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Message from Pastor Bill – September 2010
Mite Shares [ 1. mite n. A very small contribution or amount of money. A widow's mite. 2. shares v. To contribute a portion; to share with another or others. ]
On the third Sunday of this month, we are fortunate as a community of faith to celebrate our annual Consecration Sunday. This has always been a time that we embrace fully our stewardship campaign reflecting on the blessings that God has bestowed to all of us. As found in Mark 12:38-40, Jesus condemns the community leaders of first-century Israel for doing exactly the opposite. The "long robes" of the scribes and their VIP seating arrangements at local parties are indications that they're more concerned with themselves than their community or for giving thanks to God through humbleness and consecration.
Moreover, they "devour widows' houses," which was a way of saying they preyed on perhaps the weakest and most vulnerable segment of society. Widows who lacked male relatives had no status and no prospects for income, except for, as was often the case, prostitution. Some commentators have suggested that the scribes may have acted as guardians for some of these widows, but they did so by exploiting for themselves the property that the women's husbands may have left them. So much for following the Torah law against abusing widows (Exodus 22:22-24).
So when Jesus makes his remark about this poor widow dropping her two tiny coins in the temple treasury, "all she had to live on" (Mark 12:44), the context suggests he's continuing his condemnation of the religious leaders and the system of economic exploitation that would cause her to donate her last two pennies. While we've often preached this text as a stewardship sermon, imagining Jesus smiling at the woman's generous sacrifice, it seems more likely that he was probably shaking his head sadly as he said it. Jesus is saddened by the realities of the corruption of the system that causes this widow to be penniless. In the midst of this injustice: The widow gave all she had voluntarily.
The text forces us to ask: What would cause a person to voluntarily give away her last two pennies, especially to a community and a political-economic system that continues to exploit her?
Perhaps it's because the widow still believed. Maybe she still believed that regardless of all that had happened to her, everything she was and everything she had still belonged to God. Despite the corruption and exploitation going on in God's name there in the temple, somehow God was still going to set things right. So the widow continued to invest in her community, a community of faith, by giving her last two coins for the good of the whole.
Call them her Mite Shares.
The widow's might is demonstrated in the strength of her faith. She isn't just dabbling in spare change. She is, to borrow a poker term, "all in" with God, unlike the scribes and others. For example, the rich young man whom Jesus encountered earlier couldn't give up the belief that his possessions were his to keep (Mark 10:17-31).
This is a great Sunday to be challenged to think about how much we've invested in our community of faith. It's easy for people to look at how governments and religious institutions have mismanaged their stewardship and say to themselves, "I'm going to hold back giving my money." But the widow invites us instead to focus on the currency of commitment, trusting that God will take what we give and, despite humanity's brokenness, use it for God's glory.
It's that commitment that turns all our mites together into a mighty witness for God in our communities!
Peace and Power,
Pastor Bill
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