"Poverty and Generosity" - Mark 12:38-44
A Sermon by Alex W. Evans, Pastor
Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Text: Mark 12:38-44
“Poverty and Generosity”
Here is a true story : Mrs. Smartt was fumbling in her purse in church as the offering plate was coming around. Suddenly, a large television remote fell out of her purse and clattered into the aisle. An usher went over to help her, bent over to retrieve it, and whispered, “Do you always carry your TV remote to church?” “No,” she replied, “but my husband refused to come with me this morning; he knew it was a Stewardship Sunday, and I figured this was the most evil . . . and legal . . thing I could do to him.”
We are all invited in these days to be in prayerful consideration of our lives, our blessings, our resources. And we are, as a church family, working on our commitments and Stewardship plans for serving God for the coming year.
Listen to this passage for this day, from Mark 12:
38As Jesus 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.”
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
This passage appears, on an initial reading, to be a simple story, even a story for Stewardship season. Right away we pick up on some key messages. The word, “Beware!” jumps right out. Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes and act all pious and holy. They are obviously out of favor with Jesus: they devour widows’ houses. Jesus is again pointing out hypocritical behavior.
And then this passage moves into the synagogue. Jesus points out a widow, who, in contrast to all the others making an offering, puts in two coins. It is the familiar story of the widow’s mite - a mite was the name of the small coin that she put in the offering - worth a half a cent. Jesus seems to commend her for putting in everything she had. We might be quick to say - what an example is extreme, authentic generosity! It seems perfect for a Stewardship Sunday.
But, . . . no so fast.
This is NOT just a simple story that condemns ostentatious religious practices - long prayers, parading in robes, and finding the best seats in the synagogues. We all know this hypocritical behavior is easy abhor.
And this is NOT just a story of faithful and sacrificial giving from a poor widow that urges us to be like her. The fact is - we are not like her. All of us have lots more than 2 coins. We are among the world’s richest people. We are the ones who can give out of abundance because we all have resources and options.
So, what is going on here?
This is another story where Jesus emphasizes God’s care for the poor! This is another story to help us re-frame our lives - if God cares about the poor, so should we. There is no faithfulness, no discipleship, without getting proximate with poverty.
You may have seen the news story in recent days about the large gathering of evangelicals in Indiana. Many of the evangelicals who got caught up in the momentum of the former president realized, recently, that their evangelical faith could not line up with the former president. This was the headline - “In a Post-Trump World, these Pastors are Ditching the Evangelical Label for Something New.” This was a two-day meeting in late October in a South Bend church. It was intended for about 25 but grew to more than 100. “And (to quote the article) this gathering is part of a larger reckoning inside congregations and among individuals grappling with their faith identity in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency.” (Washington Post, Oct 22, 2021) As we have seen and heard, the evangelical movement has been co-opted, mid-directed away from Jesus’ teachings.
One of the things these “post evangelicals” were realizing - God cares about many things, but God absolutely cares about the poor. People who seek to follow Jesus need to take seriously Jesus’ consistent concerns for the poor.
And here is the real news - poverty continues to be a major problem in Virginia. The latest data confirms that 1 in 9 people in our Commonwealth live in poverty. And that phrase - “live in poverty” is actually misleading. A family of 4 is considered to live in poverty if they make less than $26,500/year. Imagine that. And 1 in 9 live below that line. So, we have lots of work to do.
To follow Jesus is to take seriously the prevalence of poverty. That is a major message of this little story.
Jesus reiterates this with his criticism of the Scribes. You cannot be faithful if you devour widows’ houses. This is right in line with the teachings of Deuteronomy. This echoes Isaiah the prophet, and Jeremiah, and Amos, and so much of what we are to learn about God. It does not matter what your prayers sound like if you stomp on the vulnerable. It does not matter what your worship is like if you do not care for those right in front of you who need help and care.
Historical evidence shows us just what the Scribes were doing. The scribes in this era functioned as a sort of combination priest/lawyer - between teaching in the synagogues and handling minor business affairs. If you get priests and lawyers mixing in life, you know it is fraught with potential for abuse. The Scribes taught the Torah, but they also wrote deeds of ownership. They kept the rules about the Temple but also handled marriage licenses, birth certificates, and more.
And if this was their role, they could easily cheat widows, charging them excessive fees. They could take advantage of widows’ hospitality. And, as Jesus alludes, if widows could not pay, they would take their homes.
So, Jesus calls them out - hypocrites, devouring widows’ houses.
