she has given to the Temple where she comes to worship God.  Jesus sees that she has given from her heart.  Calling the disciples to him, Jesus says, “I assure you that this poor widow has put in more than everyone who’s been putting money in the treasury.  All of them are giving out of their spare change.  But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had, even what she needed to live on.”[4]

This story is challenging.  The poor widow (whose name we are not told) is a wonderful example of devotion to God.  In reality, she gave only a tiny fraction of a day’s wage.  Yet for her (and for Jesus), this offering counts more than the rich people’s leftovers.  Because she is giving her whole life to God, giving everything she has.  Her offering represents devotion to God unlike anything that Jesus was observing from the rich who were coming into the Temple and giving lots of money, but their offerings wouldn’t have even made a dent in all of the money they possessed.  Their giving wasn’t sacrificial and it could have even been motivated as a means to show off like the scribes that Jesus spoke about.  Perhaps the giving was even to assuage their guilt for writing harmful laws to deprive the needy of their rights and robbing the poor and making widows their loot and stealing from orphans as the prophet Isaiah proclaimed.

In the end, the widow’s gift is about hopeful giving.  The gift is an act of hope in the face of hopelessness.  If we think that we have no power or that nothing we do can make a difference, remember this story.  The gifts that we bring do not have to be immense to be great.  Jesus lifted up the example of the poor widow, the humble widow, as the truly faithful person.  May we be inspired by her example, and go out and do likewise.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

[1] Mark 10:43, CEB.
[2] Mark 12:38-40.
[3] Isaiah 10:1-3.
[4] Mark 12:43-44.

Photo by Luke Carliff on Unsplash