Ordinary 27

Ordinary 27

Readings and Homily

1 Kings 17:8-16

The word of the LORD came to Elijah, saying, "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you." So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink." As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." But she said, "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." Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth." She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Psalm 146

Hallelujah!Praise the LORD, O my soul! *

I will praise the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth, *

for there is no help in them.

When they breathe their last, they return to earth, *

and in that day their thoughts perish.

Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help!*

whose hope is in the LORD their God;

Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them; *

who keeps his promise for ever;

Who gives justice to those who are oppressed, *

and food to those who hunger.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;

the LORD opens the eyes of the blind; *

the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

The LORD loves the righteous;

the LORD cares for the stranger; *

he sustains the orphan and widow,

but frustrates the way of the wicked.

The LORD shall reign for ever, *

your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.

Hallelujah!

Hebrews 9:24-28

Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Mark 12:38-44

Teaching in the temple, Jesus said, "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."

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, "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."

+

Psalm 146, appointed for today, gives us as clear a picture of God’s Good News as in any other passage of scripture. God is the God who cares for the stranger, sustains widows and orphans, feeds the hungry, opens the eyes of the blind, brings justice to the oppressed, and “the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down”. The imagery is just rich with God as defender, helper, protector, and comforter. These are the images that make our hearts sing. May God grant us an ever more expansive imagination so that we can take in the depth of this vision. It is radical and transformative. This is the consistent theme found in Holy Scripture... it is the theme of Jesus’ preaching and life on earth... it is the theme of the Kingdom of God... it is to be the theme of the “Community of God”, the church, which reflects the life and grace of Christ.

Jesus sits down opposite the treasury of the temple. The treasury is a decorative container where people would bring their contributions for the temple. There were a number of them spread throughout the temple. These “containers” were ostentatious... like everything else in the temple from all accounts. This was a beautiful place.

Jesus watches as people presented their “offerings”. Many rich people came by and dropped in large amounts of money... then comes this widow who throws in two small copper coins... “Then he called his disciples...” He seemed to be waiting for this moment. He tells them that she puts in more than all the others who have contributed because she gave out of her great need... in fact... she gave all she had to live on. End of story... I don’t know about you but I want to hear about how Jesus went to the widow and commended her for her contribution and encouraged her faith and her faithfulness. I want to hear about how Jesus commanded his disciples to give her what she needs to live for the next year... We don’t know what happens. We don’t know if Jesus spoke to this woman or if the disciples met her great need. Frankly I’m shocked... the more I think about this story the more I wonder. The disciples, and we... ought to be outraged... this poor widow just gave everything she had to live on... so... how is she going to live?

Elijah was a prophet of action... and in the passage from First Kings we read that God spoke to him and told him, “Go to Zarephath... I have commanded a widow there to see to your needs” and Elijah goes. He finds the woman gathering sticks for a fire and tells her to fetch him some water... “And while you’re at it make me a small piece of bread as well”. She tells him that she has just a little left and is now gathering a few sticks so that she can go home, cook a last little meal for her and her son... then starve to death. We know the story... how Elijah declares the “Word of the Lord” and her oil and meal last for many days for the three of them.

I wonder if this story occurred to Jesus as he watched the poor widow give away the last of her money... the only thing keeping her from possible starvation?

No doubt there are lessons here for us about giving. Maybe we are to be more like this widow who gives her last two cents for the sake of the kingdom? Maybe we need to consider the percentage of our giving and remember this poor widow who gave 100%? Clearly we need to do better than the many wealthy people Jesus watched give out of their great wealth.

I can’t escape the feeling though... that Jesus was doing more than merely contrasting the giving of the wealthy with that of the poor widow who gave everything. These people were giving to the temple, for the Temple, for it’s maintenance, and the continuation of the elaborate culture that attended the Temple.

Look at the context of this passage. It reads like vignettes from a “day at the Temple”. Jesus had been refuting the “scribes”, the teachers of the law and the religious leaders of the day and now he sat teaching his disciples in the Temple. He condemns the scribes as pompous and arrogant, watches the people contributing to the Temple Treasury, then later, when leaving the Temple, is more or less dismissive of the Temple... “Then Jesus asked him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’”

I want to suggest that Jesus is pointing out the failure of contemporary spirituality... that the religion of the day had abandoned the “weightier matters of the law” for an exacting subservience to ritual and the trappings of the Temple. I want to suggest that Jesus was pointing out that God is more concerned for the needs of this widow than for the beautiful Temple... that the Temple is not the heart of true worship and righteousness.

I think there’s a lesson about religion here as well. What is the nature of our religion? What are the hallmarks of our religion? Well... maybe “our spirituality” is better? Or maybe “our faith” is better? What about “our belief in God”? By “religion” we would mean the “entirety of our tradition”... so for us as Episcopalians it means our Book of Common Prayer, our church building, our Sunday Eucharistic Service, and a whole lot more I guess... but you get the idea.

Well... Jesus was pointing something out. He was pointing out where the religion of the day had gotten it wrong. It had gotten it wrong at least in part with this “picture” of a poor widow giving her last bit of copper, the last bit keeping her alive, to the Temple. The scribes, the wealthy, and the other worshippers ought to be taking care of this poor widow. I’m just not convinced that Jesus was pointing out this poor woman’s giving as a pattern for us to follow... (We’re not asking for people to give us the last of their resources... the last little bit keeping them alive are we? Now that would be a bold Stewardship campaign! Be like the poor widow and give to your church!) In the Letter of James we read, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” The world is a mean place... it glories in power, wealth, celebrity, and influence... at the expense of everything.

The heart of our religion is caring for those who need our help, those who are alone in the world... this is the Heart of the Gospel of God.

Amen.