What Does The Widow Want Us To Know?
Children's sermon
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The lectionary gospel reading for Proper 27 features the familiar story of the poor widow and her tiny donation to the temple treasury, which Jesus says is more meaningful than the contributions of “many rich people [who] put in large sums.” Jesus tells the disciples that while the wealthy “have contributed out of their abundance,” the widow’s two copper coins are “everything she had, all she had to live on.” But as team member Mary Austin notes in this installment of The Immediate Word, the verses that begin the passage -- in which Jesus warns his listeners to be wary of the scribes, who crave respect and make a great show of their faith even as “they devour widows’ houses” -- offer a significant but often overlooked clue to what he is trying to communicate to us. Rather than focusing on the extraordinary generosity of the widow, Mary suggests an alternative interpretation -- that by contrasting the behavior of the respected scribes with the actions of an anonymous widow, Jesus is trying to reveal the inner rot of the temple economic system. Mary wonders if the rampant consumerism of the Christmas shopping season provides a contemporary analogy for the corrupt system that Jesus criticizes in this text (and openly rails against with the temple moneychangers) -- and if what Jesus is subtly reminding us is to consider not just the predicament of the poor and those we often overlook but also the inequities of a structure that often takes advantage of people... and our role in maintaining such a system.
Team member Chris Keating shares some additional thoughts on this passage, focusing on the widow’s extraordinary generosity -- especially when she may have been well aware of the exploitative system she was supporting. It’s easy to be generous when you have abundant resources... but what about those who, like the widow, have very little to give? It may seem counterintuitive at first, but studies have indicated that on average the poor give more of their resources than do the wealthy. Yet on further reflection, that makes sense -- those who struggle to make it have a much more developed sense of empathy for others in a similar situation... and one psychoanalyst suggests that we are more generous to those in our own “group” (i.e., those like ourselves). As Chris observes, this is an apt text to appear during stewardship season -- for it causes us to reflect on what it really means to give deeply from modest resources.
What Does the Widow Want Us to Know?
by Mary Austin
Mark 12:38-44
Most often, the widow in this week’s gospel text is lauded as an example of faithful -- even sacrificial -- giving. Her story is used to inspire generosity: If this widow can give out of her poverty, how much more should we all be giving out of our abundance? But maybe she represents a call toward justice more than a call to giving. Blogger John Petty first introduced me to the idea that perhaps Jesus is not praising her but lamenting that she is part of an economic system so corrupt that it will take her last few coins. As Petty writes: “Jesus does not lift the beggar-widow up as an example, or suggest that anyone ought to emulate her. She is not a positive example, but rather the (barely) living representative of a crying shame. She represents the ongoing exploitation of the poor by the Temple elite.”
The widow exists in our world, in modern form, in the employees who are scheduled for long shifts on Black Friday, and sometimes even on Thanksgiving. She appears in the form of workers who are underpaid so we can buy goods cheaply. And perhaps we, who benefit from these systems, have taken on the role of the temple elite.
What is the widow really trying to tell us?
In the World
More retailers have announced plans to be open not just on Black Friday but also on Thanksgiving Day -- starting the holiday shopping season before the Thanksgiving dishes are even washed: “Sears on Friday said that for the second straight year, it will open its doors at 6 p.m. on that Thursday. Stores will stay open until 2 a.m., then close for three hours before reopening at 5 a.m. on Black Friday.” Macy’s and Dollar General will also be open on Thanksgiving Day. Apparently we, as customers, enjoy shopping on Thanksgiving. “Macy’s had its first Thanksgiving opening in 2013. Last year, the company’s CEO, Terry Lundgren, said more than 15,000 people visited its flagship New York City store during the holiday. Also that year, Walmart said more than 22 million shoppers came to its stores on Thanksgiving.”
Retailers say they feel pressure to be open on Thanksgiving -- a pressure they pass on to their employees, rushing them from family dinners to get to work. Brian Cornell, CEO of Target, attempted to portray early shopping as family fun: “If we announced to our guests that we weren’t going to be open on Black Friday, I think we’d have a lot of pushback.... It’s a very important part of the holiday season. It really is a family tradition.” Employee groups are waging their own fight on this issue: “Labor groups like Our Walmart have seized on Black Friday as a way to highlight the plight of low-wage employees working the crowded aisles and tills through the holiday. Social media campaigns have called for boycotts of stores that push the envelope too far. ‘On November 26th, boycott any retailer that chooses to extend massive Black Friday sales into Thanksgiving Day. Protect the employees, protect the family,’ is the rallying call of one such Facebook group.”
Meanwhile, outdoor gear purveyor REI is going in the opposite direction, closing on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday: “This is the first time REI will close on Black Friday, even though the day after Thanksgiving has historically been a ‘top 10 business day’ for the company, according to [CEO Jerry] Stritzke. However, the company’s decision exemplifies some retailers’ recent opposition to keeping stores open on what is traditionally a family holiday, and the day after.” Other companies have joined REI in closing Black Friday, including Outdoor Research, Clif Bar, and Gregory Packs.
As the holiday season starts, employees are feeling the pressure to work. The Huffington Post reported last December that the holiday season is the stress season, as people try to work as much as possible: “A steady paycheck has grown elusive for many Americans in an economic recovery dominated by part-time, low-wage work. That work is often in retail, where the holiday season is a time to put in as many hours as possible -- sometimes at multiple jobs and on holidays like Thanksgiving -- to build a cushion for leaner months. Those leaner months often come right after the holidays, as stores hire less, lay off seasonal employees, and cut permanent workers’ hours to cope with slower sales.”
The widow has many sisters in the American economy, where low-wage jobs fall disproportionately to women. The National Women’s Law Center says that “Women make up two-thirds of the nearly 20 million workers in low-wage jobs -- defined in this report as jobs that typically pay $10.10 per hour or less -- although they make up slightly less than half of the workforce as a whole. The low-wage workforce includes jobs such as home health aides, child care workers, fast food workers, restaurant servers, maids, and cashiers. The work is hard and necessary, but the pay is inadequate.... Women’s concentration in low-wage jobs has increased in recent years -- and the trend is likely to continue. More than one-third (35 percent) of women’s net job gains during the recovery from the Great Recession have been in jobs that typically pay $10.10 per hour or less; only 20 percent of men’s job gains have been in such low-wage jobs.”
If we look around at the women serving us breakfast in the diner, watching our kids on the playground, feeding dinner to our elderly parents, or ringing up our purchases in a store, we will see the modern version of the widow. If we, like Jesus, notice the women who are usually invisible, the widow will be there. And we play a part in keeping them there, with our passion for ever-cheaper food and goods.
In the Scriptures
The temple is not just a religious institution -- it’s also a huge economic force. As John Petty observes: “The Temple had hundreds of employees, and Jerusalem was a ‘company town.’ The Temple performed many financial functions, including operating as a central bank and treasury. The Temple priests and scribes lived high on the hog. They received a cut from every Temple sacrifice and were the beneficiaries of a five-shekel tax on every first-born child. This generated great revenue for the priests, but even this was not all. Several other offerings -- or perhaps better, taxes -- brought in even greater wealth, so much so that priests got into the business of lending money, which means that they also were in a position to foreclose on property if the debt was not paid.”
The day before this (as the synoptic gospels place the story), Jesus rages in protest in the temple courts, turning over the tables to protest the systems that exploit the poor. This woman is one of those poor. As John Petty notes, “This widow, incidentally, is identified as ptochoi -- the poorest of the poor, a widow reduced to begging.” Her days depend on the kindness people show to her.
Just after this, Jesus comes out of the temple and hears one of his disciples marveling at its vast size. “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” he says to Jesus. And Jesus answers that the temple may look permanent, but at some time all of it will disappear. Jesus is pointing outside this world of the temple to the world God has in mind.
In the Sermon
Author Ellen Ruppel Shell writes in her book Cheap about the connections between cheap sweaters, bikes, phones, and food, and the status of workers in both the U.S. and China, where many low-priced items are manufactured. She writes: “In Shanghai and Taizhou the role American business interests have played in keeping prices low and conditions difficult is crystal-clear. The Chinese call those who make, sell, and profit from substandard and counterfeit goods the heixin, or ‘small, black-hearted ones,’ and... the heixin come in many nationalities.” Jesus points out the scribes, who benefit from the system that devours the widows’ security, and labels them as the heixin of his day. As we buy discount goods, and have low-wage people bring them to us, are we heixin too? Like the temple system in Jesus’ day, it’s hard to extricate ourselves from our own economic system. We may not even see it clearly enough to see our part in it.
