Lectionary Lab PREMIUM Edition for the Twwenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B
November 10, 2024
Thinking the Texts by John Fairless
Widows, widows, everywhere this week! Ruth is a classic love story that starts with three widows, two of whom will be bound together in a covenant of steadfast love, no matter what the future brings. Of course, what the future brings is hope in the form of a new life featuring a new baby. That baby will have a pretty prominent place in the line of descent to another baby we will soon be celebrating at Christmas. Catch the end of the podcast episode for more details.
1 Kings gives us the story of Elijah’s encounter with a widow from the town of Zarephath (one of my all-time favorite Bible names!) In a time of famine, the widow is asked to use her last ounces of oil and grain to feed the prophet of God. When she follows through, her faith keeps the oil flowing and the grain filling the bin. All are provided for in a great time of need. Can God do stuff like this for us?
Mark gives us the story of perhaps the most famous widow in the Bible — at least, I remember her oh so well from Baptist Sunday School lessons. The story of “The Widow’s Mite” made a great impression on my as a youngster. I never wanted to go to church without an offering to put in the plate. Pennies, to nickels, to dimes and quarters to dollar bills — what a thrill it was to place these in my envelope and put them in the plate! Dr. Chilton gives us some great insights in his sermon below.
And Just for Fun
This week’s jokes are brought to you by Al Bundy:
Marriage is when two become one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one.
Marriages are made in heaven. Then again, so are thunder, lightning, tornadoes and hail.
My spouse and I were happy for 24 years. Then we met.
The four most crucial words in a healthy marriage are, “I agree with you.”
When my wife blamed me for being immature, I banished her from my pillow fort.
I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised.
Sermon by Delmer Chilton
Today, we have read Bible lessons about two widows, both of whom were poor, and both of whom were generous with what they had. The story of the widow’s mite in the gospel is a little tough on ministers and other official church folk.
“Beware of scribes, who like to walk around in long robes . . .,” Well, I wear them during service, but I don’t walk around in them, much. “ . . . and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces,” Okay, I do like it when people in grocery stores and restaurants call me Father or Reverend or Padre and treat me a little extra nice. “ . . and to have the best seats in the synagogue,” Well, I don’t know if it’s the best, but it is bigger and it is different. “ . . .and places of honor at banquets.” What can I say, I obviously like to eat! “They devour widow’s houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.” Okay, I’m clean on these two; I’ve never tricked a widow out of her house, and I’m famous for short prayers, not long ones; so perhaps I’ve escaped the “greater condemnation” by a narrow margin.
When we hear a Bible story, one of the most important things we can ask ourselves is, "With whom do I identify, who in this story feels like me?" Of course, none of us would like to think we’re like the scribes, making a big, loud public display of our religion; in particular, none of us wants to look like a hypocrite. And we all want to believe that we’re like the widow, doing all we can with what little we have. Most of us, most of the time, hear the widow’s mite story and think it means something like this:
"See, it’s not how much you give that matters, it’s the spirit with which you give it that counts. A little bit is just as important as a lot."
That is true, as far as it goes. But most of us miss an important point here; Jesus did not say that the widow gave all she could afford; Jesus said she gave all she had.
“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Truth be told, most of us, most of the time, give out of our abundance. We give what we think we can afford to give without seriously affecting our standard of living. What Jesus points to in the widow is another thing entirely - her gift is a total commitment of everything she has, all her resources, “all she had to live on,” to the Kingdom of God.
At root, this story is not so much about giving and generosity as it is about trust in God. That is why the Hebrew story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath is paired with the story of the widow’s mite in the appointed readings for today. These two stories are not only about widows, they are about putting your complete trust in God as well. The Widow of Zarephath also gave all she had. She shared with Elijah, the last of her food in a time of famine. Yet, when she did she discovered she had enough, enough at least to keep going, day by day the jar of meal and the jug of oil had in them enough for that day’s needs.
This is the way God operates. This is the way God provides for God’s people. Remember the manna from Heaven, the bread upon the ground provided to the Israelites as they went from Egypt to the Promised Land? If they took more than they needed for the day, the extra would rot before the next morning. It was a lesson in trusting God to provide each day’s needs.
What Jesus noticed and commented upon with the widow was not the size of her gift, but the size of her faith. Jesus pointed out the fact that she gave her all, trusting that God would provide for the next day. This is the Biblical principle of God’s economy, this is the way God always works. God’s promise is not: If you return to me a tithe, I will make you rich.
God’s promise is: If you commit to me your all, I will provide for your needs.
These Bible stories about the widows and their generosity are not so much about finances as they are about the relationship of trust we are called upon to have with God. And, we must admit, this is hard for us. We like to hedge our bets, hold a little something back, play it safe.
A number of years ago I heard a story about a college student who went into a camera store to have a picture enlarged. It was a framed 8x10 of the young man and his girlfriend. When the clerk took the picture out of the frame, he read the writing on the back: “My dearest Tommy, I love you with all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours for all eternity. With all my love, Diane.Isn’t that just the sweetest things? Oh, there’s a PS: If we ever break up, I want this picture back!
Today God call us to quit hedging our bets, to stop holding back. God calls us to make a complete and total commitment of ourselves to Christ and the Kingdom of God. We are called upon to make all that we are and all that we have available to the work of spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ into all the world. And the Gospel, the good news, for us today is that we can make that leap, that commitment, with full confidence in God’s promise to provide our every need, now and forever more.
Amen and amen.