A sermon preached by the Rev’d Dr Daniel Dries Pentecost 24 Christ Church St Laurence – 8 November
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight: O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. Jesus said to his disciples, “…For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but [this widow] out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” In many denominations, it is fairly common for parishes to designate one Sunday each year as Stewardship Sunday. This annual tradition encourages parishioners to reflect on their giving, and to increase their weekly offering in support of the ministry of the parish. To achieve greatest success, it makes sense to choose the Gospel reading with the highest guilt factor. Today, millions of Christians across the globe are also being reacquainted with the poor widow in Mark, Chapter 12. Not surprisingly, many churches will observe Stewardship Sunday today. As we reflect on the poor widow who gave all that she had to live on, we might consider our own giving – I’m certainly not wanting to talk you out this. In fact, as you contemplate putting an additional 2 pennies on the collection plate, perhaps you should stop to consider the convenience of Direct Debit. No Rector would ever encourage parishioners to give less, however, the poor widow’s offering challenges us to reflect on much more than our financial support of our parish. In Mark Chapter 12, Christ is initially teaching the crowds. He points out the exploitation of the poor by the scribes; their religious leaders. Their wealth and privilege is there for all to see, but then he calls the disciples aside and gives this much smaller group a private lesson. He draws their attention to the offering of the poor widow. Christ doesn’t interact with her; he doesn’t even praise directly her for her generosity. But the twelve need to see this – as they will become the custodians of the church, they need to look beyond the impressive majesty of religion; they need to see what God sees. The poor widow is certainly a minor character in the Gospels. Like Simon of Cyrene, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, she seems to escape the attention of the crowd. These are the minor characters who are only noticed by God, while others are focussed on the ‘important’ people. Gianluigi Nuzzi has recently published a book entitled Merchants in the Temple. This publication is one of a number of new books dealing with corruption and financial mismanagement within the senior ranks of the Vatican. Among other things, Merchants in the Temple claims that millions of Euros have disappeared from Vatican bank accounts; it also speaks of high-ranking Vatican officials who have allocated massive sums to the redecoration of already-lavish apartments. This new book documents a particular case of a Monsignor who “was so keen on improving his apartment that he took it upon himself to knock down a wall separating his flat from his elderly neighbour’s... When [his] elderly neighbour returned from hospital, where he had been very ill, he found his things had been packed in boxes.” Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes … They devour widows’ houses… and it would seem that very little has changed. Although he enjoys great popularity in the media, Pope Francis is not without his critics. Vowing to completely reform the financial and political structures of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pontiff has met significant opposition from within. Soon after his election as Pope, Francis said to 5000 1|Page
journalists: “How I would like a church that is poor and for the poor…” While the journalists loved hearing this, many within the Vatican did not. It is perhaps just as well that, prior to ordination, the Pope gained experience in a number of professions, including working as a nightclub bouncer. Jesus said to his disciples, ‘… [this widow] out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” As Christ draws the poor widow to the attention his disciples, of course he is highlighting the power of sacrificial giving. However, he is also making it clear that the church exists for the poor; status has no place in the Kingdom of God. In a sense, the widow’s sacrificial giving is rather pointless. Bereft of husbands, widows were often the poorest of the poor. When the wealthy made a donation to the Temple Treasury they expected that it would be redistributed to the poor – this whole scene is rather ironic. Christ’s words, literally translated from the Greek, state that the woman gave “her whole life” (“her entire livelihood”). Her giving was done secretly, and she further impoverished herself. It all sounds rather odd, and yet I have witnessed this same effusive extravagance in our own parish church—those who are obviously poor and homeless placing coins in our donation box. On one level, this gesture represents sacrificial giving, but on another level, it is also claiming the church for the poor; people of little means want to play their part and make their contribution. Their gesture demonstrates that status has no place in the Kingdom of God. Perhaps this is the point that Christ is making as he quietly draws the disciples’ attention to an unnoticed widow. The church belongs to the poor, or at least it should. When the Parish Church of Christ Church St Laurence was opened, an entire quarter of the seating was made up of unrented or free pews. Believe it or not, this was radical for the time. Even in the 21st century, Anglicans can become rather territorial if they find someone sitting in ‘their pew’, but in the early days of the colony, it was standard practice to rent a pew based on wealth and social status. In the Parish Church of Much Wenlock, Shropshire, it was still possible to pay annual pew rent in 1970. This quaint English practice enabled those of high status to literally reserve the best seats in the synagogue. Fortunately, pew rents are no more. In fact, in many churches, pews are no more. As rented box pews disappeared from English churches, other divisions based on social status also disappeared. In more recent years, the Eucharist or Holy Communion has also become the principal and most well-attended Sunday service for Anglicans. Among other things, Holy Communion is the greatleveller. As we leave our place and move towards the altar, we all become equal. There is no social status at the Communion Rail. As we kneel to receive the Sacrament with open hands, we are acknowledging our poverty and our shared spiritual hunger that only God can satisfy. Perhaps Christ used the poor widow to teach lesson about stewardship. However, as she drops her two pennies into The Treasury, she makes herself even poorer, but she is also claiming her place in the church. Her humble gesture affirms that the church exists for rich and poor alike. Sadly, very few people bothered to notice her offering, but on more than one level, it was precious in the sight of God. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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