The sermon might look at changes we can make in our spending, to be sure that we aren’t the modern version of the scribes, benefiting from our neighbors’ lack of economic security. It might look at how shopping for the holiday season can be more just. If we shop on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, are we adding to the problem of low-wage workers? During the holiday season, many churches give away holiday baskets or food assistance. Is that help going to people who are kept poor by our love-the-discount culture? Are we contributing to their misery one day and hoping to relieve it the next? If we asked them what they really want for Christmas, what might the answer be? A visit to the dentist? A day off to sleep? A new pair of sturdy shoes?
Jesus actually sees the widow, but it seems that most people wouldn’t have noticed her. She’s poor, with no big gift to announce in the temple. No doubt her clothes are ragged. Perhaps hunger has left her thinner than she should be. I wonder if we notice the people like her who are all around us: the woman with the rolling suitcase, spending the whole day in the library; the college student who volunteers at the church lunch program so he can eat too; the cleaning crew that comes to the office building at night. The sermon might look at the invisible people around us, and invite us to see them as clearly as Jesus notices this woman.
This story happens during the last week of Jesus’ life, and the widow’s gift of “everything she had” also points toward the end of the week, where Jesus too will give all that he has. Her gift mirrors his, as each of them gives away everything they have left. Her gift falls into a corrupt system, and is lost. His gift -- like the grain of wheat that dies to bear fruit -- falls into a broken world, and grows toward God’s dream of justice and equality in the world.
SECOND THOUGHTS
You Can’t Beat God Giving
by Chris Keating
Mark 12:38-44
There’s an apocryphal story about a preacher poised to deliver the annual stewardship sermon. Standing in the pulpit, the preacher looks out at the congregation. They’ve heard the appeals, they know the facts. The budget has been cussed and discussed around coffee tables during home visits from the stewardship committee -- and also in the far ends of the parking lot after worship. Now comes the clincher, the moment when the preacher will attempt to seal the deal to fill the coffers.
“I’m not here today,” the preacher begins, “to ask you to give a 10 percent tithe of your income.” The mere mention of the word “tithe” raises the blood pressure of a few church members, while others stir in their seats. The front row leans forward to hear what the minister will say next. “Nor am I here to ask you to give eight percent of your income.” At this point, the church is silent.
“No,” the preacher continues, “I am quite convinced that if every member of this church gave even five percent of their annual income we wouldn’t know how to be able to spend all that money!”
Rumor has it that the bishop’s phone rang off the hook on Monday morning -- and the preacher was soon reassigned.
As leaves fall and pumpkins mellow, congregations once more turn their attention to church budgets, seasons of giving thanks -- and the story of the poor widow who went “all-in” for the temple’s offering. As Mary Austin eloquently notes in her article above, there is much more in this story than a simple parable of generosity. Yet this treasured text deftly illustrates what it means to go all-in for the kingdom, and it is to that task that Jesus still calls the church today.
In the World
As a whole, Americans are a fairly generous group of folks. In fact, in 2014 donors gave a record-setting $350 billion to charity. The YMCA, Goodwill Industries, Boys and Girls Clubs, and others reported robust giving. Yet giving to religious organizations grew by only 0.9 percent in 2014, the smallest increase among all categories. As the Christian Science Monitor noted in June:
“While the overall growth is indicative of robust philanthropy... we would be remiss to gloss over what is happening with giving to religion,” Giving USA chairman David King said in the report’s release. Religion still accounts for the largest percentage of donations, and along with six other categories, it reached a new peak in 2014 with $114.9 billion in contributions. But religious giving “is continuing its 30-year dramatic downward slide,” Mr. King notes. “In fact, it has dropped from 53 percent of all donations in 1987 to 32 percent of the total in 2014.”
To be sure, those attending worship -- much like the widow -- are still faithful in presenting their offerings. But the trend is concerning, especially when coupled with declines in church attendance. Even more perplexing are the one in five worshipers who attend regularly but give nothing at all to their church. Sociologist Patricia Snell Herzog and other researchers studied the complex disconnects among religiously devout yet penurious churchgoers. (A complete set of resources on generosity can be downloaded from Baylor University’s Christian Reflection website.)
While many persons were able to describe what it means to be generous Christians, Herzog notes that “with a couple of exceptions, nearly no one in our sample gave anywhere near to the expectation they described.” It seems, Herzog says, “American Christians appear to be, on the whole, quite comfortable with the knowledge that their giving behavior does not match their personal or their religion’s ideal of what giving should be.” She calls the phenomenon “comfortable guilt.”
Studies also show that, like the poor widow, lower-income individuals tend to be more generous, on a percentage basis, than those earning more than $200,000 annually. Those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder tend to be more in touch with the needs of those below them, and respond accordingly. In general, people who have less give more.
Yet there are also stories of generosity as extreme as the widow’s faithful giving of all she had, stories of people willing to forego indulgences they could well afford in order to help others less privileged. That’s the subject of writer Larissa MacFarquhar’s recent book Strangers Drowning. MacFarquhar curates a conversation among altruistic-minded people she calls “do-gooders” searching for ways of giving to others.
She tells the story of a young couple whose combined income was just under $245,000 in 2013 -- yet who chose to live on about $15,000. They donated the balance to charity, just as they have done each year since 2008. A friend of the couple describes them as the mirror opposite of the penny-pinching, self-denying cheapskates you might imagine.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a more stable, happy, and, well, perfectly normal couple,” writes William MacAskill in Quartz. “They prove that you can have a perfectly normal, enjoyable, and well-rounded life while making altruism a core part of your identity.” In fact, as MacAskill points out, such giving may actually increase your overall level of happiness.
Living generously, of course, is not limited to writing checks. One blogger notes that we shouldn’t hold back -- even if our bank account is near zero: “There is a law in action in our universe that defines that as you sow, so shall you reap. Today is your today, and there is so much that you can give. Put the wallet down for a second and consider your other currencies -- your emotion, your time, your heart, and your compassion.”
In the Scriptures
For Mark, the widow of chapter 12 stands as the antithesis of the wealthy individual who was searching for the keys to the kingdom. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” the man asks Jesus in 10:17. Jesus replies with loving precision: obey the commandments. And sell your possessions.
What the rich man couldn’t do, the struggling widow somehow manages to achieve. Mark is not as concerned about stories of wealth and possessions as Luke, but is instead focused on the hypocrisy of the scribes “who devour widows’ houses.” Their hubris and self-centered lack of awareness of the things which constitute the kingdom are at stake in this passage. Jesus challenges the scribes to live according the vision of the kingdom, where “whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”
In other words, live generously and not hypocritically. Set aside religious pretense. Live gratefully, with the awareness that pennies tossed into offering plates by poor children have a greater impact than the $100 check written with a Montblanc pen. Trust God’s spectacular grace that results in overturning the very things the world prizes.
For Jesus, the widow is yet another example of what it means for the last to become first.
Careful reading of the text reveals that Jesus will soon condemn the very infrastructure supported by the widow’s offering (13:2). Yet perhaps the widow’s heartfelt contribution comes as the result of her faith that the world was about to turn. Giving away all she had, the woman displays radical dependency on God. She was under no compulsion to give; instead, her act of offering resembles the gracious outpouring of God’s faithful love.
Andre Resner notes that counting the woman’s two copper coins was probably more bother than it was worth. The tellers would have overlooked her meager contribution (The Lectionary Commentary, The Third Readings, p. 274). Yet in spite of this she makes her contribution, trusting that God is watching. God understands what it is like to go all-in, to offer it all. She may be caught in a web of complex injustices, but (as Resner notes) “God sees, God knows, and God is working to dismantle such corruption.”
The widow’s extraordinary gift offers encouragement to those searching to understand the mysteries of the kingdom. Her sacrifice is good news and a reminder, in the words of the old spiritual, that you certainly cannot beat God giving.