The issue here: Jesus asks for sincere compassion, justice, and in particular, care for the poor. Disciples of Jesus pay attention to poor people.
This is why I am so grateful to be part of this church family. We know we exist not for ourselves but for God’s work in this city and in the world. We are trying to live into this calling to be a Matthew 25 church - feed the hungry, visit the prisoners, give sight to the blind. We never finish this work. We are starting a shower ministry to complement our feeding programs. We know that our worship is important, but only as we work for God, trying to move the world closer to God’s Shalom. We are seeking to be faithful stewards, caring for the poor.
And then there is the second part of this passage - Jesus watching the people give their gifts. It says, many rich people put in large sums. Then the widow offered her two coins. Jesus does not actually celebrate the widow’s giving. He simply says she gave more than all the others because they gave out of their abundance; and she gave all she had to live on.
Would that be a good thing - for a poor widow to give all that she had to live on? Would Jesus rejoice in someone giving everything, becoming more destitute and poor, especially if it goes to the treasury where the Scribes devour the widows? I do not think so.
See, this is not just a simple story commending the giving of a poor widow.
I do not think Jesus wants any of us to become destitute. Jesus certainly would not want us giving everything to a treasury that only devours widows and lives hypocritically. So, what are we to make of this passage?
Think on this - what we see in the widow and her generous giving of two coins is worshipful sacrifice. As he observed the people in the synagogue that day, Jesus points out that so many people “gave out of their abundance” - but the widow “gave out of her poverty.”
Sacrificial giving - especially giving that reaches out to the poor and vulnerable - is what Jesus keeps teaching. Worshipful giving - especially that strives to make the world a better place - a place with more hope and light, particularly for those in darkness and despair - is what Jesus keeps teaching. Jesus does not want any of us to become more destitute, especially the poor. But Jesus always asks that we give sacrificially and faithfully so that there are less and less poor people. We are called - all of us here - to give out of our abundance in a generous and sacrificial way that brings about the reign of God. When we give generously, when we give sacrificially, when we give our lives in ways that feed the hungry, comfort the afflicted, taking care of the most vulnerable - we are moving toward the reign of God. This is what Jesus wants from us.
Also, whenever Jesus talks about poverty, there is always a corresponding calling for our lives that includes GENEROSITY. Beware, we live in a world too often filled with hypocrites. Beware, our tendency is to take care of ourselves, to turn inward, to let fear guide our actions and emotions. Beware, the Kingdom of God has come near. Beware, the time is always short - God wants us part of the emerging reign of God - where the good news is for all people, and the poor are not poor, and the blind see, and the lame walk, and light emerges in the darkness. Jesus wants us to part of that coming reign - and it comes as we live with sincere generosity. We are called to have genuine hearts that seek to align with Jesus’ heart. We are called to have grateful spirits, that see Jesus in everyone we meet. We are called to be generous, especially with all the blessings we have received. Jesus keeps urging us to turn outward - GENEROSITY. This is what we work on.
Have you ever heard the story of Oseola McCarty. She was an African-American woman from Mississippi, who earned a living by washing and ironing other people’s clothes. McCarty, who never married, was in the 6th grade when she had to leave school and take over her mother’s laundry business while she cared for a sick aunt. “I just washed and ironed.” She never owned a car. Late in life, at the urging of bank personnel, she did she buy a window air conditioner for her home. McCarty’s arthritis forced her to retire at the age of 86.
McCarty scrimped and saved, however, until she was able to leave $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to set up scholarships for other needy African Americans. After hearing of Miss McCarty’s gift, Ted Turner, a multi-billionaire, gave away a billion dollars. He said that if that little woman can live with such generosity, then I can give a billion.’
“I want to help somebody’s child go to college,” Oseola said. “I can’t do everything, but I can do something to help somebody. I wish I could do more. But what I can do I will do.” (Proper 27B, www.GirardianLectionary.net )
Amen, Oseola, Amen!
Friends, we live in challenging times - with lots on our minds and hearts. We keep hearing Jesus’ deep concern for the poor. This is our calling. And we keep hearing Jesus’ sincere call to be generous - with our time, talents, and treasures. May it be so!
Prayer of Commitment: Holy God, to turn from you is to fall; to turn to you is to rise; to hear your call, and serve you with loyal faithfulness and generosity - that is to abide forever. We seek that way, following Jesus. Amen
Alex W. Evans, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA preached this sermon in the sanctuary during Sunday morning worship on November 7, 2021. This is a rough manuscript.