What Do You Bring?

Rev. Michelle Freeman
First Presbyterian Church Mark 12: 38-44
November 12, 2006 32^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time-Year B

The first time I heard this story in church school class, I was old enough to be able to visualize it in my head, but not so sophisticated that I could actually see a temple with scribes and Pharisees and widows bringing their offering. Instead I imagined the sanctuary of the church I grew up in, and the widow was sitting on the back row, while the choir and ministers (those folks in the long robes) sat up front, being seen by everyone. In my mind, I saw the ushers in their white coats passing the offering plate, and the woman dropping her two quarters in (it might quite a bit of noise). Now, this image might not have been one, because not only did I look more closely at any woman who sat in the back of the church, but I also regarded the ministers and choir with suspicion for some time. (Sorry, choir, it was all about the robes).

This story of the scribes in their long robes with false piety and the humble, destitute widow, placing her two cents in the temple offering is often seen as a caricature for faithful giving. So many times this passage has been interpreted in sermons and writings to mean that because this woman gave so much of all she had, that she is the faithful one, rather than those that gave so little of their wealth. Therefore, we, as modern-day Christians, are to give as much as she did, to "give our all." To me, this can be a very dangerous proposition: if we gave nearly all we had, then where does that leave us? If we give and give and give of ourselves until we are almost empty, is that truly being faithful to God?

Many times in our culture this type of self-sacrificing has been accepted, even venerated behavior. The more that we can do for others, whether they be friends, family or church, the better we are. Women have been particularly vulnerable to this suggestion, and in many ways still are: take care of the family, participate in church, hold down a full-time job, volunteer and then, if there’s any energy left, then you can take some time for yourself (although that may not happen for the next twenty years or so). Men have not been impervious to this self-sacrificing mentality, either: the overwhelming traditional pressure of providing for your loved ones, as well as being a good citizen can also drain a person. We still hear about this today: vacations and time off from work are becoming a thing of the past as people feel compelled to work harder, longer hours in order to be considered successful. And even when we do go on vacation, we take our cell phones or blackberries, or check our email or call and check in with the office. Is that really taking time away – time to rest and renew? Giving of ourselves to our marriage or our family or to our job or to our church is not a bad thing – it’s a part of who we are and how we interact as a society. But giving of ourselves until we are empty and have nothing more to offer really what Jesus meant when he called the disciples’ attention to the widow? I think not.

Another interpretation of this story places it in context with the scribes Jesus is criticizing just before he calls attention to the widow. Now, in the first-century, wen a woman became a widow, she was, essentially, dependent upon her sons, or her family. Because of this vulnerability, widows were seen as the epitome of who people of faith were called to care for: for those who were given very little means to care for themselves. Over and over again in the Hebrew scriptures, and again in the New Testament widows are mentioned as those who should be taken care of first and foremost, they are considered subjects of special moral concern because of their generally defenseless legal and financial position. Comparing the widow to the scribes: those scribes who "wear long robes" and "have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets," was painting quite a picture. These scribes who say long prayers for the sake of appearances are no friends of Jesus. He condemns them for their piety, because it is piety for piety’s sake – it is not something that comes from the heart and is intended to glorify God. Instead these scribes demonstrate behavior that is insidious at best, claiming they will fulfill the call of the Hebrew scriptures to take care of the widows and the orphans, but instead "devour widows’ houses," meaning that while the scribes could act as guardians for and help to take care of the widows of the congregation – instead they were mismanaging and perhaps even stealing from the widows and what means they may have had left, after the death of their husbands. In this context, Jesus is attacking both the scribes and the religious system that taught this woman to offer her tiny coins, as though God would demand such sacrifices of the poor of the world. And yet, the elite of this society, the scribes and those dressed richly, bring only their surplus to offer – and they offer it quite publicly. Jesus’ juxtaposition of the scribes and the destitute widow exhibits the false values for a society that does not really offer sacrifice to God.