In the Pulpit
It is that time of year when congregations gather to give thanks, and to faithfully discern how their offerings can be used for the ministry of the kingdom. The best stewardship sermons are not “one and done” examples but are instead part of a much longer preaching program. Preaching stewardship not just in the fall but throughout the year translates into a stewardship ministry that is more focused on cultivating generosity than paying the bills.
But on this Sunday, the widow’s sacrifice calls for careful reflection on what it means to offer ourselves and our gifts to God. Her willingness to give her whole self to something that was contemptible and corrupt is an indicator of God’s grace. It is an act of profound significance, as the disciples will soon discover. And it is an opportunity for the preacher to engage the congregation in a thoughtful reflection on risky stewardship.
One way to enter the text would be to consider the multiple perspectives present that day in the temple. Consider the scribes: how unaware they were of God’s coming kingdom, consumed instead with pretense and the survival of institutions.
Consider the disciples. Perhaps they wondered if they would need to kick in a few extra bucks to help care for this poor woman. Perhaps they considered her act foolish and unwise. Perhaps, like Jesus, they were simply amazed.
Consider the perspective of the woman. Was she coming to the temple because she was despairing, out of funds, and unsure what would happen to her? Her pennies become the sign that she believes God is still working. It’s a sign of hope, and for that reason a gift far more costly than anyone else could imagine.
She won’t get her named engraved on a plaque. There will be no windows dedicated in her honor, no flowing fountains or memorial gardens. But just like the woman who will soon break a flask expensive ointment at Jesus’ feet, “wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Mark 12:38-44
Exploited Workers
The good news for manicure-seekers: the number of nail salons, particularly in the New York City area, has been growing rapidly. The not-so-good news: the employees who buff, shape, and polish are often severely underpaid (if they’re paid at all), exploited as immigrants, and sometimes even abused, according to a New York Times investigation. The paper interviewed more than 150 nail salon owners and workers in the NYC area, many of whom are resigned to accepting that this is simply the way it’s done in the nail industry. Among the most disturbing revelations the report makes: beginners often aren’t paid -- sometimes for weeks or months -- until they’ve proven their skills... and even when the cash starts flowing, it’s more of a trickle; making $3 or $4 an hour, plus tips, for a 12-hour day is normal.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
How Much Does That iPhone Really Cost?
A 21-year-old man who jumped out of a window to his death in May of 2010 marked the ninth suicide within six months of a worker at Foxconn, the Taiwanese-owned manufacturer of iPhones and iPods. The deaths of young employees -- combined with the fact that the company said it prevented some 30 suicides in the three weeks prior to the man’s demise -- showed the signs of a suicide cluster, leaving the company so baffled it brought in a Buddhist monk to purge its factories of evil spirits.
Critics point to more earthly factors motivating the suicides: the well-educated young migrant workers who staff the company’s plants cracking under the demands of 15-hour workdays, seven days a week. Paid too poorly to be able to afford the products they build, the employees also tend to become socially isolated in vast factories where it is difficult for them to get to know their coworkers.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Cheap and Fashionable Isn’t So Cheap
May 2013 saw the second collapse of an Asian clothing factory in a month. In Cambodia, the ceiling caved in at a facility outside Phnom Penh that made Asics sneakers. At least two workers were killed and a dozen injured, not even close to the scale of the disaster in Bangladesh three weeks earlier that killed 1,127 workers, but critics say it’s another example of the shoddy conditions endured by menial workers so retailers can sell clothes in the West.
“The shoe and garment industry is built upon huge profits and little concern for the well-being of their workers,” a spokeswoman for the Clean Clothes Campaign told the New York Times. Asics is a Japanese company whose shoes are popular with American runners, in part because of the company’s reputation for corporate responsibility. Some big Western retailers pledged reforms in the wake of the Bangladesh tragedy.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
The Rich Give Less, The Poor Give More
According to an October 2014 article in Forbes, the richest Americans are donating less to charity while the poorest are giving more. A report released by the Chronicle of Philanthropy found that Americans who earned at least $200,000 gave nearly 5 percent less to charity in 2012 than in 2006.
Higher-income people tend to give proportionately less during tough economic times, says Stacy Palmer, the Chronicle’s editor. The shift has likely meant less money flowing into universities, hospitals, and cultural institutions, which the wealthy tend to patronize.
Unlike their wealthier counterparts, low- and middle-income Americans -- those who made less than $100,000 -- gave 5 percent more in 2012 than in 2006, the Chronicle found. The poorest Americans -- those who took home $25,000 or less -- increased their giving by nearly 17 percent.
“Lower- and middle-income people know people who lost their jobs or are homeless, and they worry that they themselves are a day away from losing their jobs. They’re very sensitive to the needs of other people and recognize that these years have been hard,” Palmer says.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Charitable Giving by the 2015 Forbes 400
Forbes magazine released its annual list of the 400 richest people in America. Millionaires need not apply -- your personal worth now has to be $1.7 billion to even make the list.
Compare the Forbes list of the ten richest people in America with their list of the ten biggest givers to charity in 2014, and we discover that only four from the former list are also on the latter. (An italicized name indicates appearances on both top ten lists.)
1. Warren Buffett -- $2.8 billion
2. Bill & Melinda Gates -- $1.3 billion
3. George Soros -- $733 million (hedge fund manager; #16 on the 400 list)
4. Michael Bloomberg --$462 million
5. Chuck Feeney -- $434 million (philanthropist best known for giving it all away; not on the 400 list)
6. Walton family -- $375 million
7. James & Marilyn Simons -- $331 million (hedge fund manager; #32 on the 400 list)
8. Hansjoerg Wyss -- $228 million (founder of Synthes, a maker of medical devices that was sold to Johnson & Johnson last year; #240 on the 400 list)
9. Gordon & Betty Moore -- $220 million (founder of Intel and now a retired philanthropist; #74 on the 400 list)
10. Eli & Edith Broad -- $202 million (real estate investor and insurance magnate; #65 on the 400 list)
Collectively, America’s 10 most generous philanthropists gave $7.1 billion to charity in 2014, less than 2% percent of their $377 billion net worth. And that little factoid brings us to the question of the day: How much generosity is enough?
How much does God want us to give away, and how much does God allow us to keep for ourselves?
*****
Mark 12:38-44
They Are Rich; I’m Middle-Class
Median household income in the U.S. is around $52,000 -- so, a Vox article asks, how can households earning twice that much really consider themselves middle-class?
That’s one question raised in a recent Pew Research Center report on post-recession economic policy. On its face, the report shows that rich Americans greatly underestimate how rich they really are, and that, once again, Americans’ conceptions of what it means to be middle-class seem to defy logic. But given what the middle-class lifestyle costs, it may be that you simply have to be rich to be middle-class in America.
Here’s one fascinating finding: only one percent of Americans consider themselves upper-class. Not only that, but a majority of people in households earning $100,000 or more per year consider themselves middle-class.
Americans are predisposed to thinking of themselves as in the middle. The Wall Street Journal and NBC found in a 2013 poll that people tend to think of their particular income levels as the definition of the middle class. And as Richard Reeves of the Brookings Institution pointed out, Americans seem to define “rich” as “richer than me.” But when people think of the middle class, it may be that they feel their income does not provide what they think of as a middle-class American life -- a life that can be remarkably hard to achieve.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Mark 12:38-44
There have been numerous news stories about the most recent Republican presidential debate, held in Boulder, Colorado and broadcast on CNBC. Much of the criticism was not directed against the candidates onstage, but toward CNBC’s moderators. According to USA Today columnist Rem Riedar, the “trio of moderators fumbled and stumbled.”
Application: In Mark we can see the wisdom of Jesus, who does not fumble and stumble when expressing himself.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Movie actor Kurt Russell was recently interviewed about two new westerns in which he is starring: Bone Tomahawk and The Hateful Eight. Russell said, “There are two great genres to me where you can talk about the big things. One of them is science fiction. The other one is the western.”
Application: Jesus was always able to talk about the big issues, as seen by his condemnation of the Sadducees and his affirmation of the poor widow’s offering.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
On October 30, an article with the headline “Winning Races, Not Fans” appeared in USA Today’s sports section. Written by Jeff Gluck, it examined an incident occurring at the previous weekend’s NASCAR race in which driver Joey Logano, whose motor was failing, purposely caused a massive wreck of multiple vehicles so he could claim victory over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fans, disappointed at the popular Earnhardt’s failure to win the race, threw beer cans at Logano’s car -- which Logano considered to be an honor. Logano’s actions that day continued to reinforce his nickname of “Sliced Bread.” According to Gluck, Logano’s actions on the track are in direct contrast to his happy-go-lucky personality when he is not racing.
