Year B - Proper 28 - November 18, 2018

The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III

St. James Episcopal Church

Greeneville, TN

Year B - Proper 28 - November 18, 2018

Daniel 12:1-3Psalm 16 Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25Mark 13:1-8

With all the death and destruction around us these days, it’s hard to look at today’s readings through any other lens. As of this morning, the coast of California is still on fire, and as of this morning, there are 76 confirmed dead and over 1200 still missing. The fire continues to rage on… The whole city of Paradise California is practically gone.

But it’s not only fire that plagues this world… Just yesterday, there were 3 shooting deaths in Philadelphia (3 separate incidents) in what we know as the “City of Brotherly Love.”

This isn’t the only attack that has taken place in recent days… Remember just 3 weeks ago, 11 were gunned down at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg… Yes, a Synagogue, a place of study and prayer… In a place of worship and peace… people were attacked and killed.

These attacks were not only meant to make those who were directly attacked suffer, but they quickly become a reminder to us of any tragedy that we have suffered… meant to instill fear and terror in anyone that has any kind of love and compassion for humanity.

I couldn’t help but remember the events of September 11, 2001, at New York, Washington DC, Pennsylvania… the events of April 19, 1995, at Oklahoma City and many other tragic events just in my lifetime.

For thousands of years, hate and evil have woven itself into the fabric of the world’s society, destroying relationships, destroying lives, making people anxious, afraid, and angry… stirring things up and starting wars. Confusing people about the nature of humanity and most notably confusing people about the nature of God.

They even say out loud… and you have probably heard them... “if God is a just God… if God is a loving God, then why do these kinds of things happen? How can God allow such evil, how can a loving God allow death and destruction to exist??” This just confounds the issue further… and does what the evil one intended all along.

This kind of thinking messes up our reasoning skills and makes us respond out of anger and confusion. It wants us to lash out at each other… It wants us to throw bombs and grenades at each other in response to what we are feeling – to somehow get rid of the pain… the pain from feeling that we can’t do anything at all to help. That is how evil works…

Evil and hate have meshed in the fabric of society and they have destroyed relationships with each other and relationships with God and evil and hate are still at work.

I read a statement yesterday from a very conservative religious leader. It said, “God caused the California fires because California didn’t choose the correct political candidate… and that it’s God that is making the weather hot and dry so that the fires rage on.” All I did after I read this was sit there… I sat there and cried. I cried like a little baby…

I cried, because in that instance, at that very minute, I realized that the evil one has gotten away with it once again... The evil one has done his due…

Jesus says, “Nation will rise up against nation and kingdom will rise up against Kingdom, yet the end is still to come… these are but only the beginnings of the birth pangs. Bringing forth or “birthing” the Kingdom of God while surrounded by such evil, controversy and fear is difficult work.

It’s not the happy-clappy feel-good Jesus that wants us to be comfortable… and it’s not pie in the sky bye and bye… To be a follower of Jesus the Christ, to be a REAL disciple of Jesus Christ, means that we are part of (like Bishop Curry Says) We are part of a movement...  The Jesus Movement that is intended to change the world… Change the world by infusing it with the love of God... Because if it’s not of Love, it’s not of God. And that is the kind of change that is difficult… it’s messy, It’s challenging, it’s heart-wrenching and it involves a commitment to radical love – NOT radical hate…

When Jesus was walking with his disciples through Jerusalem, they were all talking as they went along about all the fine buildings and large stones, in the magnificent architecture that surrounded them. These large edificial symbols of power and prestige… Noting, of course, the largest and greatest buildings of their day and time – Herod’s temple in Jerusalem.

The temple - a place of connection to God (the divine), a place of worship, a place of sacrifice, and the center of Jewish life… Jesus said to them, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; ALL will be thrown down.”

It would have been difficult, for the disciples to envision the complete destruction of such a massive fortress of a building – let alone the most holy place of the Jewish faith. Yet, that is exactly what happened in the year 70, when the Roman empire burned it all to the ground. We, too, can scarcely conceive of a time when the important places and structures we know and love will be “thrown down.” Yet that’s what’s happening all around us.

