Tuesday, November 10, 2015

A worthless coin teaches a priceless lesson on faith

Sermon for Pentecost 24, Proper 27B, Preached on Sunday, November 8, 2015.

    Those who think Scripture is unfriendly to women have not read much of it.  You would have to be blind not to see the special attention the Bible holds for women of faith and not just any women but those who have the least to offer the Lord and are least in the eyes of the world – the widows!
    Today the widow at Zarepheth gave of her meager supplies to Elijah is placed in the context of the widow without name who her all in the form of the mite for the temple offering.  But don’t forget Naomi and Ruth or Anna who blessed the baby Jesus or Paul telling Timothy to honor widows or James commending the Church to visit them.
    No widow finds blessing in her loss.  There is only sorrow, pain, loneliness, and a vulnerability that comes from such loss.  Yet God knows their hearts and holds these widows up in their need as examples of faith and trust for all of us to emulate.
    Though the widows of today too often lose much they can never recover, they certainly have more protections than the widow our Lord addressed.  Social Security did not offset some of her loss and society did not rush to her aid.  She had only God, no one but the Lord.  She lost her income and her financial security when she lost her husband.  She was alone to care for herself and her children.  She lost her protector and her companion.  She lost her legal status and her identity.  She became the object of pity and how many women looked at her wondering “there but for the grace of God go I...”  But these losses only sharpened the focus for what this widow did have – she had the grace and mercy of God. She had the Lord’s protection and care.  Her loss could have been the occasion for a loss of faith but instead it honed her trust in what the Lord had given her -- His Word and promise.
    Now anyone would have understood if this widow had become bitter, cursing God for her loss, and living jealous of every little resource or treasure that came her way.  But she did not become bitter and she did not curse God.  Instead she became generous.  Anyone would have understood if she had walked by the offering box and given nothing -- because she had nothing and yet she gave everything without fear and without worry.  What a faith!
    Elijah found a home with the widow who was ready to consume what was left of her resources with her son and die.  Yet she shared what little she had with a stranger and God’s mercy supplied all they needed.  Ruth and Naomi tell not a story of anger or bitterness but of affection and devotion and support that we stand in awe of even today.  Though Anna had come to the Temple day in and day out awaiting God's slow promise, she did not curse God for His slowness but waited in faith for the Son of God who would become her Savior.  What faith is this!
    Jesus watched this widow who gave her worthless coin that ended up being everything she had.  What the Lord saw was not the smallness of her offering but the greatness of her faith -- this was a picture of what He Himself would fulfill in His self-emptying upon the cross for you and for me.  This nameless widow became the example of faithfulness and generosity who continues to shame us who are rich in comparison but fearful and stingy in giving.  It is not an issue of resources but of faith.
    Now we would all agree, it is easy to be hospitable when you have a house and much to share.  It is easy to be generous when you have many resources to count on.  It is easy to be giving when you have much to fall back upon.  But what about when you have nothing?  Giving love when you are already loved is easy, says our Lord in Luke's Gospel.  Giving food when your belly is full is easy.  Giving friendship when you have many friends is easy.  Giving money when you have a full wallet is easy.  But where is faith in this?  When we begin with an abundance, none of this requires faith.  But when we have nothing, giving anything is an act of faith and an expression of confidence in God’s mercy.  And this giving is Christ-like, who gave us His all into suffering and death that we unworthy and undeserving people might be forgiven and live forevermore. 
     None of us are like the widow in the story.  Even the poorest among us is rich in comparison.  But this is not about how much or how little you have.  It is about the character of your faith.  Some think we need people rich in resources and money to support this church and fund the mission.  But that is not what we need.  We need people of faith.  We need people of faith who give not because they have much but who give because they trust much.  We need people who give not leftovers from of their abundance but people of faith who give first fruits even from their poverty.  We need people of faith who stand before the cross in gratitude and thanksgiving, who trust all things to Christ's death and resurrection, who live in confidence of God's merciful and providential care over the daily life, and who, by the aid of the Spirit, seek to live in this faith and fear all their days.
     Of course all of this is foolishness to the world but it is the wisdom of faith that saves us wretched sinners from our sins and death.  It is the wisdom of faith through which God has chosen to work to provide for those in our care, our neighbor in need, the poor in their want, and the Church whom God has established.  We learn this wisdom of faith learn only from the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see Christ who cast aside His riches to become poor for us even to death that we might be rich.  You might think the work of the kingdom depends upon people with deep pockets but it has always and will always be supported with people in whatever circumstance who have this widow's faith and trust in the Lord without fear.  God give us such a trusting and giving heart.  Amen.

4 comments:

Wendy said...

I read your sermon looking for both law and gospel, particularly with this text in mind, as the sermon at the church I attend was heavy on law and light on gospel this past Sunday and another sermon I found on the church website I am encouraging our adult son to attend was also. It saddened me to read the sermon on the website for the church near my son because if he had attended that Sunday, especially if it had been the first Sunday he attended, I doubt he would've returned. I think he would have been beaten down by the law and not heard the small morsel of gospel that it contained. I was heartened by what I was reading as I began your sermon, but sadly it also failed to offer much gospel for the disheartened. I'm sure this is a difficult text to preach on, but I thirst for the good news and am finding it sadly lacking in my own LCMS church and was hoping to find it in others, so I can at least supplement what I hear first hand. It was the good news in Christ that drew me to the Lutheran church forty years ago, but for several years now what I hear in the sermons in our congregation are focused on law, on what we should do and, as an aside, like a hat tip or a mention that was almost forgotten or to check off the gospel on a rubric checklist, Christ's redeeming sacrifice for us. I especially wish it had ended on the gospel, as I wish all sermons would.

I'm sorry this is such a negative comment. If you can help me see that I have missed something, please feel free to email, if you would like to.

Wendy said...

My comment was also prompted by a long history of visiting LCMS churches with family members, while visiting them. In the past it could be counted on to hear both law and gospel in each and every sermon and in equal portions. A sermon would not be weighted heavily in either one or the other. If there was an error in the balance you could be sure the people in the pew heard the gospel. It was never slighted or hard to find.

Lutheran Lurker said...

There are a few sentences of Gospel from the sermon:

But these losses only sharpened the focus for what this widow did have – she had the grace and mercy of God. She had the Lord’s protection and care. Her loss could have been the occasion for a loss of faith but instead it honed her trust in what the Lord had given her -- His Word and promise

Jesus watched this widow who gave her worthless coin that ended up being everything she had. What the Lord saw was not the smallness of her offering but the greatness of her faith -- this was a picture of what He Himself would fulfill in His self-emptying upon the cross for you and for me. This nameless widow became the example of faithfulness and generosity who continues to shame us who are rich in comparison but fearful and stingy in giving. It is not an issue of resources but of faith.

We learn this wisdom of faith learn only from the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see Christ who cast aside His riches to become poor for us even to death that we might be rich.

The whole frame of this sermon is not law -- giving because you have or giving because it is demanded -- but faith that is revealed in what we give and how we give it.

This is not law in the sense of demand or burden placed upon us but the call to make our faith active in love -- perhaps third use of the law -- but a call to faith is not command but invitation. Jesus recognized and lauded the faith of this widow and saw her faith active in what she gave and how she gave it. What we give and how we give it is one way faith is displayed or our fear of it is revealed.

Giving is always law and never gospel. Pr Peters said that in a post a month or so ago.

Gospel does not mean happy, upbeat, and cherry.

Wendy said...

Thank you for your insights, Lutheran Lurker. I found them to be helpful. The gospel, as I understand it, is Christ crucified for me, for my sins. Not happy and upbeat, but quite humbling.