Application: Public appearance determines what people think of us, or can hide who we really are. The Sadducees’ public persona was just the opposite of Logano, for they appeared pious in public but devilish in private.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Outspoken billionaire tech investor Chris Sacca will be the newest addition to the judges on ABC’s Shark Tank. He acquired the positon by continually blasting the show in tweets to his 1.6 million followers. He then unexpectedly met the show’s producer at a Halloween party, and from that encounter was invited to be a judge. Sacca has been dubbed the “Unabomber” for his frequent outbursts.
Application: Like the Sadducees, we must ask ourselves how we want to be remembered. We must consider how we want to be viewed by others. What nickname will be given to us, and will we find it complimentary?
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan has said that it is time to fix a “broken” house. The House of Representatives has been broken, with the majority Republicans caught in an intra-party quagmire of infighting between moderates, conservatives, and the ultra-conservatives of the Freedom Caucus.
Application: Jesus realized that the Sadducees were responsible for creating a broken house among believers.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
On October 28, 1646, missionary John Eliot preached the first sermon for Native Americans using their native language. He conducted his worship service in a wigwam at Nonantum, Massachusetts.
Application: As we can see from the story in Mark, Jesus could easily speak in a language that could be readily understood by all.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
In 1659 William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson became the first Quakers to be executed in America for their religious beliefs. Prior to his execution, Stephenson said: “Be it known to all this day that we suffer not as evildoers, but for conscience’ sake.” The date of their execution, October 27, was later observed as International Religious Freedom Day.
Application: As exposed by Jesus, the Sadducees had no concept of religious freedom.
*****
Hebrews 9:24-28
Continuing a trend, Walmart will be one of the first retailers out of the gate by launching Christmas holiday sales immediately after Halloween.
Application: The high priests had to enter the Holy Place year after year to make blood atonement for the sins of the people. Jesus on the cross atoned sins with one unrepeatable act. It would seem that Walmart, like so many retailers, have to repeatedly celebrate Christmas week after week rather than recognizing it on one special day.
*****
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Individuals who work intensely at a computer all day can have their company purchase the Altwork Station. With the simple push of a button, this chair and moveable desktop can become a standing workstation, a sitting workstation, or even a reclining workstation. If one chooses to recline, powerful magnets will hold the mouse and keyboard in place. The Altwork, which costs $5,900, took five years to design in a barn in Sonoma County. The project began when company founder Che Voigt heard constant discussions on workplace ergonomics.
Application: Naomi was concerned about the future security of Ruth; we must realize that security can come in many forms, one of which is an ergonomic workstation.
*****
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Chinese officials, in an attempt to create security for their nation which was becoming overpopulated, instituted a policy 35 years ago of one child per couple. But now the policy has been discarded because there are not enough younger workers to support the country’s aging population, which is creating a tremendous economic burden on the government.
Application: Naomi was concerned about the future and security of Ruth, but she acted on her concerns by applying wisdom and not hardship.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Unless God builds the house,
People: Those who build it labor in vain.
Leader: Unless God guards the city,
People: The guard keeps watch in vain.
Leader: It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest.
People: For God gives sleep to the beloved.
OR
Leader: God has created the world for abundance and blessing.
People: Praise to our God who so generously blesses us.
Leader: God has created us for sharing and community.
People: As God’s image, we will share as God has shared with us.
Leader: God’s blessings are best enjoyed when shared with others.
People: We have been blessed, and so we will bless others.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“How Great Thou Art”
found in:
UMH: 77
PH: 476
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
NCH: 35
CH: 33
LBW: 532
ELA: 856
W&P: 51
AMEC: 68
Renew: 250
“For the Beauty of the Earth”
found in:
UMH: 92
H82: 416
PH: 473
NNBH: 8
NCH: 28
CH: 56
LBW: 561
ELA: 879
W&P: 40
AMEC: 578
STLT: 21
“Alleluia, Alleluia”
found in:
UMH: 162
H82: 178
PH: 106
CH: 40
W&P: 291
Renew: 271
“Cuando El Pobre” (“When the Poor Ones”)
found in:
UMH: 434
PH: 407
CH: 662
ELA: 725
W&P: 624
“What Does the Lord Require”
found in:
UMH: 441
H82: 605
PH: 405
CH: 659
W&P: 686
“Go Down, Moses”
found in:
UMH: 448
PH: 334
AAHH: 543
NNBH: 490
CH: 663
LBW: 618
“The Voice of God Is Calling”
found in:
UMH: 436
“For the Healing of the Nations”
found in:
UMH: 428
NCH: 576
CH: 668
W&P: 621
“Refiner’s Fire”
found in:
CCB: 79
“God Is So Good”
found in:
CCB: 75
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who created the world out of love and blessing: Grant us the wisdom to see your plan for all to be blessed, and help us create a world where we share until all are filled; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for creating the world out of love and blessing. We thank you for all that you have provided for us to share with our sisters and brothers. Help us to stand against the tyranny of the economic world and to offer ourselves to Jesus as the widow did, giving all for others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our greed and complicity in the grasping world of economics.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are people who enjoy things, and sometimes we allow that to turn into greed. We enjoy the comforts of life, and seldom think of those who have been oppressed by the systems that have produced our goods. Give us hearts that long to share with others as much as we enjoy having for ourselves. Give us wisdom to help shape the economics of our world in anticipation of your coming reign. Amen.
Leader: God’s love and grace are abundant and free for all of us sinners. God desires to share blessings with us and with others through us.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for the abundance of your blessings. You are a God of generosity and compassion.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are people who enjoy things, and sometimes we allow that to turn into greed. We enjoy the comforts of life, and seldom think of those who have been oppressed by the systems that have produced our goods. Give us hearts that long to share with others as much as we enjoy having for ourselves. Give us wisdom to help shape the economics of our world in anticipation of your coming reign.
We thank you for all that you have bestowed upon us as resources to use and to share. We thank you for those who have given to us and shared your love with us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all who are in need, and especially for those who are oppressed by the systems we support. Help us to work for a world that promotes sharing and caring among all people.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Take the leftover Halloween candy that you haven’t scarfed down and divide it very unequally into paper sacks. Distribute the sacks to the children and ask each to show what they received. Talk about the inequality and ask them what we could do about it. Encourage the children to share if you need to, but don’t force them. (If needed, you can supplement the little bags from a hidden stash.) Talk about how God gives so that we can all enjoy and so that we can all share.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Generosity
by Robin Lostetter
Mark 12:38-44
Items needed: a boatload of pennies and an offering plate
Tell the children that there’s a word you’d like them to learn today: “generous.” Here’s a wonderful definition:
Generous people are the ones who give more than is expected of them. It’s generous of your friend to take the couch and let you sleep in the bed when you stay over at her place. She didn't have to do that. When you decide to go one step beyond what’s expected of you, you’re being generous. A generous helping of food is a bigger than expected scoop of mashed potatoes. A generous teacher is one who volunteers to stay after school to help you with your homework.
Then retell the story of Mark 12:41-44, understanding that there are words in the text that may need explaining (depending upon the age of your children):
* widow: a woman whose husband has died (in Jesus’ time, someone without anyone to help support her).
* treasury: where we put the money that everyone has given in the offering plates.
* abundance: having so much we don’t worry about ever running out.
* poverty: when someone has so little that their fridge and pantry/cupboard are almost empty.
Then make three piles of pennies: two in one pile and 20 in the other two, representing three members of the temple.
Show what is left to the widow after putting her two coins in the plate, and what is left to the rich person after giving a tithe of two coins. Have them notice that both gave the same number, but one is left with an abundance while the other one gave all she had.
For the third pile contribute the tithe, and then suggest to the children that they might want to give a coin or two to the widow. Does this third person still have money left?
Which of the three “people” were generous? (The answer is the widow and the third “person.”)
Now give each child a handful of coins. Ask them to think about how much they could give away and still have something left for themselves. There is no judgment or reward in their actions. Have them put a portion of the pennies into the plate, and then say a prayer of thanks and let the children keep the pennies they didn’t contribute.
