Pentecost 24
November 7, 2015
In his earthly ministry, Jesus frequently talked about
issues of wealth and poverty. It is, in
fact, a common theme throughout the bible.
In this week’s Gospel Lesson, Jesus observes a widow putting two small
coins in the Temple treasury. An
offering, Jesus says, that represents “all she had to live on.” Often times, we lift up this widow as an
example of the kind of sacrificial giving that God expects of us as
Christians. But, I don’t think that’s
what Jesus was doing. In the paragraph
just before this one, Jesus criticizes scribes who “devour widow’s houses”
among other things. Actions which, Jesus
implies, are self-focused and self-serving.
I think the contrast here is intentional. Those who give out of their abundance, but
ignore and even take advantage of poor widows and others in need, have
completely missed the point of their offering and God’s intent for the use of
their wealth. Amos and other Old
Testament writers offer a similar critique of the people of their own times
(Amos 8:4-6). Like Jesus, they call
upon God’s people to use what we have for the sake of widows, orphans, the poor
and the powerless of the world.
These days, in every corner of the church, I hear people
talking about a lack of funds to do the ministries we are called to do. This is true in congregations, in the synod
and churchwide offices, in seminaries and colleges and other institutions and
ministries where I serve on boards. The
problem today is not so much a misuse of our abundance, but the paralysis of
our perceived scarcity. Many, it seems,
feel the best response is to cling tightly to what we have. To take care of ourselves first. But, by doing so, don’t we fall into the same
trap as the scribes? Don’t we wind up
self-focused and self-serving in the use of what we have? The scriptures call us to a different,
almost counter-intuitive way of thinking about these things. Paul, writing to the Corinthians (2
Corinthians 9-10) encourages people to give from a sense of gratitude for God’s
blessings, rather than that of fear. He
acknowledges that not everyone has the ability to give a lot, but he believes
everyone has the ability to give something.
If, with grateful hearts, we all
give in proportion to what we have received, combining our resources for the sake
of Christ’s work, then widows won’t be forced to offer up “all they have to
live on” and God’s work will still be done in our congregations, in our synod,
in our church and around the world.
In Gratitude,
Bishop Mike
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