Musings for Pentecost 24

Sunday, November 11, 2012
Lectionary 32
Proper 27
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

INTRODUCTION
Widows are visible everywhere in today's readings. Jesus denounces those scribes who pray impressive prayers but devour widows' houses. He commends the poor widow who in his view gave far more than the major donors. Jesus doesn't see her simply as an object of compassion or charity. She, like the widow of Zarephath who shares her last bit of food with Elijah, does something of great importance.

Martin, Bishop of Tours, died 397
Martin's pagan father enlisted him in the Roman army. Approached by a beggar, Martin cut his cloak in half and gave part to the man, whom he later understood as representing Christ. He asked to leave the army, but was jailed instead. After his release, he became a preacher, and later a bishop.

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, teacher, died 1855
Kierkegaard was a Danish theologian whose writings also gave rise to the modern philosophy of existentialism. He frequently attacked the complacency of the state church of his day, as well as its desire to be accepted by polite society rather than be a stumbling block.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

O God, you show forth your almighty power chiefly by reaching out to us in mercy. Grant us the fullness of your grace, strengthen our trust in your promises, and bring all the world to share in the treasures that come through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

1 Kings 17:8–16

This chapter begins the story of Elijah. God sends a drought on Israel because of the sins of King Ahab. This passage depicts God’s saving acts not only on behalf of Elijah, but also on behalf of those who are associated with the prophet, even a foreigner, the widow of Zarephath.

⁸Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ⁹Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you. ¹⁰So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink." ¹¹As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." ¹²But she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." ¹³Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth." ¹⁵She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 146

The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down. (Ps. 146:8)

¹Hal- ^| lelujah!

     Praise the LORD, ^| O my soul!

²I will praise the LORD as long ^| as I live;

     I will sing praises to my God while I ^| have my being.

³Put not your ^| trust in rulers,

     in mortals in whom there ^| is no help.

⁴When they breathe their last, they re- ^| turn to earth,

     and in that day ^| their thoughts perish.   R

⁵Happy are they who have the God of Jacob ^| for their help,

     whose hope is in the ^| LORD their God;

⁶who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that ^| is in them;

     who keeps promis- ^| es forever;

⁷who gives justice to those who are oppressed,

and food to ^| those who hunger.

     The LORD sets the ^| captive free.

⁸The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;

the LORD lifts up those who ^| are bowed down;

     the LORD ^| loves the righteous.   R

⁹The LORD cares ^| for the stranger;

     the LORD sustains the orphan and widow,

     but frustrates the way ^| of the wicked.

¹⁰The LORD shall ^| reign forever,

     your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. ^| Hallelujah!   R

Second Reading

Hebrews 9:24–28

The letter to the Hebrews describes Christ as a high priest who offers himself as a sacrifice for our sin. Christ does not die again and again each year. He died once, is alive with God, and will reveal himself on the last day.

²⁴For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. ²⁵Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; ²⁶for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, ²⁸so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Gospel

Mark 12:38–44

After engaging in a series of public arguments with religious leaders in the temple, Jesus contrasts the proud and oppressive ways of those leaders with the sacrificial humility and poverty of the widow.

³⁸As he taught, he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! ⁴⁰They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
⁴¹He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. ⁴³Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. ⁴⁴For 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."

Reflections

Below are some collected and connected thoughts I pulled together last week while working on this week’s sermon. Hope they are helpful.

Roberta A. Bryant, writing for Feasting on the Word, offers that the exegetical perspective has two focal points that play off of one another. The first is a warning by Jesus against religious hypocrisy. It is a warning directed against anyone who professes to be faithful but possesses an elitist attitude and implements its tangible, unfortunate manifestations.   The other item Jesus covers is the one seen as an example of exemplary trust. “Over against demonstration of unsympathetic religious elitism stand simple acts of genuine trust in God. This widow ‘represents the opposite end of the spectrum from those who have the ‘best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets.’”

Robert Nishioka, also writing in FOTW offers these thoughts. “In the second section (of this pericope) Jesus comments on a widow giving two small coins to the temple treasury. Some may read this passage as Jesus commending the widow for her sacrifice, but those who read the text carefully realize that Jesus does not do this. Rather, he simply tells his disciples that the two small coins she gave are worth more than the gifts of the rich persons who gave much more money but sacrificed very little.”

In her book “Amazing Grace”, author Kathleen Norris writes about her struggle with the word “righteous.”

The word “righteous” used to grate on my ear, for years I was able to hear it only in its negative mode, as self-righteous, as judgmental. Gradually, as I became more acquainted with the word in its biblical context, I found that it does not mean self-righteous at all, but righteousness in the sight of God. And this righteousness is consistently defined by the prophets, and in the psalms and gospels as a willingness to care for the most vulnerable people in the culture, characterized in ancient Israel as orphans, widows, resident aliens, and the poor.”

Norris goes on to remind her readers that much of the fabled wrath of God in the Bible is directed against those who preserve their own wealth and power at the expense of the orphan, the widow, the resident alien, and the poor.

Focusing for a moment on the widow, Pete Perry, in FOTW suggests that “if….Jesus is in fact holding this widow up as a model for giving, then a key detail must be noted:  Jesus calls his disciples to notice that this widow gives all that she had-literally, “the whole of her life” She gives her whole life to something that is corrupt and condemned, namely the temple.

Moreover, this is the last scene in Jesus’ public ministry. From here all that remains in Mark’s telling is the temple discourse and the passions narrative. So this widow offers a glimpse into what Jesus is about. He is on the way to giving “the whole of his life” for something that is corrupt and condemned; all of humanity, the whole world.

Let Us Pray

That God might help us to see, understand and appreciate the abundance that fills our lives

That we might use our words to help and heal and not tear down and tear apart

For all those who seek healing and life

For the ability to give thanks even in the midst of challenges and struggle

That we might learn to give freely of all that has first been given us.

Quote

"I was just a child," related a retired Baptist preacher, "when one spring day my father called me to go with him to old man Russell's blacksmith shop. He had left a rake and a hoe to be repaired and they were ready, fixed like new. Father handed over a silver dollar for repairing them but Mr. Russell refused to take it. 'No,' he said, 'there's no charge for that little job.' But father insisted. And if I live a thousand years," said the preacher, "I'll never forget that great blacksmith's reply. 'Sid,' he said to my father, 'Can't you let a man do somethin' just to stretch his soul?'"