Alternatively, let them keep just one coin in their pocket as a reminder of generosity.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the abundance you have given to us on this earth. Help us to be thankful and generous with what we have. Amen.
(Note: It’s not wise to designate one child as the widow and others as rich. Sometimes their sympathies can be so great that they will automatically share their pennies -- an unplanned “lesson,” to be sure, but sometimes with emotional consequences not easily handled in the sanctuary setting.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, November 8, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Team member Chris Keating shares some additional thoughts on this passage, focusing on the widow’s extraordinary generosity -- especially when she may have been well aware of the exploitative system she was supporting. It’s easy to be generous when you have abundant resources... but what about those who, like the widow, have very little to give? It may seem counterintuitive at first, but studies have indicated that on average the poor give more of their resources than do the wealthy. Yet on further reflection, that makes sense -- those who struggle to make it have a much more developed sense of empathy for others in a similar situation... and one psychoanalyst suggests that we are more generous to those in our own “group” (i.e., those like ourselves). As Chris observes, this is an apt text to appear during stewardship season -- for it causes us to reflect on what it really means to give deeply from modest resources.
What Does the Widow Want Us to Know?
by Mary Austin
Mark 12:38-44
Most often, the widow in this week’s gospel text is lauded as an example of faithful -- even sacrificial -- giving. Her story is used to inspire generosity: If this widow can give out of her poverty, how much more should we all be giving out of our abundance? But maybe she represents a call toward justice more than a call to giving. Blogger John Petty first introduced me to the idea that perhaps Jesus is not praising her but lamenting that she is part of an economic system so corrupt that it will take her last few coins. As Petty writes: “Jesus does not lift the beggar-widow up as an example, or suggest that anyone ought to emulate her. She is not a positive example, but rather the (barely) living representative of a crying shame. She represents the ongoing exploitation of the poor by the Temple elite.”
The widow exists in our world, in modern form, in the employees who are scheduled for long shifts on Black Friday, and sometimes even on Thanksgiving. She appears in the form of workers who are underpaid so we can buy goods cheaply. And perhaps we, who benefit from these systems, have taken on the role of the temple elite.
What is the widow really trying to tell us?
In the World
More retailers have announced plans to be open not just on Black Friday but also on Thanksgiving Day -- starting the holiday shopping season before the Thanksgiving dishes are even washed: “Sears on Friday said that for the second straight year, it will open its doors at 6 p.m. on that Thursday. Stores will stay open until 2 a.m., then close for three hours before reopening at 5 a.m. on Black Friday.” Macy’s and Dollar General will also be open on Thanksgiving Day. Apparently we, as customers, enjoy shopping on Thanksgiving. “Macy’s had its first Thanksgiving opening in 2013. Last year, the company’s CEO, Terry Lundgren, said more than 15,000 people visited its flagship New York City store during the holiday. Also that year, Walmart said more than 22 million shoppers came to its stores on Thanksgiving.”
Retailers say they feel pressure to be open on Thanksgiving -- a pressure they pass on to their employees, rushing them from family dinners to get to work. Brian Cornell, CEO of Target, attempted to portray early shopping as family fun: “If we announced to our guests that we weren’t going to be open on Black Friday, I think we’d have a lot of pushback.... It’s a very important part of the holiday season. It really is a family tradition.” Employee groups are waging their own fight on this issue: “Labor groups like Our Walmart have seized on Black Friday as a way to highlight the plight of low-wage employees working the crowded aisles and tills through the holiday. Social media campaigns have called for boycotts of stores that push the envelope too far. ‘On November 26th, boycott any retailer that chooses to extend massive Black Friday sales into Thanksgiving Day. Protect the employees, protect the family,’ is the rallying call of one such Facebook group.”
Meanwhile, outdoor gear purveyor REI is going in the opposite direction, closing on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday: “This is the first time REI will close on Black Friday, even though the day after Thanksgiving has historically been a ‘top 10 business day’ for the company, according to [CEO Jerry] Stritzke. However, the company’s decision exemplifies some retailers’ recent opposition to keeping stores open on what is traditionally a family holiday, and the day after.” Other companies have joined REI in closing Black Friday, including Outdoor Research, Clif Bar, and Gregory Packs.
As the holiday season starts, employees are feeling the pressure to work. The Huffington Post reported last December that the holiday season is the stress season, as people try to work as much as possible: “A steady paycheck has grown elusive for many Americans in an economic recovery dominated by part-time, low-wage work. That work is often in retail, where the holiday season is a time to put in as many hours as possible -- sometimes at multiple jobs and on holidays like Thanksgiving -- to build a cushion for leaner months. Those leaner months often come right after the holidays, as stores hire less, lay off seasonal employees, and cut permanent workers’ hours to cope with slower sales.”
The widow has many sisters in the American economy, where low-wage jobs fall disproportionately to women. The National Women’s Law Center says that “Women make up two-thirds of the nearly 20 million workers in low-wage jobs -- defined in this report as jobs that typically pay $10.10 per hour or less -- although they make up slightly less than half of the workforce as a whole. The low-wage workforce includes jobs such as home health aides, child care workers, fast food workers, restaurant servers, maids, and cashiers. The work is hard and necessary, but the pay is inadequate.... Women’s concentration in low-wage jobs has increased in recent years -- and the trend is likely to continue. More than one-third (35 percent) of women’s net job gains during the recovery from the Great Recession have been in jobs that typically pay $10.10 per hour or less; only 20 percent of men’s job gains have been in such low-wage jobs.”
If we look around at the women serving us breakfast in the diner, watching our kids on the playground, feeding dinner to our elderly parents, or ringing up our purchases in a store, we will see the modern version of the widow. If we, like Jesus, notice the women who are usually invisible, the widow will be there. And we play a part in keeping them there, with our passion for ever-cheaper food and goods.
In the Scriptures
The temple is not just a religious institution -- it’s also a huge economic force. As John Petty observes: “The Temple had hundreds of employees, and Jerusalem was a ‘company town.’ The Temple performed many financial functions, including operating as a central bank and treasury. The Temple priests and scribes lived high on the hog. They received a cut from every Temple sacrifice and were the beneficiaries of a five-shekel tax on every first-born child. This generated great revenue for the priests, but even this was not all. Several other offerings -- or perhaps better, taxes -- brought in even greater wealth, so much so that priests got into the business of lending money, which means that they also were in a position to foreclose on property if the debt was not paid.”
The day before this (as the synoptic gospels place the story), Jesus rages in protest in the temple courts, turning over the tables to protest the systems that exploit the poor. This woman is one of those poor. As John Petty notes, “This widow, incidentally, is identified as ptochoi -- the poorest of the poor, a widow reduced to begging.” Her days depend on the kindness people show to her.
Just after this, Jesus comes out of the temple and hears one of his disciples marveling at its vast size. “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” he says to Jesus. And Jesus answers that the temple may look permanent, but at some time all of it will disappear. Jesus is pointing outside this world of the temple to the world God has in mind.
In the Sermon
Author Ellen Ruppel Shell writes in her book Cheap about the connections between cheap sweaters, bikes, phones, and food, and the status of workers in both the U.S. and China, where many low-priced items are manufactured. She writes: “In Shanghai and Taizhou the role American business interests have played in keeping prices low and conditions difficult is crystal-clear. The Chinese call those who make, sell, and profit from substandard and counterfeit goods the heixin, or ‘small, black-hearted ones,’ and... the heixin come in many nationalities.” Jesus points out the scribes, who benefit from the system that devours the widows’ security, and labels them as the heixin of his day. As we buy discount goods, and have low-wage people bring them to us, are we heixin too? Like the temple system in Jesus’ day, it’s hard to extricate ourselves from our own economic system. We may not even see it clearly enough to see our part in it.
The sermon might look at changes we can make in our spending, to be sure that we aren’t the modern version of the scribes, benefiting from our neighbors’ lack of economic security. It might look at how shopping for the holiday season can be more just. If we shop on Thanksgiving or Black Friday, are we adding to the problem of low-wage workers? During the holiday season, many churches give away holiday baskets or food assistance. Is that help going to people who are kept poor by our love-the-discount culture? Are we contributing to their misery one day and hoping to relieve it the next? If we asked them what they really want for Christmas, what might the answer be? A visit to the dentist? A day off to sleep? A new pair of sturdy shoes?
