Sermonette: Nov. 12, 2018

As I read Mark 12:38-44, the assigned gospel reading for Sunday, Nov. 11, I find it interesting that in the midst of all those who are making their offering at the temple, Jesus took notice of a widow who had obviously fallen on hard times. All that she had was only two measly, tiny coins and she gave them as her offering. Jesus said that she gave her very life. Wow!

Note that Jesus did not condemn those who gave far more in monetary worth as they gave their offerings but only noted the relative impact of the offerings. Those who had much, even if they gave a generous offering, still had much left over for their own personal needs. The widow, on the other hand, while her offering was not very much in monetary terms, had nothing left over to attend to her own needs.

This widow was demonstrating a total dependence on God while the rest were only giving what they could afford. And that is what Jesus notices in all this, she is completely dependent on God and the others appear to depend on themselves. It is significant that time, and time again, studies of church giving reveal that as people’s income increases, they tend to give a smaller proportion of their income to the church. It is as if the more God blesses them, the less they feel that they can trust God for their future. Hmm . . .

It’s telling that the evangelist we call Mark placed two stories together to contrast models of discipleship. The first was about scribes who hold a place of honor in the society. These were the ones that interpreted the faith and nurtured the faithful. The problem was, as had been previously demonstrated by the various attempts of Jesus’ own the disciples to secure places of honor, that along with honor came temptation.

Recognition and praise are very seductive things. Once you have experienced the pleasure of them, you want more. Jesus pointed to scribes who “like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets” (Mark 12:38-39). One does not have to observe today’s society for very long in order to observe this temptation being played out among us. And even worse, sometimes it even results in our taking advantage of the most vulnerable of our community in order to advance ourselves.

Jesus warned against those who “devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers” (Mark 12:40). The evangelist juxtaposes this unfavorable example of our human condition with the story of a widow, one who was very vulnerable in Jesus’ day, who becomes a model for discipleship.

I wonder what we might learn about our Lord, ourselves, our neighbors, our discipleship if we were to truly take notice of the vulnerable and be in honest conversation together? Might we learn a bit more about loving and trusting God? Might we learn a bit more about loving our neighbor? Might we learn a bit more about becoming a whole community of believers? Remember, all things are possible with God. Glory be to God.