Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost November 8, 2009
Scripture	Mark 12:38-44 38 As 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, 39 and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40 They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” 41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then 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. 44 For 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.”
Devotional	Mark places before the church two contrasting models of behavior: scribes who are proud and greedy, and a widow who is humble and generous. The humble and generous is an example of the way to love and neighbor. This is a way to express the commandment to love God and neighbor. Giving provides a way to express the commandment to love of God and love for your neighbor. This unnamed woman is seen as an example of the teaching of last week’s text. She is a woman who loves God with all she has and her neighbor as herself. Is giving all we have a sign of the end of things as the way they are now and becomes a new way of loving God and neighbor? The widow gives everything she has so she now depends totally on God. What would it feel like to be totally dependent on God? Most of us, after making a contribution, have enough left to buy food and pay expenses. The difference in small givers and large givers is that usually the small giver has nothing left after giving their gift while the large giver usually still have an abundance. This is the difference in giving out of plenty and giving out of poverty. How do we explain the difference between the rich people and the poor widow? Could economic condition effect their dedication to God? Is there a relationship between poverty and our relationship with God? In the Methodist tradition this belief was practiced by John Wesley and Francis Asbury. Asbury had always believed that poverty and suffering were allies of true spirituality. While in Rhode Island in May 1809, Asbury lamented that New England Methodists seemed intent on building “grand” houses with steeples and pews, even if it meant stooping to hold lotteries to raise money. Our ease in Zion makes me feel awful,” he wrote in July 1810 while in upstate New York . 1 Henri Nouwen’s Daily Meditation for November 1, “Going to the Margins of the Church” describes the poor widows for us: Those who are marginal in the world are central in the Church, and that is how it is supposed to be! Thus we are called as members of the Church to keep going to the margins of our society. The homeless, the starving, parentless children, people with AIDS, our emotionally disturbed brothers and sisters - they require our first attention. We can trust that when we reach out with all our energy to the margins of our society we will discover that petty disagreements, fruitless debates, and paralysing rivalries will recede and gradually vanish. The Church will always be renewed when our attention shifts from ourselves to those who need our care. The blessing of Jesus always comes to us through the poor. The most remarkable experience of those who work with the poor is that, in the end, the poor give more than they receive. They give food to us. 2 The joy of giving and the inner peace that comes from giving can be achieved by those who have little and those who have much. Halloween is past so we can take off our long robes and costumes and be who God has called us to be.