Jesus actually sees the widow, but it seems that most people wouldn’t have noticed her. She’s poor, with no big gift to announce in the temple. No doubt her clothes are ragged. Perhaps hunger has left her thinner than she should be. I wonder if we notice the people like her who are all around us: the woman with the rolling suitcase, spending the whole day in the library; the college student who volunteers at the church lunch program so he can eat too; the cleaning crew that comes to the office building at night. The sermon might look at the invisible people around us, and invite us to see them as clearly as Jesus notices this woman.
This story happens during the last week of Jesus’ life, and the widow’s gift of “everything she had” also points toward the end of the week, where Jesus too will give all that he has. Her gift mirrors his, as each of them gives away everything they have left. Her gift falls into a corrupt system, and is lost. His gift -- like the grain of wheat that dies to bear fruit -- falls into a broken world, and grows toward God’s dream of justice and equality in the world.
SECOND THOUGHTS
You Can’t Beat God Giving
by Chris Keating
Mark 12:38-44
There’s an apocryphal story about a preacher poised to deliver the annual stewardship sermon. Standing in the pulpit, the preacher looks out at the congregation. They’ve heard the appeals, they know the facts. The budget has been cussed and discussed around coffee tables during home visits from the stewardship committee -- and also in the far ends of the parking lot after worship. Now comes the clincher, the moment when the preacher will attempt to seal the deal to fill the coffers.
“I’m not here today,” the preacher begins, “to ask you to give a 10 percent tithe of your income.” The mere mention of the word “tithe” raises the blood pressure of a few church members, while others stir in their seats. The front row leans forward to hear what the minister will say next. “Nor am I here to ask you to give eight percent of your income.” At this point, the church is silent.
“No,” the preacher continues, “I am quite convinced that if every member of this church gave even five percent of their annual income we wouldn’t know how to be able to spend all that money!”
Rumor has it that the bishop’s phone rang off the hook on Monday morning -- and the preacher was soon reassigned.
As leaves fall and pumpkins mellow, congregations once more turn their attention to church budgets, seasons of giving thanks -- and the story of the poor widow who went “all-in” for the temple’s offering. As Mary Austin eloquently notes in her article above, there is much more in this story than a simple parable of generosity. Yet this treasured text deftly illustrates what it means to go all-in for the kingdom, and it is to that task that Jesus still calls the church today.
In the World
As a whole, Americans are a fairly generous group of folks. In fact, in 2014 donors gave a record-setting $350 billion to charity. The YMCA, Goodwill Industries, Boys and Girls Clubs, and others reported robust giving. Yet giving to religious organizations grew by only 0.9 percent in 2014, the smallest increase among all categories. As the Christian Science Monitor noted in June:
“While the overall growth is indicative of robust philanthropy... we would be remiss to gloss over what is happening with giving to religion,” Giving USA chairman David King said in the report’s release. Religion still accounts for the largest percentage of donations, and along with six other categories, it reached a new peak in 2014 with $114.9 billion in contributions. But religious giving “is continuing its 30-year dramatic downward slide,” Mr. King notes. “In fact, it has dropped from 53 percent of all donations in 1987 to 32 percent of the total in 2014.”
To be sure, those attending worship -- much like the widow -- are still faithful in presenting their offerings. But the trend is concerning, especially when coupled with declines in church attendance. Even more perplexing are the one in five worshipers who attend regularly but give nothing at all to their church. Sociologist Patricia Snell Herzog and other researchers studied the complex disconnects among religiously devout yet penurious churchgoers. (A complete set of resources on generosity can be downloaded from Baylor University’s Christian Reflection website.)
While many persons were able to describe what it means to be generous Christians, Herzog notes that “with a couple of exceptions, nearly no one in our sample gave anywhere near to the expectation they described.” It seems, Herzog says, “American Christians appear to be, on the whole, quite comfortable with the knowledge that their giving behavior does not match their personal or their religion’s ideal of what giving should be.” She calls the phenomenon “comfortable guilt.”
Studies also show that, like the poor widow, lower-income individuals tend to be more generous, on a percentage basis, than those earning more than $200,000 annually. Those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder tend to be more in touch with the needs of those below them, and respond accordingly. In general, people who have less give more.
Yet there are also stories of generosity as extreme as the widow’s faithful giving of all she had, stories of people willing to forego indulgences they could well afford in order to help others less privileged. That’s the subject of writer Larissa MacFarquhar’s recent book Strangers Drowning. MacFarquhar curates a conversation among altruistic-minded people she calls “do-gooders” searching for ways of giving to others.
She tells the story of a young couple whose combined income was just under $245,000 in 2013 -- yet who chose to live on about $15,000. They donated the balance to charity, just as they have done each year since 2008. A friend of the couple describes them as the mirror opposite of the penny-pinching, self-denying cheapskates you might imagine.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a more stable, happy, and, well, perfectly normal couple,” writes William MacAskill in Quartz. “They prove that you can have a perfectly normal, enjoyable, and well-rounded life while making altruism a core part of your identity.” In fact, as MacAskill points out, such giving may actually increase your overall level of happiness.
Living generously, of course, is not limited to writing checks. One blogger notes that we shouldn’t hold back -- even if our bank account is near zero: “There is a law in action in our universe that defines that as you sow, so shall you reap. Today is your today, and there is so much that you can give. Put the wallet down for a second and consider your other currencies -- your emotion, your time, your heart, and your compassion.”
In the Scriptures
For Mark, the widow of chapter 12 stands as the antithesis of the wealthy individual who was searching for the keys to the kingdom. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” the man asks Jesus in 10:17. Jesus replies with loving precision: obey the commandments. And sell your possessions.
What the rich man couldn’t do, the struggling widow somehow manages to achieve. Mark is not as concerned about stories of wealth and possessions as Luke, but is instead focused on the hypocrisy of the scribes “who devour widows’ houses.” Their hubris and self-centered lack of awareness of the things which constitute the kingdom are at stake in this passage. Jesus challenges the scribes to live according the vision of the kingdom, where “whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.”
In other words, live generously and not hypocritically. Set aside religious pretense. Live gratefully, with the awareness that pennies tossed into offering plates by poor children have a greater impact than the $100 check written with a Montblanc pen. Trust God’s spectacular grace that results in overturning the very things the world prizes.
For Jesus, the widow is yet another example of what it means for the last to become first.
Careful reading of the text reveals that Jesus will soon condemn the very infrastructure supported by the widow’s offering (13:2). Yet perhaps the widow’s heartfelt contribution comes as the result of her faith that the world was about to turn. Giving away all she had, the woman displays radical dependency on God. She was under no compulsion to give; instead, her act of offering resembles the gracious outpouring of God’s faithful love.
Andre Resner notes that counting the woman’s two copper coins was probably more bother than it was worth. The tellers would have overlooked her meager contribution (The Lectionary Commentary, The Third Readings, p. 274). Yet in spite of this she makes her contribution, trusting that God is watching. God understands what it is like to go all-in, to offer it all. She may be caught in a web of complex injustices, but (as Resner notes) “God sees, God knows, and God is working to dismantle such corruption.”
The widow’s extraordinary gift offers encouragement to those searching to understand the mysteries of the kingdom. Her sacrifice is good news and a reminder, in the words of the old spiritual, that you certainly cannot beat God giving.
In the Pulpit
It is that time of year when congregations gather to give thanks, and to faithfully discern how their offerings can be used for the ministry of the kingdom. The best stewardship sermons are not “one and done” examples but are instead part of a much longer preaching program. Preaching stewardship not just in the fall but throughout the year translates into a stewardship ministry that is more focused on cultivating generosity than paying the bills.
But on this Sunday, the widow’s sacrifice calls for careful reflection on what it means to offer ourselves and our gifts to God. Her willingness to give her whole self to something that was contemptible and corrupt is an indicator of God’s grace. It is an act of profound significance, as the disciples will soon discover. And it is an opportunity for the preacher to engage the congregation in a thoughtful reflection on risky stewardship.
One way to enter the text would be to consider the multiple perspectives present that day in the temple. Consider the scribes: how unaware they were of God’s coming kingdom, consumed instead with pretense and the survival of institutions.