The temple of our soul is being destroyed by the evils of this world. The evils of this world that tell us that we don’t need each other… that we don’t need God... The evils of this world that say that the destructive fires and mass shootings are somehow God’s will. Our soul is being attacked by the evil one, and we cower in fear and confusion, questioning our need for God or religion.

In Jesus’ teaching today, Jesus reminds us that this world is NOT permanent: “will ALL be thrown down.” God has placed a deep-seated need within us to desire something that will transcend this mortal life. Jesus cuts straight to our deep desire for immortality with his deeply challenging words –

No doubt this passage helps ease the pain a bit, knowing and trusting that the Kingdom is over the horizon. If we continue to live in love and trust that God’s purpose will be worked out. There is no question that the anxiety level of disciples was great, as they pressed Jesus even harder for answers by asking, “Lord, when will this be? Tell us when these things will happen!”

In Jesus’ day, and even in this day, there are plenty who are looking for signs, as if knowing WHEN the end will come will somehow change its coming or make them more prepared.

Many have claimed that this is it!! Just looking at the world around us and all the destruction, they say that the end is near!! And I am sure that there are pastors in pulpits today, using the events of this past week to instill more fear and cause more panic and confusion.

Our faith, logical reason, and even science tell us that there will be a time when ALL things will come to an end; knowing exactly when that will happen does not give us any control or mastery over it. Even Jesus doesn’t give the disciples any specifics as to when the end will come, nor does he even tell them exactly what will happen.

Remember this was 2000 years ago. He tells them there will be upheavals of many kinds, but he clearly says these are the beginnings of the birth pangs – not the signs of the end of all things. We are tired of labor and we might wonder when the birth pangs will be done. I have a feeling that the birth pangs will be done when we stop letting evil win. The birth pangs will be done when we embrace or start to re-embrace our God…  our God of relationship and love and be participants in God’s mission and start to usher in the Kingdom.

But, we are afraid… We are afraid of terrorism; We are afraid of the economy collapsing; We are afraid of losing our jobs; We are afraid of losing our health; We're afraid of losing our stuff; We're afraid for our children’s future; We're afraid of rejection. The list of fears is endless.

We live in fear that our neatly constructed lives will somehow be “all be thrown down” so we live in imprisoned by that fear, and when we live imprisoned by fear, we never really live!

Instead of being fearful, which ultimately lets the evil one win and has us question the good in humanity and has us question God… We should connect… Connect to the things that help us make since of this world, Connect to the things that help us look forward to something better yet to come…

In the context of Mark’s gospel, the reading today is a portion of the story just as Jesus enters Jerusalem, and is arrested, put through a mock trial and is handed over to the evils of this world to be crucified. “All will be thrown down” is a promise that ALL the things of this world, its structures, systems, and yes – even its evils will fall apart, disintegrate and die. Jesus reminds us that our job isn’t to know exactly what will happen, how it will happen, or even when it will happen; but rather, our job is to be faithful, be patient and keep awake… watch therefore, because God is working out the plan of salvation… The Kingdom of God is being brought forth and God has not abandoned us.

It will be alright because God is in charge. I’m not saying that it will be easy and that there won’t be hardships and distress. This isn’t empty optimism that promises things will get better for our lives; we don’t know - they may or may not. However, It is a promise that God is in charge… regardless of what it may look like.

Jesus promises us that things will be all right… everything will work out for those who trust and believe because God ALWAYS has the last word! When death on the cross appears to be the end for Jesus, God has the last word and brings forth an empty tomb and a risen Christ!

Throughout our lives, we have already experienced death and resurrection many times over… as the neatly arranged constructs of our lives are ALL thrown down. Jesus’ words remind us to hang on and to place our trust in something more than ourselves, or our possessions, or our health, or our capabilities or our even our intellect. It is to place our faith and ultimate trust in the One from whom all of these things come.

It is to accept our own mortality and have a radical trust in God’s unchangeable grace, God’s gracious goodness, and God’ abundant love… So that we can inevitably be free from the imprisonment of anxious fear and finally live fully and freely as children of God.

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.