Year B - Proper 27 - November 11, 2018

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN

Year B - Proper 27 - November 11, 2018

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 becomes a 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 was 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 the great King, 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 King 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 their 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 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 had to rely on the hospitality of others in order to get their next meal. They had to 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 annual meeting 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 the last two 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, through their trust in God wasn’t always such a great example.

Facing uncertain futures, both of these ladies, these widows, reached out to God. They trusted in the fact that if they gave everything they had, even the little 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 were God’s. By their example, the scripture shows us that what we withhold matters a whole lot more than what we offer. These two widows are 2 women of great faith... Women of great faith who held nothing back!

They gave their lives 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 back. But we CAN offer our whole selves for the Kingdom of God, holding nothing back. 

We can give a portion of the gifts that 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 copper coins. 

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

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.

RCL Year B (Proper 27) - November 8, 2009

The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Church – Cleveland, NC

RCL Year B (Proper 27) – November 8, 2009

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

(transcribed from the audio - sermon preached without notes or manuscript)

We have to do some thinking about these readings. We have to do some serious, serious introspective evaluation of who we are. Not only who we are in society and community, but who we are as children of God.

Why is it, regardless of how much we have in this world, it’s never enough. It’s never enough. Why do we feel that way? It’s never enough. Regardless of how much we make, or how much we think we make or think we need, it’s never enough.

It reminded me of a story that I heard when I was very young. It’s a story about a great king, a great and RICH king, King Midas, you probably have heard it before. The king was so scared that he would never have enough, never had enough of what he needed in this world, so he made a wish that everything he touched would turn to gold. King Midas made a wish and was granted that wish, so EVERYTHING that he went around and touched was instantly turned to gold. But the problem was, when his daughter ran to embrace him, and jumped up in his arms to hug him, she too in fact was turned to gold. Tragic story… Tragic story… Do we have enough? Is there enough??

Jesus tells us that it’s the scribes who walk around in fine robes at the temple, dumping there money into the treasury as they walk into the temple, “look how great I am, look how much money I give” But they are giving out of their abundance – they have a gospel of scarcity, because they want to hold on to what they have in order to control others, in order to use their money as a weapon and their checkbook as a sword. “I will only give when it benefits me! – when I get something out of it! - I will write that check and put if forth to do whatever damage it will do!” A gospel of scarcity, and fear that there is not enough… so they store it up in grain silos where “moth consume and thief break in and steal.”

But Jesus, on the other hand points out, as he and his caravan are parked over across from the treasury – you can get the picture… as he’s kicked up against the wall, observing what’s going on… as people are walking by – and he sees this poor widow, one of the least of society. Widows and orphans have no worth in the society of the ancient world. This widow comes up, and everything she has in this world are two small copper coins - how Jesus knew they were copper, I have no idea – but translated to modern day worth it is about a penny.

Two small copper coins, not worth a whole lot, not used like the modern day penny that the government can round off to a number and collect tax, but it represented everything that she had. And they were putting the offerings in these big fluked jars that people would come by to dump there money into, put their tithes and offerings in as they entered the temple. This is how they contributed to the economy to make it go, to make the temple grow, and further the spread of the kingdom of God that cared for others.

This woman comes by and gives everything she had in faith and puts it in the treasury not knowing where her next meal was going to come from, but trusting in God and in the goodness of the community that she belongs to, she contributed to the commonwealth of the community.
A gospel of abundance! The idea that the Lord God blesses my life and gives me everything that I have, and makes me everything that I am is a gospel of abundance. I am not afraid to give and contribute because I know that the Lord will return to me 10, 20, 1000, 100,000 times than I could ever contribute.

A gospel of abundance vs. a gospel of scarcity… do we live in this community, in this life, in this world thanking God for everything that God gives us – and everything that we have, and everything that we rejoice in? Do we live practicing a gospel of abundance, or do we live this life afraid to take the next step or walk the next mile or go to the next phase, or be something out of the box because there is a little bit of risk involved? Or fear that we are not going to be “open” next year or the year after that? Do we live out of a gospel of scarcity?

This is wonderful time to have this reading and this text as we gather for the Annual Parish Meeting after the service. I have reviewed the Annual Meeting notes minutes from the last 20 years, and I am convinced that one year we live out of gospel of scarcity, and then one year we live out of a gospel of abundance, then the next year it starts over – we live out of a gospel of scarcity, then we live out of a gospel of abundance.

I have made it a point in my presentation at the Annual Meeting, and in my ministry to help you and nurture you to live out of a gospel of abundance – to be thankful for everything that God has given us and everything that we have to be viewed as a gift from God.

There are many readings through the latter part of this liturgical year, back to back readings that have built up to this point… I want you to think back to last week and the week before, to the gospel story of blind Bartimaeus.

Blind Bartimaeus got up from his roadside vocation of begging, where he had his cloak spread out to receive the alms that were pitched his way. That was the only way he had any money to live on. The only way he survived and was able to eat was by begging. He had his cloak spread out, sitting there, and he heard Jesus passing though the town and he abandoned everything he had, and everything that he felt secure about in order to follow Jesus. He through off his cloak and left it there, as the scripture says, and he ran to Jesus. And Jesus healed him and made him see… and made him see.

Sometimes we walk around with our eyes shut, groping along the wall… Do you remember that imagery from the sermon? How often do we let Jesus and the gospel open our eyes to see the positive around us? … to see the energy in everything that we are engaged in and involved in, and how many times do we let our hearts and our souls rejoice in that?

And how often do we come to that table, knowing that Jesus is ALWAYS there, and it’s Jesus that continues to give to us in ways that we can neither understand nor imagine, but our souls continue to be fed and filled. And then we take that gospel of abundance in ourselves, and some of us go out into the world around us and spread the excitement of everything this community has going on.

That is what the Church is! It is a thanksgiving and gathering of the community. That is what the word “Eucharist” means - Thanksgiving! It is NOT a sacrifice of Jesus over and over again like the letter to the Hebrews reminds us, but it is our continuous act of thanksgiving and praise to God for everything that God has given us and done for us in the person of Jesus Christ.

And it’s everything that we are drawn to, to fill that void and emptiness in our lives – to keep coming to the table day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year to keep being fed in ways that we don’t always understand, but its more than we can ask for or imagine.

So this morning is a morning of self evaluation, of something to think about, deep down inside whether we live out of gospel of scarcity where we are afraid – or whether we trust the abundance of Christ and His presence in this community.

So come to the table, let yourself be fed, let your souls be nourished – there is always enough. And then carry that abundance with you and go out to rejoice in, and glorify God in the world around you. Amen!