Consider the disciples. Perhaps they wondered if they would need to kick in a few extra bucks to help care for this poor woman. Perhaps they considered her act foolish and unwise. Perhaps, like Jesus, they were simply amazed.
Consider the perspective of the woman. Was she coming to the temple because she was despairing, out of funds, and unsure what would happen to her? Her pennies become the sign that she believes God is still working. It’s a sign of hope, and for that reason a gift far more costly than anyone else could imagine.
She won’t get her named engraved on a plaque. There will be no windows dedicated in her honor, no flowing fountains or memorial gardens. But just like the woman who will soon break a flask expensive ointment at Jesus’ feet, “wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Mark 12:38-44
Exploited Workers
The good news for manicure-seekers: the number of nail salons, particularly in the New York City area, has been growing rapidly. The not-so-good news: the employees who buff, shape, and polish are often severely underpaid (if they’re paid at all), exploited as immigrants, and sometimes even abused, according to a New York Times investigation. The paper interviewed more than 150 nail salon owners and workers in the NYC area, many of whom are resigned to accepting that this is simply the way it’s done in the nail industry. Among the most disturbing revelations the report makes: beginners often aren’t paid -- sometimes for weeks or months -- until they’ve proven their skills... and even when the cash starts flowing, it’s more of a trickle; making $3 or $4 an hour, plus tips, for a 12-hour day is normal.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
How Much Does That iPhone Really Cost?
A 21-year-old man who jumped out of a window to his death in May of 2010 marked the ninth suicide within six months of a worker at Foxconn, the Taiwanese-owned manufacturer of iPhones and iPods. The deaths of young employees -- combined with the fact that the company said it prevented some 30 suicides in the three weeks prior to the man’s demise -- showed the signs of a suicide cluster, leaving the company so baffled it brought in a Buddhist monk to purge its factories of evil spirits.
Critics point to more earthly factors motivating the suicides: the well-educated young migrant workers who staff the company’s plants cracking under the demands of 15-hour workdays, seven days a week. Paid too poorly to be able to afford the products they build, the employees also tend to become socially isolated in vast factories where it is difficult for them to get to know their coworkers.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Cheap and Fashionable Isn’t So Cheap
May 2013 saw the second collapse of an Asian clothing factory in a month. In Cambodia, the ceiling caved in at a facility outside Phnom Penh that made Asics sneakers. At least two workers were killed and a dozen injured, not even close to the scale of the disaster in Bangladesh three weeks earlier that killed 1,127 workers, but critics say it’s another example of the shoddy conditions endured by menial workers so retailers can sell clothes in the West.
“The shoe and garment industry is built upon huge profits and little concern for the well-being of their workers,” a spokeswoman for the Clean Clothes Campaign told the New York Times. Asics is a Japanese company whose shoes are popular with American runners, in part because of the company’s reputation for corporate responsibility. Some big Western retailers pledged reforms in the wake of the Bangladesh tragedy.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
The Rich Give Less, The Poor Give More
According to an October 2014 article in Forbes, the richest Americans are donating less to charity while the poorest are giving more. A report released by the Chronicle of Philanthropy found that Americans who earned at least $200,000 gave nearly 5 percent less to charity in 2012 than in 2006.
Higher-income people tend to give proportionately less during tough economic times, says Stacy Palmer, the Chronicle’s editor. The shift has likely meant less money flowing into universities, hospitals, and cultural institutions, which the wealthy tend to patronize.
Unlike their wealthier counterparts, low- and middle-income Americans -- those who made less than $100,000 -- gave 5 percent more in 2012 than in 2006, the Chronicle found. The poorest Americans -- those who took home $25,000 or less -- increased their giving by nearly 17 percent.
“Lower- and middle-income people know people who lost their jobs or are homeless, and they worry that they themselves are a day away from losing their jobs. They’re very sensitive to the needs of other people and recognize that these years have been hard,” Palmer says.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Charitable Giving by the 2015 Forbes 400
Forbes magazine released its annual list of the 400 richest people in America. Millionaires need not apply -- your personal worth now has to be $1.7 billion to even make the list.
Compare the Forbes list of the ten richest people in America with their list of the ten biggest givers to charity in 2014, and we discover that only four from the former list are also on the latter. (An italicized name indicates appearances on both top ten lists.)
1. Warren Buffett -- $2.8 billion
2. Bill & Melinda Gates -- $1.3 billion
3. George Soros -- $733 million (hedge fund manager; #16 on the 400 list)
4. Michael Bloomberg --$462 million
5. Chuck Feeney -- $434 million (philanthropist best known for giving it all away; not on the 400 list)
6. Walton family -- $375 million
7. James & Marilyn Simons -- $331 million (hedge fund manager; #32 on the 400 list)
8. Hansjoerg Wyss -- $228 million (founder of Synthes, a maker of medical devices that was sold to Johnson & Johnson last year; #240 on the 400 list)
9. Gordon & Betty Moore -- $220 million (founder of Intel and now a retired philanthropist; #74 on the 400 list)
10. Eli & Edith Broad -- $202 million (real estate investor and insurance magnate; #65 on the 400 list)
Collectively, America’s 10 most generous philanthropists gave $7.1 billion to charity in 2014, less than 2% percent of their $377 billion net worth. And that little factoid brings us to the question of the day: How much generosity is enough?
How much does God want us to give away, and how much does God allow us to keep for ourselves?
*****
Mark 12:38-44
They Are Rich; I’m Middle-Class
Median household income in the U.S. is around $52,000 -- so, a Vox article asks, how can households earning twice that much really consider themselves middle-class?
That’s one question raised in a recent Pew Research Center report on post-recession economic policy. On its face, the report shows that rich Americans greatly underestimate how rich they really are, and that, once again, Americans’ conceptions of what it means to be middle-class seem to defy logic. But given what the middle-class lifestyle costs, it may be that you simply have to be rich to be middle-class in America.
Here’s one fascinating finding: only one percent of Americans consider themselves upper-class. Not only that, but a majority of people in households earning $100,000 or more per year consider themselves middle-class.
Americans are predisposed to thinking of themselves as in the middle. The Wall Street Journal and NBC found in a 2013 poll that people tend to think of their particular income levels as the definition of the middle class. And as Richard Reeves of the Brookings Institution pointed out, Americans seem to define “rich” as “richer than me.” But when people think of the middle class, it may be that they feel their income does not provide what they think of as a middle-class American life -- a life that can be remarkably hard to achieve.
***************
From team member Ron Love:
Mark 12:38-44
There have been numerous news stories about the most recent Republican presidential debate, held in Boulder, Colorado and broadcast on CNBC. Much of the criticism was not directed against the candidates onstage, but toward CNBC’s moderators. According to USA Today columnist Rem Riedar, the “trio of moderators fumbled and stumbled.”
Application: In Mark we can see the wisdom of Jesus, who does not fumble and stumble when expressing himself.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Movie actor Kurt Russell was recently interviewed about two new westerns in which he is starring: Bone Tomahawk and The Hateful Eight. Russell said, “There are two great genres to me where you can talk about the big things. One of them is science fiction. The other one is the western.”
Application: Jesus was always able to talk about the big issues, as seen by his condemnation of the Sadducees and his affirmation of the poor widow’s offering.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
On October 30, an article with the headline “Winning Races, Not Fans” appeared in USA Today’s sports section. Written by Jeff Gluck, it examined an incident occurring at the previous weekend’s NASCAR race in which driver Joey Logano, whose motor was failing, purposely caused a massive wreck of multiple vehicles so he could claim victory over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fans, disappointed at the popular Earnhardt’s failure to win the race, threw beer cans at Logano’s car -- which Logano considered to be an honor. Logano’s actions that day continued to reinforce his nickname of “Sliced Bread.” According to Gluck, Logano’s actions on the track are in direct contrast to his happy-go-lucky personality when he is not racing.
Application: Public appearance determines what people think of us, or can hide who we really are. The Sadducees’ public persona was just the opposite of Logano, for they appeared pious in public but devilish in private.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Outspoken billionaire tech investor Chris Sacca will be the newest addition to the judges on ABC’s Shark Tank. He acquired the positon by continually blasting the show in tweets to his 1.6 million followers. He then unexpectedly met the show’s producer at a Halloween party, and from that encounter was invited to be a judge. Sacca has been dubbed the “Unabomber” for his frequent outbursts.
