25th Sunday after Pentecost

Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The gospel today tells us about a poor widow giving her last two coins as an offering to the temple. In the King James Version, those coins were called mites; you might have heard this story referred to as the one about the widow’s mite.

Many preachers, including myself, have used this story to encourage sacrificial giving. This text always comes around in November when congregations ponder their budgets for the coming year. The widow gives a great example for the kind of generosity and faith we would love to see in our members.

We are not reading just about the widow, however. We are also reading Jesus’ harsh words against the scribes. These two texts belong together. These two stories happen back-to-back in the temple in Jerusalem. Hearing Jesus’ criticism of the scribes first, gives the widow’s offering a very different meaning.

Jesus accuses the scribes of hypocrisy. They are concerned with receiving recognition and respect from others; that’s why they wear their temple vestments even when going to the market. At worship and parties, they demand the poshest seats, the VIP treatment. When others are in earshot, they recite extra-long prayer in order to show off. All that is bad enough.

But then Jesus adds the line, “They devour widow’s houses!” What is Jesus referring to?

One commentary I read pointed to historical evidence for scribes taking advantage of widows: Charging high fees for legal work, cheating on wills or mismanaging widow’s estates, or actually taking widow’s homes when they couldn’t pay their fees.

One professor puts it this way: “Jesus has a go at them for milking their position, making a show of their own importance, and enjoying the praise of others. And yet, inside and deep down they are ruthless parasites sucking the wealth out of the poorest to keep themselves, and the system that enabled them in power and privilege. Jesus condemns this.”

Immediately after his tirade, Jesus sits down across from the treasury where faithful people deposit their offering. Along comes a poor widow and places her two meager coins into the treasury. And one can almost hear Jesus shouting, “See?! See what I mean?! See what they are doing to this poor widow?!”

Those invested in the temple and its culture demand that all the believers give their contributions. They preach that a right relationship with God requires certain gifts, money, animals, or a share of the harvest. You owe it to God, they teach. The temple needs money to function. As someone flippantly said, those long robes the scribes like to wear need to be paid for. And so a poor widow feels pressured into giving her very last little bit of money to the temple.

Why wasn’t there a scribe standing at the treasury telling her not to do that. Even more importantly, why wasn’t there a scribe standing at the treasury giving her some money?

That is what God would have expected of his faithful people, especially of those who ran the temple.

All through scripture, God watches out for the plight of widows. Without a husband, son, or father to protect them, they were extremely vulnerable, and without said males to provide for them, they were a drain on the community. They stand for all who are financially poor and socially helpless.

In the laws of the covenant, God demands that Israel takes care of these people. For example, in Deuteronomy God says, “For the LORD your God is God of gods and LORD of lords, […] who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deut. 10:17-19) and again “Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.” (Deut. 27:19).

The prophets repeatedly thunder against Israel’s failure to do this. For example, Isaiah says, “Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves.  Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not defend the orphan, and the widow's cause does not come before them.” (Isaiah 1:23)

Today’s text takes place in the temple in Jerusalem. It is the holiest place in Israel, the place where God’s presence dwells. Jesus enters the temple in the previous chapter. Immediately, he overturns the merchants’ tables and quotes Prophet Jeremiah’s sermon against the temple having been turned into a marketplace instead of a house of prayer for all nations. In that same sermon, Jeremiah calls the leadership out for oppressing the alien, the orphan, and the widow in this place.

In the text right after today’s pericope, the disciples marvel at the huge stones that make up the temple, but Jesus announces that the whole complex will be destroyed,

All of this taken together, Jesus’ message is that the temple leadership has completely lost its way, lost sight of what it means to be the people of God. It shouldn’t be about personal respect and posh seats, about long robes and show-off prayers. It should instead be about caring for widows and orphans.

Misguided as they are, they have created a system that exploits the very people it is supposed to serve. This abuse has to stop, Jesus says. A system that expects the poorest of the poor to put their last two coins into the treasury so others can walk around in long robes has to stop. This is not what God wants!

God always looks out for those who are vulnerable in any society. And God expects God’s people to do the same. I bet most people didn’t even notice that poor widow that day in the temple, but Jesus did, and he spoke up. Who do we overlook? Who needs us to speak up?

Jesus holds the scribes accountable, calls them out on their ill deeds. The yardstick he holds up to them is, “How are the widows doing?”

As people of God called to care for all people, especially those on the margins, we need to hold the same yardstick up to today’s leaders.

The Biden/Harris administration has three months left in office. We need to look at their policies and proposals and ask, “How are the widows doing?”

The Trump/Vance administration will take office in the next year. With anything they propose, we need to ask them, “How are the widows doing?”

When leaders on any level make or don’t make decisions in regard to climate change, we need to ask, “Who is being affected the most? How are the widow’s doing?”

When a new highway or powerline is planned that threatens to disown people or cut neighborhoods in two, we need to ask, “Who is being harmed by this proposal? How are the widows doing?”

This week’s election exposed great tensions and divides among our citizens. Many felt and still feel great anxiety. Some among us rejoice at the election results, some are saddened. We all might wonder what to do next.

I found today’s psalm helpful.

It begins with praise of God. A great reminder that any pondering, any action, any resolve must begin with God. In our praise of God’s love and power we find comfort; in our prayer to God we find guidance and assurance.

Next, in verses 3 and 4, the psalm urges us not to put our trust in rulers. Yes, they do have power, but only for a season, and not over everything.

And then the psalm describes what God is up to in the world: justice for the oppressed, food for the hungry, freedom for prisoners, healing for the blind, support for those bowed down, and care for the strangers, orphans, and widows. This work of God goes on no matter who is in the White House.

People of faith are called to be part of this work of God.

The psalm describes whom we should put our trust in and why, and what it looks like when God’s justice is embodied in the world. We are invited, called, urged, encouraged to seek where God is active right now, and then become part of that work.

On Tuesday morning during our open sanctuary, I had a conversation with one of our faithful members. She was wondering if we are doing enough to help God’s people in need. She related three incidents where she encountered immigrants in need and was able to help a little, but was left dissatisfied with the situation. Might we as the people of God at Calvary be called to become more active in God’s work with immigrants?

Where might you and I be able to make a real difference for the kingdom of God by blessing God’s overlooked people? Might it be donating money or food or Christmas gifts? Might it be advocacy in schools, counties, and at the state level? Might it be gathering people from different backgrounds or parties together who are willing to learn others’ points of view?

I would love for us all to ponder these questions. Do it at home in prayerful deliberation. Do it with fellow church members in discerning conversation.

“How are the widows doing?” Jesus’ question can be our guide.

Jesus models for us how to serve without regard for recognition or respect, but in dedicated love to people who needs that love the most. In baptism, we received the power of the Holy Spirit; the spirit helps us to see the people who are often overlooked and the spirit gives us power to enter their lives in a way that blesses.

In focusing on that calling, we might overcome the befuddlement many of us have experienced since the election. I for one felt numb, confused, scared, and rudderless. With today’s scripture, God is showing us how we can create a sense of control, a sense of purpose. We have a mission. We have power from on high to make a difference in the lives of overlooked people. We have the opportunity to be a blessing and to find ourselves being blessed in the process.

We have been given the tools to create a world where, when Jesus asks how the widows are doing, we can answer that they are doing just fine,         

May Calvary become a temple of the Lord where widows are taken care off, orphans are loved, aliens are welcomed, and all people praise and serve God together, joyfully and generously. Amen.