“The Jews had been living in their great story for, they believed, well over a thousand years. Their story, like a great costume drama going on over many generations, stretched back to Abraham, Moses, David, and other heroes of the distant past. But it was all going to come to its great climax, they believed, any moment now. It was a single story, and they were at its leading edge. This story is unique in the ancient world. Even the Romans had not thought of themselves in this way, with the sense of a great story now at last reaching its climax, until Augustus and his court poets uses the idea in their propaganda.” (“The Jewish Storm”, Simply Jesus,  N. T. Wright, p. 32)

I find this last comment interesting – that even the Romans did not think of them selves having a story that stretched back into antiquity that was building to a great triumph – a time when one king, one lone king would lead them into a future that had been going somewhere for thousands of years. The Kings of Rome had ruled from 753 BCE to 509 BCE when the last one was overthrown. Kings like Romulus and Ancus Marcius ruled each for a period of about 35 years before they were killed, or just died. Over the centuries there would be other titles for their rulers, like consul, proconsul, and Caesar, but their only direction seemed to be survival or domination, to hold onto rule and to conquer the world.

The Jews, the Israelites, had a different idea. They were holding on for their King of Kings to finally come – the one prophesied for so many years – and they trusted G-d to fulfill his promise. Hey trusted that G-d would come to rule the world, and make things right again. And this promise stretches back into antiquity. As Americans, our story stretches back 240 some years – and today we are as dis-united as possibly we have ever been. We can only hope that Messiah comes soon – or human leaders who follow the teachings of Jesus to the letter.

Pastor Dave

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, ³⁹and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! ⁴⁰They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” ⁴¹He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.⁴³Then 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. ⁴⁴For 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.” Mark 12:38-44

“Her whole living? That should be a moment for pause. None of us can give that to the church, or to anyone or anything, for that matter. So we cannot reduce her donation to a percentage or a portion. We cannot rationalize her offering for the sake of dedication to some calculated stewardship campaign. She gave her whole life to God. If we turn this into a stewardship sermon, we have most certainly succeeded in undermining this widow’s gift at best and making it an example at worst.

Her whole life. Why? Out of obligation? Respect? Demand? Expectation? Religiosity? Piety? All of the above? She gave her whole life because there were no other options. She gave her whole life because that’s what was expected of her. She gave her whole life because her life depended on it. Caught in a system of quid pro quo, trapped in expectations that demanded more from her than she could practically give, knowing that her future depended on her present, she had to do what she did. She acted out of assumptions and assertions and assessments that located her, managed her, and determined her life. There was no other recourse than to give her whole life.” (Karoline Lewis, November 1, 2015, “Whole Life Living”)

Down to your last dollar.  Have you ever found yourself down to your last dollar?  Has your life ever led you to a decision on HOW or IF you would spend your last dollar?  I have never been there, although I have felt that way.  I have felt that if I wasn’t careful with my spending for the week, that I might have to make that decision.  The two widows from our first reading and the Gospel lesson are both faced with exactly that decision.  Widows in our day do not necessarily carry the same connotation that they did in ancient Israel – or ancient Mediterranean.  In the Bible, the widow is often held up as an example of what it means to be helpless and utterly dependent – hopeless and penniless.  Both women are faced with the decision to use their last vestiges of resources on which to live – and then die as a result.  This is the case for the widow in Sidon with Elijah – we can assume the same for the woman putting her last two coins into the treasury.  We look at what these two women were up against, and what they chose to do, and we shake our heads, because most of us cannot relate.  Most of us would not be able to give away – to the church – to anyone – the last dollar they have to support themselves and their families – to sustain their lives.  We can’t relate.

But maybe we can relate to this.  Mother Theresa is purported to once have said: “If you give only what you do not need, it isn’t giving.”  If you give only what you do not need, then that isn’t giving. 

Why do you give?  How do you give?

Pastor Dave