Application: Like the Sadducees, we must ask ourselves how we want to be remembered. We must consider how we want to be viewed by others. What nickname will be given to us, and will we find it complimentary?
*****
Mark 12:38-44
Newly elected House Speaker Paul Ryan has said that it is time to fix a “broken” house. The House of Representatives has been broken, with the majority Republicans caught in an intra-party quagmire of infighting between moderates, conservatives, and the ultra-conservatives of the Freedom Caucus.
Application: Jesus realized that the Sadducees were responsible for creating a broken house among believers.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
On October 28, 1646, missionary John Eliot preached the first sermon for Native Americans using their native language. He conducted his worship service in a wigwam at Nonantum, Massachusetts.
Application: As we can see from the story in Mark, Jesus could easily speak in a language that could be readily understood by all.
*****
Mark 12:38-44
In 1659 William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson became the first Quakers to be executed in America for their religious beliefs. Prior to his execution, Stephenson said: “Be it known to all this day that we suffer not as evildoers, but for conscience’ sake.” The date of their execution, October 27, was later observed as International Religious Freedom Day.
Application: As exposed by Jesus, the Sadducees had no concept of religious freedom.
*****
Hebrews 9:24-28
Continuing a trend, Walmart will be one of the first retailers out of the gate by launching Christmas holiday sales immediately after Halloween.
Application: The high priests had to enter the Holy Place year after year to make blood atonement for the sins of the people. Jesus on the cross atoned sins with one unrepeatable act. It would seem that Walmart, like so many retailers, have to repeatedly celebrate Christmas week after week rather than recognizing it on one special day.
*****
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Individuals who work intensely at a computer all day can have their company purchase the Altwork Station. With the simple push of a button, this chair and moveable desktop can become a standing workstation, a sitting workstation, or even a reclining workstation. If one chooses to recline, powerful magnets will hold the mouse and keyboard in place. The Altwork, which costs $5,900, took five years to design in a barn in Sonoma County. The project began when company founder Che Voigt heard constant discussions on workplace ergonomics.
Application: Naomi was concerned about the future security of Ruth; we must realize that security can come in many forms, one of which is an ergonomic workstation.
*****
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Chinese officials, in an attempt to create security for their nation which was becoming overpopulated, instituted a policy 35 years ago of one child per couple. But now the policy has been discarded because there are not enough younger workers to support the country’s aging population, which is creating a tremendous economic burden on the government.
Application: Naomi was concerned about the future and security of Ruth, but she acted on her concerns by applying wisdom and not hardship.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: Unless God builds the house,
People: Those who build it labor in vain.
Leader: Unless God guards the city,
People: The guard keeps watch in vain.
Leader: It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest.
People: For God gives sleep to the beloved.
OR
Leader: God has created the world for abundance and blessing.
People: Praise to our God who so generously blesses us.
Leader: God has created us for sharing and community.
People: As God’s image, we will share as God has shared with us.
Leader: God’s blessings are best enjoyed when shared with others.
People: We have been blessed, and so we will bless others.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
“How Great Thou Art”
found in:
UMH: 77
PH: 476
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
NCH: 35
CH: 33
LBW: 532
ELA: 856
W&P: 51
AMEC: 68
Renew: 250
“For the Beauty of the Earth”
found in:
UMH: 92
H82: 416
PH: 473
NNBH: 8
NCH: 28
CH: 56
LBW: 561
ELA: 879
W&P: 40
AMEC: 578
STLT: 21
“Alleluia, Alleluia”
found in:
UMH: 162
H82: 178
PH: 106
CH: 40
W&P: 291
Renew: 271
“Cuando El Pobre” (“When the Poor Ones”)
found in:
UMH: 434
PH: 407
CH: 662
ELA: 725
W&P: 624
“What Does the Lord Require”
found in:
UMH: 441
H82: 605
PH: 405
CH: 659
W&P: 686
“Go Down, Moses”
found in:
UMH: 448
PH: 334
AAHH: 543
NNBH: 490
CH: 663
LBW: 618
“The Voice of God Is Calling”
found in:
UMH: 436
“For the Healing of the Nations”
found in:
UMH: 428
NCH: 576
CH: 668
W&P: 621
“Refiner’s Fire”
found in:
CCB: 79
“God Is So Good”
found in:
CCB: 75
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELA: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who created the world out of love and blessing: Grant us the wisdom to see your plan for all to be blessed, and help us create a world where we share until all are filled; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, for creating the world out of love and blessing. We thank you for all that you have provided for us to share with our sisters and brothers. Help us to stand against the tyranny of the economic world and to offer ourselves to Jesus as the widow did, giving all for others. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially our greed and complicity in the grasping world of economics.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are people who enjoy things, and sometimes we allow that to turn into greed. We enjoy the comforts of life, and seldom think of those who have been oppressed by the systems that have produced our goods. Give us hearts that long to share with others as much as we enjoy having for ourselves. Give us wisdom to help shape the economics of our world in anticipation of your coming reign. Amen.
Leader: God’s love and grace are abundant and free for all of us sinners. God desires to share blessings with us and with others through us.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord’s Prayer)
We praise you, O God, for the abundance of your blessings. You are a God of generosity and compassion.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We are people who enjoy things, and sometimes we allow that to turn into greed. We enjoy the comforts of life, and seldom think of those who have been oppressed by the systems that have produced our goods. Give us hearts that long to share with others as much as we enjoy having for ourselves. Give us wisdom to help shape the economics of our world in anticipation of your coming reign.
We thank you for all that you have bestowed upon us as resources to use and to share. We thank you for those who have given to us and shared your love with us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all who are in need, and especially for those who are oppressed by the systems we support. Help us to work for a world that promotes sharing and caring among all people.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father . . . Amen.
(or if the Lord’s Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children’s Sermon Starter
Take the leftover Halloween candy that you haven’t scarfed down and divide it very unequally into paper sacks. Distribute the sacks to the children and ask each to show what they received. Talk about the inequality and ask them what we could do about it. Encourage the children to share if you need to, but don’t force them. (If needed, you can supplement the little bags from a hidden stash.) Talk about how God gives so that we can all enjoy and so that we can all share.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Generosity
by Robin Lostetter
Mark 12:38-44
Items needed: a boatload of pennies and an offering plate
Tell the children that there’s a word you’d like them to learn today: “generous.” Here’s a wonderful definition:
Generous people are the ones who give more than is expected of them. It’s generous of your friend to take the couch and let you sleep in the bed when you stay over at her place. She didn't have to do that. When you decide to go one step beyond what’s expected of you, you’re being generous. A generous helping of food is a bigger than expected scoop of mashed potatoes. A generous teacher is one who volunteers to stay after school to help you with your homework.
Then retell the story of Mark 12:41-44, understanding that there are words in the text that may need explaining (depending upon the age of your children):
* widow: a woman whose husband has died (in Jesus’ time, someone without anyone to help support her).
* treasury: where we put the money that everyone has given in the offering plates.
* abundance: having so much we don’t worry about ever running out.
* poverty: when someone has so little that their fridge and pantry/cupboard are almost empty.
Then make three piles of pennies: two in one pile and 20 in the other two, representing three members of the temple.
Show what is left to the widow after putting her two coins in the plate, and what is left to the rich person after giving a tithe of two coins. Have them notice that both gave the same number, but one is left with an abundance while the other one gave all she had.
For the third pile contribute the tithe, and then suggest to the children that they might want to give a coin or two to the widow. Does this third person still have money left?
Which of the three “people” were generous? (The answer is the widow and the third “person.”)
Now give each child a handful of coins. Ask them to think about how much they could give away and still have something left for themselves. There is no judgment or reward in their actions. Have them put a portion of the pennies into the plate, and then say a prayer of thanks and let the children keep the pennies they didn’t contribute.
Alternatively, let them keep just one coin in their pocket as a reminder of generosity.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the abundance you have given to us on this earth. Help us to be thankful and generous with what we have. Amen.
(Note: It’s not wise to designate one child as the widow and others as rich. Sometimes their sympathies can be so great that they will automatically share their pennies -- an unplanned “lesson,” to be sure, but sometimes with emotional consequences not easily handled in the sanctuary setting.)
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The Immediate Word, November 8, 2015, issue.
Copyright 2015 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