Yet even as Jesus condemns the system that may have taught her to give all she has to live, he also calls attention to the woman’s attitude of giving. She was not flashy about it, and was not associated with the crowd that was watching large sums be added to the treasury, and this humbleness is given to us as an example of how we should give of ourselves in service to God. Whatever our calling is in life (to parenthood, in our livelihood, as a student), whatever it is we feel we can give (of our resources, our time and our gifts), all should be done in gratefulness to God – not in the hopes that others will notice just how "good" we are.

This explanation is very appealing to us – and it is the understanding I was raised with about this story. It is very appealing to Presbyterians because it embodies our understanding of what our attitude should be when doing good works, or deeds. We understand that we do not act in an ethical and justice-seeking way in our world to be noticed, or to build up our good karma so we can get into heaven. Instead we live our whole lives in thankfulness to God for God’s promise of grace through Jesus Christ.

But for me, the heart of this story begins before the Jesus calls attention to the woman in the temple. The amazing part of this story is that she came to the temple at all. That this woman, the nameless widow, believed that she had an offering to bring, and to bring it with an unassuming attitude. She came offering to God "her all." This widow, who by all accounts, did not have much to offer first-century society other than the burden of her existence, knew that she had something to bring to God.

And so I ask today, what do you bring? I’m not asking you to check how much change is in your pockets, instead I’m asking what is in your heart and mind and spirit: what do you bring? What is in you that brought you through those doors this morning? What is your offering? Do you come because some section of society and culture has said that being a Christian is the only way to go, and so you are here with your proverbial hat in your hand, offering a shallow piety to show you are "good" like the scribes? Do you come to offer your prayers – to place them in the offering plate, trusting that the community here will be praying for you in whatever circumstance of your life? Have you come here because there is something inside of you that is yearning for meaning and authenticity, a faith that gives some answer to the question that’s been rattling around in your head, "is this all there is?" Do you bring you and your family so they can be nurtured and cared for in this community? Do you come because you feel a calling to do something more in your life – to be something more in your life – to serve others because something in this world just isn’t right and you want to help balance the scales? Do you realize that God has called you, yes you, to this time and this congregation? Do you realize that you have something to bring before God?

Whether you have realized it or not, we all have something to bring here – we all have been gifted by God in many ways. Yet, for so many it is so hard to recognize that we have something to give, something to bring, something that can bring authenticity and meaning to our lives. We think that we aren’t good enough, or smart enough, or biblically literate enough, or care enough. We think that we have no worth. And we forget the wonderful reality that God made us! We are children of God! We are loved as though we are more precious than gold, we are loved because we are who we are. We are shaped and molded and cherished by God – and we are worthy. I struggle with my sense of worth as much as the next person – there are times when I don’t believe I’m doing a single thing right, as a minister or as a person. I don’t believe that I have anything left to offer. And yet, here I am, standing here, proclaiming an offering, of sorts – remembering that God has called me, and God calls you. God called to the woman in this story: a woman who was told by society that she was nothing but a burden, that she had nothing to offer. In spite of that, she still came to the temple, she still had faith, she still gave humbly.

Maybe you haven’t yet discovered what it is you have to bring. Maybe what you bring is changing as your life changes through retirement or the kids leaving home or changing jobs. Maybe you’ve been afraid to try something new because you might fail. I ask you to search yourself, search your mind and your heart – remember that you have worth, that you have something to bring. When we sit idly by in a hurting and broken world full of injustice and do not offer what we have, then we are a part of that injustice. When we do not offer of ourselves what God has give to us, then we do not honor God. Each of us has so much to give, in this congregation, to this community, in our own lives. You have something that you bring here to this congregation: a sense of organization or an ability to recruit volunteers, knowledge about how to shop for the best bargains on supplies for the church, financial wisdom, or a yearning heart, ready to serve. You have something to bring. By now you have received a letter from Drew telling of our new ministry team structure, and calling upon each member to prayerfully consider their place in it. Copies of that same form are in your pews this morning. Take some time to contemplate what you might bring to one of these teams or to one of the ministries here at First Church. Take some time to examine yourself to know what it is that you bring to your own life, and to the life of the church. Each of us has worth – what do you bring?

And now to the God who creates all, gives all, and sustains all, be all honor and glory, now and forever more, Amen.