In
late 2001 – about this time of year, actually - I accepted a position as the
director of a housing agency in Tacoma that worked with families and children
experiencing homelessness. We had an emergency shelter and apartments where families
could live, receive services, and get back on their feet. This was a few years
before I felt called to seminary.
After being at my job only a few weeks, a woman
walked into the shelter one day and asked to see the director. She was interested in knowing more about us
and asked if I would show her around our facility. We were in an old Catholic school that had
been closed for years. We had lots of space,
but the building was run down and looked pretty drab and gray. One of the classrooms had been turned into a
family room for our shelter families but it was dreary. The furniture was torn and broken-down, the
walls were an old 50’s classroom color, sorely in need of fresh paint. There were very few toys for the
children. It didn’t look very welcoming. But when I looked, I saw what it could
look like and as I showed Jane around (that was actually her name!), that’s
what I described. Fresh paint, soothing
colors, new furniture, lots of toys and books….. As we walked around the shelter I told her about
our programs, the families that called this home and how and why families
become homeless. After the tour, we went into my office where we talked a
little longer. We spent over an hour
together. When Jane was ready to leave,
she pulled out her checkbook and said that she wanted to make a donation. I could see the compassion in her eyes as she
told me how disturbed she had been to recently read in the newspaper that so many
children were homeless for the holidays, and she wanted to make sure that these
families were taken care of.
When you work for a non-profit you are always
thrilled when someone wants to make a donation, but I was speechless when Jane
handed me a check for $5,000. $5,000! Jane’s gift would make a huge difference in
our ability to help families. Her gift
was completely unexpected and as a staff, we celebrated the blessing of this
large gift. We were ecstatic. $5,000 was a significant boost to our budget.
With her gift, we could pay December rent for nearly 100 homeless families. Jane
saw a need, had the financial means, and made a financial gift that made a
difference in the lives of a lot of families that Christmas. I could see the joy on Jane’s face when she
handed me that check. She had compassion
for children in need and she was able to do something about it. What a blessing!
Two weeks later – almost to the day – a client
came in and asked to see me. Maria was a
single mom with 3 young children. She
had been in the shelter for almost four months. We had just moved Maria and her
children into an apartment at the beginning of the month – just a few weeks
after I started my job and I had only met her once before. Marie had become homeless
because she lost everything when she fled a dangerous, violent relationship. Marie
was excited to have an apartment for her children. She was working at McDonalds and taking
classes at a community college while juggling the care of her children. She was working really hard to get back on
her feet.
Maria seemed incredibly excited to see me and some
of the staff followed her into my office – we could all tell that something was
up! Maria handed me an envelope and said,
“Merry Christmas!” and she stood there and just
grinned.
I opened the envelope and found a Christmas card
that she and her children had signed.
But I also found something I didn’t expect. Maria had put $10 in the card. When I looked up, Maria’s eyes were
sparkling. She was so excited. She said, “I thought about what I could do to
let you guys know how thankful I am for the ways you are helping my
family. I couldn’t figure out what to
do. Then when I got my paycheck, I
realized that I could make a donation so that you can keep helping
families.” Maria was absolutely beaming. The joy she had in making this gift was
evident all over her face.
Now Maria’s $10 donation wasn’t going to do much
to help our budget. But I broke into
tears and embraced Maria. When I looked
up, the whole staff was crying. Maria’s
gift meant more to us than I can explain. Every staff member understood the
enormity of her gift. Maria’s $10 gift spoke
volumes. Her $10 gift was HUGE. It was
one of those times when you know that God has done something amazing.
Maria knew what it was to be in great need. She knew what it was like to struggle, to not
know how she was going to feed her children or wonder where they would sleep.
Her job at McDonald’s didn’t pay much – yet Maria gave from her heart. Maria was giving out of a heartfelt gratitude
because of what she had been through and the help she had received. When I talk about this – I can still feel all
the original emotions even though it’s been 20 years.
Who do you relate to? Perhaps you are like Jane, and you have been
fortunate and can give large financial gifts. Perhaps you are like
Maria who struggles every day to get by and you can’t
give much of a
financial gift – at least not a gift that you
think will make a difference.
