The Measure of Our Reliance on God - Pentecost 23 (November 8, 2009)

1 Kings 17:8-16
Psalm 146
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44

They were both widows and they were both poor. They were also down to their last resources. These are the circumstances in the two stories we read from today’s lessons: the Widow of Zeraphath (1 Kings 17), who gave her last bit of meal to the prophet Elijah during a drought in the land; and the Widow in the Temple (today’s Gospel from Mark 12), who placed her two last copper coins in the Temple treasury while Jesus was teaching in the Temple.

No, this is not a sermon on stewardship, and certainly it is not a sermon on tithing, if only for the fact that tithing involves giving ten percent and these women gave everything they had left. It is however a sermon on sacrifice and reliance, more particularly, about how we measure our reliance on God. Let me tell you my thesis from the outset: the measure for reliance is sacrifice. That is to say, how much we rely on God is directly proportional to how much we are willing to sacrifice.

In both of these stories, the widows are literally down to their last earthly resources. The Widow of Zeraphath tells Elijah, when he tells her to bring him a morsel of bread, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Similarly, when Jesus notices the widow in the temple: “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 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.” The Greek text is a little stronger here than we see in our translations. Literally, she put in her “bios” – i.e. her life.

Now it is instructive to consider the context of Jesus’ statement here. Giving money to the Temple treasury was not the anonymous act of placing one’s tithe or pledge envelope into the offering plate each week as we have become accustomed to in church. In the section of the Temple called the “Court of Women” were thirteen large receptacles. (Notice that these receptacles were specifically placed in the “Court of Women” rather than the “Court of Men” so that all could contribute to the upkeep of the Temple; and then notice Jesus’ remarks about “devouring widow’s houses” – but I digress.) As people came forward to toss in their gifts they were expected to announce the amount and the purpose for which the gift was given in order to be heard by the priest overseeing the collections.

Of course, there was a practical purpose for this: as any church treasurer can tell you, it’s good to keep track of the amount of receipts coming in (and expenses going out). But over time these public announcements, naturally enough, became occasions for pride; a demonstration of one’s wealth and generosity; an occasion to assert one’s status. How impressive it is to give a great gift and to have it announced for all to hear! The greater the amount given, the greater one’s status becomes. Things are not too different today. Who isn’t impressed when someone with great wealth (like “Bill Gates”) gives an enormous amount of money to a worthy cause. It’s worth celebrating, especially if one’s organization or charity happens to be the beneficiary!

But the mistake we often make is to assume that the amount of a gift is an accurate indicator or measure of the amount of one’s piety. This is certainly the assumption of those in the Temple on this particular occasion. Pretty soon we come to regard those with wealth, status and resources as the ones truly in God’s favor. But it’s just this idea of piety that Jesus warns against: “Beware of the 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! They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” “Don’t be like them!” Jesus says. The scribes were the lawyers of the day, experts in the Torah, especially the oral tradition. But they were also every bit as proficient in finding ways around the law and applying the law to enrich themselves – hence, Jesus’ comment about “devouring widows’ houses.”

How impressive it would have been to watch such people, with their long robes and great status, tossing large sums of money into the temple coffers, calling out the amount for all to hear, announcing their piety to the world! In such a crowd, who would notice a lone widow tossing in the two lowest coins in the realm? – Jesus noticed. And it was not the sum of her gift that Jesus declared was measure of her piety and faith, but rather the amount of her sacrifice – she had given all that had; she had thrown in her whole life. But, mind you, this was not a gamble. She was not laying all her money down on God in one last desperate bet on life. Rather she was trusting her life to God.

As I said at the beginning of this sermon – the measure of our reliance on God is not the amount that we give, but what we willing to offer to God in sacrifice.