November 9, 2003 - 22nd Sunday After Pentecost - Father Fred Myers

FIRST READING: Book of Ruth 3: 1-5; 4: 13-17
PSALM: 127
SECOND READING: Letter to the Hebrews 9: 24-28
GOSPEL: Mark 12: 38-44

One of my favorite pastimes is watching people. I am a people-watcher, and, yesterday, I was with Andrew down in San Diego. I had never seen the Cathedral before, and I got a chance to see it and to participate in a conference down there. But, on the way back, we stopped at a couple of places to have a cup of coffee and have some dinner on the way home. I just love to sit there and watch people, and I guess that part of that comes from my background in college. My undergraduate degree was in social psychology, and, in that study, we had to watch people.

And that is what Jesus was doing, and I wonder if He had a degree in social psychology? I don't think so. But, He was watching people as they came to the temple to put money into the coffers there to support the temple and work of the temple, and He was making an observation. The first words we hear in the Gospel is that Jesus was teaching, and this is what Jesus did a lot of. He taught. He taught how to be in a right relationship with God; and He taught how to be in a right relationship with one another.

As you know, we are in our Stewardship phase, if you will. This is not one of my most favorite times of preaching or doing anything like that. When I was in the active ministry, I avoided it by allowing my vestry to do the preaching at that time. But we do have an important lesson here on the widow's mite, and I think that we need to hear it from the perspective of Jesus. What did Jesus see when He saw this widow putting her money into the coffer? He saw a person who was disenfranchised - a widow - she no longer had a husband. She no longer had a real income. She no longer had anything. She was one of those who were set aside. She was a disenfranchised person. And, yet, she made her trek to the temple. She made her walk to the temple, and she brought what she had. Now, the question I have is - why did she do that? Why? I think the answer to that question is because she was committed to God. She was committed from her heart to acknowledging and worshiping God, and this is the way she did it. She was committed. Jesus said before this to look at the people who were giving out of their abundance. They were just coming and dropping coins in and leaving. There was no feeling in it. But, for this woman, there was a definite commitment.

Why was she so committed? Why was she so committed? We are not really told in the Gospel why she was committed; we are just told that she was committed. And, my thought on that is that she was committed because she was counting her blessings. She was not giving to the temple out of a sense of - "well they need it". She is not giving to the temple out of a sense of duty. She is not giving to the temple out of a sense of feeling guilty, that she needs to somehow contribute to the temple. She is giving to the temple simply because she is thankful. She is thankful for the many blessings that she has already received. She had a husband. She has maybe a family. She has a place to live. No, she doesn't have much money. She doesn't have all the riches in life, but, what she has, she is very grateful for. And, so, she is committed.

This whole story always reminds me of that tired old joke about a breakfast of bacon and eggs, where the chicken is a donor, but the pig has to make a real commitment. And that is true. The widow had made a real commitment.

I think what we need to do in our lives is ask ourselves - How has God blessed me? How has God blessed me? Is it enough for me to want to contribute to the Church that is supposed to be working towards helping others and bringing the word of salvation, bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ? Do I want to further that? Am I committed enough to do that? And that is the question I think we need to ask ourselves. Jesus observed this. He was people-watching. He was watching the people as they came to the temple, putting their money into the coffers, and He saw this widow; and it touched Him. Here was a disenfranchised person who gave everything she had. This is what God asks from us. God gave His only Son, gave everything He had, that we might have Eternal Life. God gave His only Son - everything that God has - that we might be in a right relationship with Him. He doesn't ask us to do that. He really doesn't. God says, "I have already done this for you". And what we do is that we respond - we become responsible - we respond to God's love for us.

How committed are we to do that? How committed can we be? Are we willing to give everything we have? Not only our treasure, but our time and our talent. How willing are we to go out and help others? How willing are we to work in the Church here? How willing are we to give of our time? This is the question that we need to ask. This is the question that Jesus is answering for us, and He is saying, "This woman knows how to do that. This woman knows how to express her love for God. This woman knows how to say thank you to God for the many blessings that she has, not for any gain, but out of her heart of thankfulness."

AMEN