I’ve always wished that I could sit down and write
out a big check for a cause I believe in or to someone who really needs some
help. But I’ve never been able to. I am a single mom, and it seems we always
struggled to get by. Maybe that’s why
Maria’s gift meant so much to me.
The difference between $5,000 and $10 is pretty big. But I have to tell you that we thought that both
Jane’s and Maria’s gifts were significant.
Both gifts made a HUGE difference in our work that December. We were equally joyous over both.
But the world – our western culture would say
differently, I think. I think the world
might not agree that both these gifts were significant. Our culture tells us that success is measured
by money and power. We look at the big
houses, the “important jobs”, the fancy cars and we think they measure
success. Too often, we determine personal
worth by who we are and what we have. Or…
by what we aren’t and what we don’t have.
Well folks, this is nothing new. It’s been the same way throughout history. In
fact, even in Jesus’ time, importance – worth – value - was determined by who
had the power and who had the money.
Maybe that’s why so many of Jesus’ teachings involve power and money.
Jesus is at odds with the religious leaders
throughout his ministry. But it isn’t
their positions that offend him or even their wealth. Being wealthy –
having money is not the issue for Jesus. Jesus
never criticizes people solely because they are wealthy. Jesus criticizes attitudes; he criticizes
hearts. He thinks the religious leaders
and rich are ostentatious and arrogant.
They have positions of power and privilege, and
they flaunt it. They are
wealthy, prestigious men who exploit the poor and
powerless. They use their position in
ways that demean and harm others. All in
the name of religion.
Even the way they dress distinguishes them from
the regular folks. They wear flowing
robes - actual full-length prayer shawls with tassels at the four corners. When
the scribes and the teachers and the religious leaders walk down the street,
everyone is expected to rise out of respect.
When’s the last time you stood at attention when a clergy walked by?!
They sit in the most distinguished seats of the
synagogue – either up front facing the congregation or on benches along the
side while the congregation sits on the floor in the middle of the synagogue. Jesus doubted that the scribes and other
religious leaders were at the temple to worship God. He thought that they came to the temple to flaunt
their positions. Their attitudes of
superiority and arrogance did not endear them to Jesus! In fact, Jesus’ juxtaposes the scribes, the
religious leaders and the rich with the poverty and the insignificance of a
widow and her gift. In today’s
Scripture, Jesus turns the economy upside down.
Jesus is sitting “opposite the place where
the offerings were put, and he watches the crowd putting their money into the
temple treasury.” Jesus is sitting in the outer
temple – the place where the Jewish women and children are allowed to worship,
the second-class citizens. They aren’t
allowed
in the synagogue itself. The religious
leaders and Jewish men pass through this outer court on their way to the inner
sanctuary.
And
it is in this outer court area where the temple treasury is found. There
were usually 13 – yes thirteen
trumpet-like receptacles placed in the temple court! The temple treasury was the place where dues,
taxes, donations of valuable items, and financial gifts were placed. As people come into the temple to worship,
they have plenty of collection boxes to put their temple donations into. Often the officers in charge of the treasury would
“examine” the offerings before they went into the receptacles to verify that the
people were giving enough.
The public location of the
collection boxes led to pride and greed. Some folks put money in for the wrong
reason. They would give a lot so others
would “see” their generosity. They gave
a lot to make an impression on others. And
the poor – well, they were often exploited and humiliated because their gifts
were “small”.
But this widow comes to the
temple to worship God, and she puts “two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a
penny” into one of the collection
receptacles. Think how intimidated this poor widow must have
felt going into the temple. She must
have felt like she didn’t belong – a widow had absolutely no social standing. Her standing in life, her clothes…everything
about her must have screamed poverty. She
risked ridicule and humiliation because of the two meager leptas she put into
the receptacles – the smallest coins in circulation. The coins would have clattered against the sides
of the collection receptacle. Drop coins. The sound of the coins she gave would have
given away the size of her gift. Her offering is less than a penny. Let’s face it - The widow’s offering is
insignificant.
(PAUSE) Or is it?
Now, I need to stop a moment and tell you what
this sermon is not about.
