1 Kings 17:8-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

When people ignore warnings, doing the exact opposite of what it says, sometimes we just have to shake our heads in wonder and amazement. A fence that has a “Beware of dog” sign isn’t necessarily a yard you want to walk into. Nor should we ignore signs that say “DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE”. Watching someone do the very thing for which they were warned often leaves us without much sympathy.

Somehow though, we don’t have the same reaction to the widow in our Gospel this week. Yes, it’s the story that is often repeated when we in the church, need more money for projects or salary increases. The widow gives all that she has left, only two small coins, putting it into the treasury of the temple. Jesus praises her for such generous giving. There’s no doubt that she does a good thing in the eyes of our Lord.

If that was all the story was, we could end it there. She does a good thing by giving to the temple even when she doesn’t have the means to do it. But what astonishes me is what comes immediately before it. Jesus was just teaching, saying, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers,” Mark 12:38-40. Notice the end. Jesus was just warning his disciples and any who were listening about the greed and wickedness of the scribes. He even mentions their affinity for “devouring widows’ houses”. So, why does she give? Why does Jesus praise her for such lack of stewardship, wasting it in a needless place?

If this story was all about the money, I doubt Jesus’ teaching would be placed immediately before it. The widow is so often held up as an example for us all. We should be more like the widow who was willing to give all that she had to the care of the Lord. Indeed, there’s a time and place that we should discuss good stewardship, proper handling of the resources God has entrusted to us. But the widow isn’t an example that we’re capable of following. Jesus doesn’t praise her, and then tell his disciples they should be like her. Quite the opposite. Jesus pointed her out because we can’t ever live up to that type of sacrifice.

What’s the point then? It’s not that God requires us to give all that we have for the sake of his Church, especially one that is greedy and ravenous. It’s that Jesus has already done this for us. The widow becomes a type of Christ, an example or foreshadowing of the great sacrifice which our Lord will make on our behalf. Consider these two verses, “For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put everything she had, all she had to live on,” Mark 12:44. And, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich,” 2 Corinthians 8:9. Jesus gives himself to these ravenous wolves in his Church, everything that he is, so that he may make us rich in his grace! By the cross, Jesus offers up all that he is and has to us. He gives us his own body and blood that we may no longer be poor in spirit, but rich in the forgiveness and grace of God! 

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

Almighty and ever-living God, You have given exceedingly great and precious promises to those who trust in You. Grant us so firmly to believe in Your Son Jesus that our faith may never be found wanting; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.