Proper 27

We are all subject to changing our tune when substantial amounts of money are offered. That is why today’s Gospel has been an enduring image throughout the ages. We play favorites.

But consider for a moment another image. Jesus, sitting opposite the place where the offerings were put, is observing the people make their donations as they come into the temple. He is not alone. Seated with him are the leaders—the Sadducees.

Remember that, as they watch, there is no paper money. All of the offerings make a loud noise as they roll down a long horn-shaped object and fall into the pool of coins. And here comes this little old lady and she has two small coins worth nothing and drops them in. They barely make a noise. You can almost see the Temple leaders as they roll their eyes and hope for better results with the next person who walks in the door.

Jesus then calls his disciples over and says, “This poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” To the Sadducees this woman is a waste of time but to Jesus she is the stuff by which Kingdoms are built.

The Kingdom of God is built by the widow as well as the wealthy. Let me point out something from this text that should be obvious. Jesus was watching people give. He did not tell the leaders to stop collecting money. In fact, even when this widow gave everything she had, he did not criticize the temple that collected it.

Let me add here that I am keenly aware that the church has been accused of extorting people out of their money. In some cases that is legitimate criticism. But I will submit to you that in most cases it is not the church which motivates people to give; it is people who are moved by the same motivations of the widow who gave her mite. And what was her motivation? She knew that giving was important to God.

Whether rich or poor, we must recognize that one of the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith is giving; first giving of ourselves and then giving of our resources. But there are some in the church who resist at all costs emphasizing the topic of money. For one reason or another they think it is inappropriate.

Will Willimon, a retired seminary professor at Duke Divinity School, tells about a large parish that hired a church fund-raiser to direct its ambitious financial campaign. The fund-raiser proposed his strategy at the first planning session. He wanted the members to visit every home. He was met with immediate resistance. One cynic at the stewardship meeting cited that this church had a high percentage of retired people on fixed incomes. They could not be expected to pledge, the cynic argued.

The fund-raiser asked for permission to see in confidence the list of major givers. At the next meeting he told the stewardship committee that he had completed an analysis of the church’s giving patterns. “Please note,” he reported, “that the majority of your top 50 contributors are ‘widows on fixed incomes.’ Please note that, according to my calculations, those ‘widows on fixed incomes’ pay about 60 percent of this congregation’s annual budget. I’d say if you want to improve the giving in this congregation, you need to talk to those women first, find out why they give, then try to infect the rest of the congregation with the faith of these ‘widows on fixed incomes.’”

I’m not sure if that got the cynic’s attention, but it does get the attention of Jesus. Calling his disciples to him he said, “I tell you the truth – this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” On that day, I am sure tax collectors, officials, and Pharisees entered the temple and put in several drachmas – hundreds of times more than what this poor lady put in. She dropped two lepta in the treasury. It would take 50 such poor widows to equal one drachma’s worth of giving. But it got Jesus’ attention.

Like the business fellow who needed millions of dollars to clinch an important deal. He went to the temple to pray for the money. By chance he sat next to a man who was praying for $100 to pay an urgent debt. The businessman took out his wallet and pressed $100 into the other man’s hand. Overjoyed, that man got up and left the temple. The businessman then closed his eyes and prayed: “And now, Lord, that I have your undivided attention . . .”

This woman got Jesus’ undivided attention – not for how much she gave, but what it represented. It represented everything she had. She gave the more because of it.

At the heart of the story is this second lesson: That the Kingdom of God recognizes the level of our sacrifice. It’s like the Sunday School class whose teacher asked her eager children if they would give $1,000,000 to the missionaries. “YES!” they all screamed. “Would you give $1,000?” Again they shouted, “YES!” “How about $100?” “Oh, YES we would!” they all agreed. “Would you give just a dollar to the missionaries?” she asked. The students exclaimed “YES!” just as before except for Johnny. “Johnny,” the teacher said as she noticed the boy clutching his pocket, “Why didn’t you say ‘YES’ this time?” “Well,” he stammered, “I HAVE a dollar.”

The widow, out of her poverty, Jesus said, put in everything—all she had to live on. We all dream about giving large sums of money to cure the world’s ills. But you have a dollar. Right now, in your pocket, you have a dollar. Start there. Right now, you have a skill, apply that. Right now, you have a talent. Start there. Right now, in your pocket, you have a hand, lend it.

Do you recall Jesus’ words? He who is faithful in little will be faithful in much.

In one of his Lake Wobegon stories, Garrison Keillor tells about a Sunday morning in Lake Wobegon Lutheran Church. The sermon has been droning on far too long, and Clarence Bunsen has checked out early. He realizes it’s almost time for the offering, so he quietly reaches for his wallet. Upon opening his wallet, Clarence discovers he has no cash. He takes out his pen and hides the checkbook in the middle of his Bible, next to one of the psalms. He begins to scratch out a check for thirty dollars, because he almost had a heart attack that week, and because somebody in the church will count the offering and he wants them to see he gave thirty dollars.

He tries not to be obvious, but a lady to his right sees him. Clarence can tell she thinks he’s writing in the pew Bible, so he doesn’t look at what he’s doing. She gives him a funny stare and turns back to the sermon. Clarence tries to quietly rip the check out of the checkbook, with limited success, still not looking at what he’s doing so the lady in the pew won’t know he has written out a check in church.

The offering plate comes by, and Clarence proudly puts in the check, only to realize a moment too late that he has just written a check for three hundred dollars. He accidentally wrote three-zero-zero on two different lines when he wasn’t looking.

What could he do? On the one hand, he couldn’t go downstairs after church and find the deacons counting the collection and say, “Fellows, there’s been a mistake. I gave more than I really wanted to.” On the other hand, he gave all he had in the checking account and a little bit more. Perhaps he and his family will have to eat beans and oatmeal for the rest of the month, Clarence thought, even though the contribution was going to a good place. One thing was for sure, notes Garrison Keillor. In that moment, Clarence felt fully alive for the first time all day.

Commitment beyond calculation. That’s what God-in-Christ is watching for. The Lord has been so generous in providing every gift we need. Every day he watches to see what we do with what he has given us. We can learn something from that nameless widow in today’s Gospel. She did not merely give her money. Instead, she first pledged her heart to God, and the money went with it.

A lot of people will say, “I don’t have much to give. I can’t afford to be generous. I really don’t have anything to offer.” Yet the promise of the Gospel is sure. The Lord can do a lot with a little when he has it all.