This week there was an election—perhaps you heard about it. And as of today, a large part of the electorate is really pleased, an equally large part is really disappointed, and a significant group in the middle are indifferent, and had it gone the other way, those characterizations would have been much the same. Throughout the fall, I have preached from this pulpit that we as Christian people are not to place our faith in politicians; just as in the days of the Old and New Testaments, the Bible cautions against putting our trust in earthly rulers; and the prophets keep on cajoling us—put your trust in God! I have prepared for today a sermon that is a call to action for us, and that I prepared prior to the election, knowing that I would say the same thing to you regardless of who won. I don’t know if this sermon will be helpful to you or not. I pray that it will be, and that it will help us to talk more about where God is leading us. Let us pray:
Gracious and Holy God, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, for you, O Lord, are our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
I don’t say it often enough, but one of my favorite things about being a pastor here is the curiosity of this congregation. You might not realize it, but a lot of church people aren’t so curious. Many aren’t interested in struggling with the meaning of the Bible; in many places, unpopular or unpleasant scriptures do not get read, unconventional interpretations of the text are not welcomed, and people want answers from the pulpit, even though the Bible mostly gives us questions. But not here. Here at Knox, we dig around in the texts of the Bible to unearth surprises and truths, to expose interpretations that have been harmful in the past and to question if there’s another way a text can be understood. As far as I can tell, you not only tolerate that kind of preaching but welcome it. And your curiosity is a gift to me; and I thank you.
So in that spirit, this morning is Commitment Sunday (the day by which we hope all of you, members and non, newcomers and old stalwarts, have made your pledge). You can consider this the last of my Stewardship sermons for this fall, and in this one, we will not focus on budgets or highlight ministries—with thanks to the Stewardship Committee, we’ve done that. Instead I’m going to do something a bit different. We’re going to look at one of the most classic fundraising texts in the Bible, and I’m going to invite you to think about it differently than you might have before. I’m going to ask some curious questions; and theme will be: what kind of a world do you want to live in?
The story is traditionally known as the story of The Widow’s Mite—m-i-t-e—meaning a very small amount. In this story, Jesus and his disciples are near the synagogue, and observe people coming to make their gifts to the temple treasury. They observe rich people coming and giving large gifts, and then a poor widow who comes and gives two small copper coins, a modest gift. And Jesus says this: “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she has to live on.” This text is typically preached to demonstrate sacrificial giving, and celebrate the generosity of the widow. We look at how she gives, talk of it as praiseworthy, and then we hope others will do likewise—right? Any of our long-time churchgoers have heard that sermon. Now, let’s get curious.
The story of the widow’s mite appears in three of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke—that’s not true of a lot of Bible stories and suggests that something important is going on here. The Widow’s Mite appears in the story of Jesus right at the end of his ministry, right before Jesus begins the road to the Cross. So we can imagine that Jesus might be making use of this teaching as a last opportunity to make his point. This is one of Jesus’ last chances to teach his disciples and he knows it. You might wonder if Jesus is doing something much bigger than a lesson on fundraising; perhaps Jesus is using this story to leave them with a big question, something like: “What kind of a world do you want to live in?”
The version of the story we read comes from the Gospel of Luke. Luke is the author who spends the most time sharing Jesus’ teachings about money, and the thing I love about how Luke tells these stories is that he tells stories that are curious. Luke tells the thought-provoking story about rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. He challenges a Rich Fool who has more than anyone else, but is still worried and anxious. One of my favorites is the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, a story in which a middle manager makes moral compromises as he tries to do the right thing. Luke’s stories of Jesus are never one-dimensional—there is always some curiosity to be explore
So when it comes to the widow’s mite, the same must be true. Luke, like most of the Bible’s authors, contrasts the kingdom of heaven and the ways of the world; he always wants us to be questioning how things are and wondering about how they should be, and what kind of higher purposes God has in mind. Today, we started reading at the end of chapter 20 right before Jesus comment at the temple treasury, and here something else is going on. Right before Jesus invites the disciples to notice people making their gifts at the temple, he makes another observation. He’s denouncing the scribes, a group of wealthy and powerful people, he says of them: “they walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces…” And then he makes another comment about them which just happens to be about widows, he says, “They devour widows houses and for the sake of appearance, say long prayers.” He’s talking about these hypocrites, obviously making a commentary about things that are not the way they should be. Is it a coincidence that just as a widow walks up to make her gift, Jesus has noted that widows’ houses are being devoured? There must be something going on here; something that isn’t right. What’s the point Jesus is making?
I heard New Testament scholar Eric Barreto talk about this passage once; here’s what he thought. Jesus refers to the people bringing their gifts to the Temple treasury, and seeing the widow, Jesus comments that that she has put in everything she has. We are often taught that this is a good thing, the woman is a model of generosity, and we usually assume that Jesus is holding up the woman as an example.
But that’s not what Jesus says; Jesus just observes what is going on. And what if what is going on isn’t the right thing; what if this isn’t the way it should be. What if we are supposed to read this story, and see the folks who have more than enough giving some, and then widow who has almost nothing giving everything she has. What if we’re supposed to read it and say to ourselves, “That’s messed up. Who would want to live in a world that demands so little of people who have so much, and demands everything of people who have almost nothing to give?” Is that the kind of world you want to live in?
This is what Jesus is asking at the end of his ministry, before he begins the road to the Cross: what kind of world to you want to live in? What should be the relationship between the rich and the poor? Do we really want to live in a world that “devours widow’s houses?” Do we want to live in a world that celebrates the sacrificial faith of the poorest of the poor as others sit and watch? Or do we want something different? Maybe we want to ask harder, more curious questions: How does our community care for its most vulnerable people? What does my religious tradition have to say about inequality? What does Jesus’ ask of me? Reading this story at the end of our Stewardship season, I hope you see this story a little differently than its typical interpretation. We do not want to be like this story. We have another story in mind. We hope our people who have more than they need will give sacrificially; we hope that those who hardly have anything will never be required to give all they have. We want something different, because not only are we curious, but we are yearning, for a better world to live in, and we want to join God in bringing it about.
It’s a curious interpretation, for a curious congregation; and I hope that in light of this whole contentious season, it encourages you to be curious about other things too. I have said to you throughout the fall, and will continue to say, that our salvation is not in a political candidate. Kamala Harris was not going to save us; neither will Donald Trump. Electing either of them president was bound to leave us with a still divided country, and with plenty of ongoing struggles that need to be solved.
Our country needs curious people, who don’t wish to rest on the laurels of political victory or be demoralized by defeat, but to keep being curious about the problems we face. And this congregation needs to keep being curious about our role in the culture, and dedicated to the values we have long held dear.
In the days ahead, these are the things we will do: We will love our neighbors, regardless of their religion, ethnic background, or national origin; we will be witnesses to the plight of the poor and the hungry and children who lack opportunities for a better life; we will honor the contributions of all people, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, and we will lift up voices that have long been silenced. We will be curious and seek to act in response to global issues even when they confound us; we will be brave in our conversations, seeking to grow when we disagree, and refusing to be divided even when divisive voices surround us; and we will keep preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, encouraging generosity, kindness, and justice in all that we do.
Brian McLaren, an author I like, says this: that “In times of crisis, people either clench fists, or open hands and arms and hearts.” That is not a partisan comment. We are living in a time of crisis; and the same would be true had the election gone the other way. Take a deep breath; this crisis has been going on for a while, and we have lived in times of crisis before. In the days that are before us, who will we be? Will we clench fists, or will we open hands and arms and hearts? What kind of a world do you want to live in? If we are truly curious about what Jesus is trying to tell us, we can join him in bringing that world about. Amen.