Sometimes this passage is used to criticize the
rich and make them feel guilty for all that they have. Sometimes this passage is used to make people
feel guilty that they aren’t giving enough money to the church. Sometimes this passage is used to manipulate
people to give more than they can afford.
“Look at how much the widow gave –
everything she had. If you trust God,
you will give “everything you have” to the church.” Never mind that your children are hungry, your rent is due…. Give what
you have to the church and trust God.
But I don’t think this is an accurate
interpretation of this passage.
Scripture doesn’t manipulate. So,
what is Jesus trying to teach us?
Jesus is not critical of the religious leaders and
the rich because they have a lot of money.
He isn’t critical because they give large gifts to the temple. Jesus is critical because the rich are giving
out of greed. The rich compete with one
another – who will give the bigger gift?
They show off – wanting everyone to see the stack of bills they put in
the collection box. Jesus is critical because the rich in this passage are
giving for the wrong reason. The synagogue – the House of
God, this holy place of worship - has become a place of status, of greed, of
privilege, of discrimination and ridicule.
And…. This is important - Jesus is NOT praising
the widow for giving the last of her money.
You see, this passage isn’t really about money. The Greek text says that “she has put in her
whole life.” She put in her whole
life. Do you
see the difference? It isn’t that she
gives ALL her money or the LAST of her money.
She gives her whole life. All
that she is, she lays
before God.
Jesus is not concerned about money for the sake of
money. He isn’t concerned about the
amount the widow gives (or the rich for that matter!) Jesus sees the value of the widow’s gift not
as sentimental or a statement against those who can give larger gifts, but the
value is in how much of herself she gives.
She has nothing left except to trust in God. And she chooses to trust.
The widow is not bitter or angry about her life circumstances – her grief, her
poverty. But instead, she acts – she takes
responsibility for her life. She brings
all that she is to worship the God she loves. Her giving was an act of pure worship
– she had no other motive. This woman
understands who provides for her needs and she feels gratitude in the midst of
tremendous hardship. And as a result, she receives a blessing that no one can
take away from her. This poor widow who is humble and generous teaches us about
the heart of giving.
How do you think the widow felt when she gave
those 2 coins to the temple offering? (PAUSE)
I think she felt joy. (Pause)
When I think about this story, I think about Jane who had wealth and when
she heard there were homeless children and families at Christmas, she made a
$5,000 gift. She didn’t give for
recognition or prestige. She gave from
her heart. I remember the joy in her
eyes and the smile on her face.
I think about Maria and the way her eyes sparkled
when she gave her $10 gift to help other homeless families. I imagine the widow gave her last penny to
God out of gratitude just like Maria gave $10 of her McDonald’s
paycheck to the shelter out of gratitude. I imagine the widow had a sparkle in her eye,
a little skip in her step – a flutter in her heart – a deep felt joy.
This widow impresses Jesus enough that he points
her out. Not because of
the coins she put into the collection receptacle
but because He sees her joy in giving. He
sees her trust. This is what Jesus rejoices over. This poor widow, with no significant
financial gift to offer has the right heart.
She gives for the right reason.
Jesus’ is touched by her faithfulness. He is impressed with her heart – not her financial
giving. God’s economy is different than
the world’s economy. God doesn’t care
about the amount. God cares about what’s
going on in the inside. Even those of us
who think we have nothing to give – do. Our
giving – whatever the size is valued by God if it’s given with the right heart,
the right intention. Jesus’ interest is in
our motivation for giving – or not giving.
No gift – whether time, talent, or money is too
insignificant to give if it is given to God.
And what is truly given to God, regardless of how small or
insignificant, is transformed into a pearl of great worth.
Jesus asks each of us to give all that we are to
God. This poor widow – this woman
without status, without prestige, without wealth is THE model of
discipleship. By giving “all she had” –
by giving “her whole life” this insignificant widow perfectly fulfills Jesus’
call to discipleship. She lays down her whole
life for God.
So, what about us – what about you and me? How much of ourselves are we willing to lay
down for God? Whether it’s our money,
our time, our
talent, our plans, or our hearts, do you feel the
true joy of giving – just like the widow….and just like Jane and Maria? What does discipleship look like for you? Jesus
lays down his life for us…..and he invites us to do the
same for him. Amen.
