Sermon for Ordinary 32, Sunday, 10th Nov 2024

MAY the words of my mouth and the meditations in our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. <Amen>

When a preacher starts to talk about personal finances he\she has to be very careful indeed. It’s a topic that can be filled with pitfalls! So, in today’s gospel (Mark 12:38-44) what was Jesus thinking? Here He is, in the temple courts, and what’s he talking about? Money! Should He really tackle such a sensitive subject?

In the 21st century, when churches start talking about money, the world around will echo the refrain, “You see? All the church cares about is money! Look in their bulletin, there’s even a time in their service when they gather an offering!”

It’s sad to say that historically some of those criticisms are warranted. Today, there are ‘religious hucksters’ out there trying to drain bank accounts in the name of Jesus, caring more about padding their pockets than proclaiming the gospel. However, just because there are some bad examples out there doesn’t mean we should try to avoid seeing what the Bible says to us about money.

Why would we talk about money? Well, because Jesus talks about it and He talks to us about money and giving in a very particular way. Financial stewardship is just another way we can manage well all that God has graciously given us – from our time and skills, to our money and possessions, to all that we are. We can serve and give, even our whole selves, and because of Christ, we lack nothing.

Mark’s gospel sets the scene for us, Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Person after person filed up and gave their offerings to support the work of the temple. That money went to pay for things like sacrifices, wood for the altar, incense for burning, maintenance, upkeep, and temple taxes.

Many rich people threw in large amounts. Everyone would notice it when another wealthy patron would empty their purse. However, nobody would notice the smallest of offerings – well, nobody except Jesus.

A poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. By comparison, the widow’s offering wasn’t even worth mentioning. This poor widow only had two coins to rub together and both of them clanked their way into the offering box, coming to rest almost unnoticed atop the copious coinage contributed by the rich.

THIS is the offering Jesus praises – not an amount, but an attitude – an attitude that rejoices to give God my first, my best, my all because that’s exactly what he’s done for me.

Giving is not a pastime for the rich, it’s the privilege of all, even the poor. The widow gave with a heart that trusted in every one of God’s promises for her. She gave everything and, because of Christ, lacked nothing.

Sometimes less is SO important <PAUSE>We all know this gospel story. We’ve all heard the sermon messages - the poor widow is an example of generosity. You should be generous like her. Or we use it to criticise the rich for not giving more to the poor. It holds before us the often unfair distribution of the world’s resources reminding us that the majority of the world lives without enough money, food, shelter, education, healthcare.

There can be truth in those interpretations. However, there is something else going on in
this gospel … “The Riches of Poverty” <PAUSE>

The great 14th century, Persian poet, Hafez, gave us this prayer:

“God, grant me the riches of poverty for in such largesse lies my power and glory.”

Most of us, I suspect, have not seen or experienced the “riches of poverty” very often. Instead we tend to view poverty as a problem to be fixed and not as a source of power and glory. Poverty is something to be eliminated but not in today’s gospel! The poverty of the poor widow is not a problem to be fixed but rather a virtue to be praised and made part of our own spiritual being. The poor widow becomes our teacher and we her students.

This lady has no need for the money of the rich, the long robes of the scribes, or the respect of those in the market-place. She has no need for the best seat in the house or the false-facade of holiness. The absence of these needs have become, to her, a need NOT TO HAVE. So she does what makes no sense. She gives her last two coins and Jesus says, “This poor widow, out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

This lady has no abundance from which to give … only the riches of poverty. The “riches of poverty” come not from acquiring but from letting go. The Christian life is built on letting things go: letting go of personal standpoints, comparison, competition, expectation, judgment; letting go of status, reputation, and appearances; letting go of the need for power, to control, to succeed, to win, to be right; letting go of our need for
approval and perfectionism.

“The riches of poverty” begins with letting go and it takes us to:

A place place where there are no guarantees and certainty of what the future will look like – - - ONLY HOPE.

• A place where there are no definite answers – ONLY FAITH.

• A place where there is no guaranteed security – ONLY LOVE.

THIS is where the poor widow lives. THIS is where God lives. They live there, together, in
union as one. You see, in that poor widow, Jesus points us to the “riches of poverty” because in that poor widow - - - Christ sees and recognises ….. himself. <PAUSE>

I runga e te Ingoa o te Atua, te Matua, te Tama me te Wairua Tapu. <AMINE>
In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit <AMEN>