The Gospel according to Mark 12:38-44

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, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!  They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."  He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.  A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.  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.  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."

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All my life I have been a person who loves to get mail. When I lived in a house, it was with joy that I watched the mailman driving down the road, filling each mailbox with care. Now, usually accompanied by my dogs, I walk to the little house in our condominium complex which holds the tiers of mailboxes, looking forward to who knows what. The junk mail I dispose of in the trashcan which sits nearby. The rest I take home to peruse in my comfortable chair.

At this time of year however, my enthusiasm is somewhat dampened. As I take my first look through the letters, I can tell that many of them are solicitations for money. A few of these I can toss without opening, but the vast majority seems to demand at least a glance, and some I actually read. Why do people wait until November for this? Is it because they want to get into our pockets before the financial crunch of Christmas is upon us? Is it because they know we want to get our tax credit for contributions w before the end of the year? Is it because we are working up to Thanksgiving with generous feelings? Probably some of all of these. I do know why the church needs our pledges at this time, why this is the Sunday we will bless these pledges. It is the time when we need to know how much money we will have so that the Vestry can plan for the 2004 budget based on anticipated income.

There are so many needs in the world. Just looking at on day’s mail last week – "The American Red Cross" tells me that no matter what the cost, they will never charge the people they help. They look to "Compassionate" people like me to give money and what a task they have had this fall in California! "Men Stopping Violence," I even got a personal not on that one. They are working to hold men accountable for their violence against women. I agree with them when they say "Battering is just not tolerable." "The Fraternal Order of Police" is providing support to children hoping their first experience with police officers is a happy one. "Project Open Hand" wants me to eat a certain restaurants on November 5^th because a percentage of my bill will be donated to provided meals for people with aids and on it goes.

Money matters that I know and I have a clear sense that as a Christian I must push as far as I can to help those less fortunate than I am. But in spite of our scriptural admonition to tithe, I am not clear about just how much that is.

We have just heard two accounts of giving in the readings this morning. In the time of the Prophet Elijah, when a server famine occurred in Zaraphath, he went to a poor widow who was preparing to give her last bit of food to herself and her son and then they would die. Elijah told her not to be afraid and to give him that last bit with the assurance that there would be enough left over for them. With that assurance she went and did as he asked. What an act of faith and then we learn that "The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jog of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah".

One day Jesus saw a poor woman, also a widow, giving an offering of two small coins, her whole livelihood, to the treasury, while the rich people who gave large contributions only made a small dent in their wealth. The bible is full of examples of the generosity of the poor giving to the poor. Recently, there were articles in the paper celebrating the anniversary of Mother Theresa’s death. We were told again how the only things she owned at her death were her rosary and her blue and white sari. She had given away all that she had, including the many offerings she had received, and without reservation, had put her life in the hands of Jesus.

And here I am with my stack of requests, envelopes to be filled for many different folks, trying to decide how much to give and to whom it should go. I would love to be as free as those two widows, trusting that God will provide. But I get hung up on that word prudence. I wonder if it is prudent to give everything and then risk becoming a burden to others. Should I give up my expensive long term health insurance with trust that I will never have to go into a nursing home or be a burden to my nieces and nephews? I am much more comfortable with those words of Paul to the Corinthians about how much they should help the needy in Jerusalem. He says, "I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you. But it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance". But even these words are disconcerting. Do I really expect there to be a fair balance between all of us? I’m skeptical of giving up what I have believing that there will never be equality? I am in a bind. I bind myself.

The clergy and lay delegates from our parish have spent the last two days at the Annual Diocesan Council meeting at the Georgia International Convention Center here in College Park. One of the highlights for me was the opportunity to meet Pere Bruno of Haiti, and hear him speak. I have been at St. John’s for 14 months now, and from the beginning we have been praying for this man and his people. What a joy it was to actually talk with him and hear his story. He spoke about his commitment of many years to provide education for the people of Haiti as a way to help them out of their poverty and subjugation. He says he is poor to benefit the needy.

The Next day we heard from the Bishop of Uganda, a cry for help in their struggle against aids and his fear that if help didn’t come, 50% of their population might be infected. I experienced a passion in the calls of these two men for help, an invitation to do something. As I was replaying my mental tope about the meeting on my drive home, and anticipating my work with today’s readings, it occurred to me that perhaps what these two widows have given me is not just a model of their sacrifice of material things, a handful of meal with oil, or two pennies, but their passion, their commitment, "all that she had to live on". It’s not so much about how much money we are willing to give, but how much of ourselves we will to give. This may be in the form of money at points, but it is as well the things we fight for, the things we give our time to, the things we have a passion about.

Those years I worked at Grady I became empassioned about the aids crisis. I met many people who were dying at that time with no sense of God’s presence in their lives, and with an overwhelming sense of guilt because they felt they had done something "wrong". They had been drug users or promiscuous or they were gay. Proclaiming the good news of God’s love for those people was my passion at that time. This passion has changed in recent years. I don’t see as many people dying or feeling guilty. But I do see the great chasm between the "haves" and the "have-nots" becoming wider and deeper in this country and in Africa and in Haiti I suspect. What do I do to follow this passion?

During the council meeting we heard a lot about the decision made this summer at the national convention, to support New Hamphire in their choice of Gene Robinson as suffragan bishop, a gay man in relationship. This touched another one of my passions, my desire that as a church we should respect the dignity of all people, treat all people equally, regardless of differences of race, sex, or sexual orientation, and be a welcoming church. I was thankful that any decisions on this matter were postponed until further discussion. Hopefully healing and greater understanding will take place between the opposing opinions. This is a passion I can act on.

I know all of us have passions. "The capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest meaning" Carali has said, and caring empowers us to imitate Christ. Jesus lived as a homeless person, without money or property. Perhaps that is why he was so taken with the widow as that is why he was so taken with the widow as he sat in the temple and watched people contribute to the treasury. He saw her gift as a gift of abundance. In the same spirit he gave his life, giving to us, his people the priceless gift of eternal salvation.

Sef-giving, significant self-giving, and the surrendering of ourselves is the heart of the gospel call to us. The good news is that, that is what really matters to God. It doesn’t get us off the hook about money, but it puts our passions and commitments on the front burner.

The Rev. Ruth T. Healy – Associate Priest

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