Scripture text: Mark 12:38-44
The widow’s mite. One of the more famous encounters in Jesus’ life story. Many of us know this story very well. Jesus comes to Jerusalem and he spends some of his time chillin’ outside the temple where the treasury is kept and received. He watches as the rich and the powerful give exorbitant sums into the treasury. And then along comes this widow, destitute and desperate, giving her last penny into the treasury.
Conventional wisdom about how to interpret this text has frequently hinged on a thesis-antithesis model, contrasting the greed and extravagance of the wealthy verses the humble generosity of the widow. But there is another school of thought and it hinges on the things Jesus says aloud to his disciples before he goes to the temple. “Beware the scribes! They who devour widow’s houses! They demand everyone’s attention and praise for their piety and wealth.”
This story may be less thesis and antithesis than thesis and example. “Oh, wasn’t I just telling you about what these people do to widows and here comes one now. Look at what they’ve done to her.”
Those of you visiting us today may have heard that I can, at times, say things from this pulpit that might be a bit controversial. I’m about to do that now. You know, we all know the Bible was written thousands of years ago on another continent. We are divided from the people of these stories by a huge span of time and distance and yet there is probably not a more American story in the Scriptures than this one. And that is not a compliment.
For our society too devours the homes of widows and the poor. For our society too gives praise to people of greed and false piety. We love to claim the mantle of Christianity in our society and yet the actual teachings of Jesus are as alien to us as all the crazy space creatures many of us will be watching when the new Star Wars movie opens next month.
Image from starwars.wikia.com
Scary that more folks probably know this guy's species than the real teachings of Jesus
(He's a Wookie, FYI)
If you think I’m kidding, let me enlighten you. Tonight, over 100,000 of our “heroes,” our veterans, those who have fought in war for our freedom, will sleep on the street. Tonight, 1 in 5 children, the most helpless of our population, will go to bed hungry. Tonight, an African-American mother will sit there worrying whether her son or her husband or both will make it home through their crime-ridden impoverished neighborhood. Tonight, seniors will be deciding (still) whether to pay their rent or their medical costs. Tonight, families will be worrying about how to pay the bills when their paycheck is getting smaller by the minute.
In the wealthiest most prosperous nation this world has ever seen, everyone of those things is a travesty. And as we gear up in this election season, the word I hear from most of the candidates are not ways to help, but ways that will make things worse.
We love to talk about how we are a Christian nation and yet we fail…miserably…at the most basic test of a Christian society. We do not take care of one another. No, instead we demand that the widows and all others like her give their mite for the sake of the wealthy and the greedy, because they matter and she doesn’t.
Since all of us here are people of good character, I would imagine that we’re all asking ourselves what can be done about all this. That’s a very good question. But there’s a better one. Ask yourself what YOU can do about all this.
You see, there’s a twofold reason why things have gotten this way. One is that we’ve forgotten is that they’re will always be charlatans and predators out there looking for the vulnerable to exploit. Brian Roche on WGAL tells us about some of them every night, warning us about the latest scams. But that sort of diligence is only way we keep these people at bay and the most vulnerable of our world protected. And we have not been diligent. No, instead we have often welcomed their kind into the halls of power in government and business, where they can and have done the most damage.
The second reason is that we have forgotten what Jesus has called us to be and do. On the mountain of the Ascension, after he had lived, died on a cross, and then rose again for your sake, mine, and the whole world’s, Jesus called his disciples to do as he did. To make other disciples. To care for the sick and the needy. To be witnesses to his truth. And here again, we have fallen down on the job.
In both cases, we have often decided that the job belongs to someone else. It’s not our problem. It’s not our fight. We can’t be bothered.
Bishop Matthew Reigel of WV-WMD Synod recently posted on Facebook about this very dynamic. We hear a lot of bellyaching in our society. A lot of complaints. How awful it is that the church is dying! And yet, we can’t be bothered to come to worship each Sunday. Hmm!
How awful it is that no one respects Christmas in the right way. And yet, for most, it’s about Santa Claus and presents and we can’t be bothered to celebrate the Nativity of our Savior in a church.
How awful it is that no one respects the Sabbath day anymore. And yet, we can’t be bothered to tell our kid’s soccer coach to stuff it when he schedules all the games on Sunday.
It’s always someone else’s job to show up. Everyone else should change, but not us. We can’t be bothered. And that’s why the widow has to give out her last penny, because we can’t be bothered to do something about it.
Jesus didn’t call someone else. He called you and he called me to change the world. I often tell people that we change the world one soul at a time, but for that to work sometimes the first soul that has to change is our own.
So if we’re bothered by the fact that some of our veterans sleep under bridges, are we going to do something about it? Are we going to build them homes? Are we going to hold those in the halls of power to account for their lack of action on this problem? Are we?
If we’re bothered by children going hungry, are we going to do something about it? Are we going to pay for their food? Are we going to hold those in the halls of power to account for their lack of action on this problem? Are we going to do something about all these problems in our society? Or are we going to leave it to someone else?
That’s not what Jesus taught. That’s not what Jesus showed in his life. He was sent to us to save us. And he didn’t wait around wondering if someone else was going to get nailed to that cross. He did it and he did it for us. He did it for the whole world. For everyone. We are called to tell people that. We are called to remind the people of the world, rich, poor, or whatever stripe they are, that they matter to God. What more powerful witness can we make than to fight for them, to protect them, to care for them in the midst of a world that would devour them. We stand in the gap, doing all we can to show how important they are to our God.
You want a Christian nation? You want a Christian society? That’s how it’s done. Amen.
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