Year B - 24 Pentecost (Proper 27) - November 8, 2015

Trinity Episcopal Church

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III

Year B - 24 Pentecost (Proper 27)

November 8, 2015

Track 1
Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17
Psalm 127
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44

She was a woman, a widow, the least and forgotten of ancient society, and she was poor. 

Ruth loved Naomi and decided to stay with her after her husband Mahlon, who was Naomi and Elimelech’s son, died. Even after being sent away, Ruth stayed and Ruth gave Naomi her full devotion. Naomi wanted Ruth to have security and knew that she could not provide for Ruth – herself being a widow because Elimelech had also died – They were pretty bad off and both were forced to glean for food on the outskirts of the crops, just so they could eat. So, Naomi arranged for Ruth to get together with her kinsman, Boaz, hoping he would take her as his wife and provide for her. And he did…

She was a woman, a widow the least and forgotten of ancient society, and she was poor.

She had come to the Court of the Women in the Temple in Jerusalem, and she was a widow down to her last two coins. Jesus saw her there and also knew about her, that she was a woman of great faith, so much that she became a living example... a living sermon. 

She became an great icon of faith as she puts her whole trust in God, not holding anything back. Unfortunately, we do not know this woman’s name. The unnamed woman is known by her marital status and her coins more than her name. We casually refer to the story as “The Widow’s Mite” and she is the star character,“The Widow.” And, each of this woman’s 2 coins were worth just a four-hundredth of a shekel or what we might think of as just an eighth of a penny each. 

We can learn a lot from these 2 remarkable women.

Ruth’s story is about relationship, love, and trust as Ruth follows in the way that leads to the birth of Obed, who will later become the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David. It’s important to understand that Ruth was not a Jew, She was a Moabite woman taken as the wife of Naomi's son, Mahlon. So, she found her way into a devoutly Jewish household. A stranger that will be the great grandmother of Kind David.

Jesus has been teaching in the temple courts. And, on his way out of the court, he and his followers stop to watch as offerings are being made to the treasury. Each person walks up to one of the thirteen fluke-shaped pot receptacles, which were lining the wall of the Court of the Women. 

As they tossed in the money they had to offer, the person was expected to say aloud the amount and purpose of the gift in order to be heard by the priest that was overseeing the collections. It must have been quite a sight to see all the folks there there in finest clothes, tossing in large sums of money, calling out to all how much they gave. 

And in such a group, who would take notice the widow tossing the two of the smallest coins into the offering? Yes, only Jesus notices and calls attention to this act of incredible faith. Jesus calls his disciples together and says, “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.”

Ruth and Naomi probably don’t know what coins were, let alone did they have any. They must rely on the hospitality of others in order to get their next meal. They must glean the edges of the field and work hard for everything they get.

With the widow at the treasury, Jesus knows that these are not just any two coins, but these are the woman’s LAST two coins. The text says, “All she had to live on.”  Literally this is true. The actual word used in the Gospel is bios. The text says that she put in her “bios.” It’s the word from which we get “biology,” the study of life. So, Jesus tells us that the widow put her whole “life” into the temple treasury that day - EVERYTHING she had to live on.

Strangely enough, on this commitment Sunday, this is NOT a sermon about tithing. Because neither of these women gave ten percent of their income. 

Ruth had no security, and no money. The only thing she had to give was her self... she had nothing to give, so she gave her devotion, her love, her trust, and her life.

At the treasury, these were the widow’s last two coins that she had to rub together, but rather than keep one for her self, she tossed them both into the temple treasury. The widow gave 100% of her money and with it, 100% of herself. The unnamed woman is down to 2 worthless little coins, yet she trusts it all to God. She trusts her LIFE to God.

It would be nice if the details of both these stories were filled in a bit more for us. Ruth disappears into the genealogy of David that eventually leads us to the birth of Jesus. The nameless widow who gave the two small coins fades back into the crowd in the background. She remains nameless, but we want to know her name, you know, so we can name churches, schools, and hospitals after her. We want to give her a place of honor in Jesus’ stories right alongside the disciples whose names we know, though their trust in God wasn’t always such a good example.

Facing an uncertain future, both of these ladies, these widows, reached out to God. They trusted that if they gave everything they had, even the little they gave would be honored. We trust that both of the widow’s stories turned out all right. We trust that whether they lived or died, they was God’s.

By their example, Jesus shows us that what we withhold may matter a whole lot more than what we offer. These widows are 2 women of great faith, Women of great faith who held nothing back!

They gave their life and gained security – When we give, we are to give, knowing that everything we have is God’s already. We are crazy to think that we can give God anything. But we CAN offer our whole selves for the Kingdom of God, holding nothing back. 

We can give a portion of the gifts have been given to us to make sure that the mission of the Church continues to bring others to know the kingdom of God.

She was a woman. She was poor. She was a widow down to her last basket of grain gleaned from the edge of the field. 

She was a woman. She was poor. She was widow down to her last two coins. 

Yet, both of these incredible women were children of God who placed their whole life back in their loving creator’s hands.