Rector's Sermon - Sunday, November 9, 2003

First Reading	Psalm	Epistle	Gospel
1 Kings 17:8-16	146:1-6, 8-9	Hebrews 9:24-28	Mark 12:38-44

    In the weeks before Christmas my great aunt, would send her only grand nephew a half dozen small packages. It was fun to guess what was inside them, and often she wrapped them giving hints to their contents. One for example had a picture of a teepee on it and inside was a quartz arrowhead, probably dug up by the horse-drawn plow of an Amish farmer whose fields surrounded Lancaster. Or one with wrapping paper of pine cones and inside was a small balsam pillow from a resort she had visited on vacation many years ago. They were never toys, nor common store-bought things, and never particularly valuable. Yet they were always eagerly anticipated, for they were unique gifts, given with a certain curious boy in mind.

    I remember a certain dignity and grace to my great aunt. It undoubtedly reflected her faith, although I would not have called it that at the time. She always gave from her heart and that is why I suppose out of the many gifts I have received over the years, I will never forget hers.

    These days like you I always receive an astounding number of catalogs, with some very interesting and intriguing gifts inside. I know I could easily order them with a simple toll free call, or by signing on the internet. We would expect them to arrive hassle free, to anyone, anywhere in the United States, in a few days. They would appear merely as a one-line entry on my visa statement a month later. Yes, very convenient and easy, and yet I know none of them would be treasured or be the same as those small gifts I received some fifty years ago.

    Two of the Bible readings for today are about poor widows. They were living symbols of powerlessness and utter destitution. Like astronauts whose tether to the mother ship has been severed, they floated to society's edges and out into a dark oblivion. Yet it is their generosity that leads to astonishment. The widow of Zarephath was the last person anyone expected to save the life of the prophet. The widow who put her last two small coins in the temple treasury would have been the last person the disciples expected to be commended and noticed for her gift.

    Both stories emphasize the dramatic reversal of things that God brings about. As Jesus teaches his disciples “but many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Or we are reminded of Jesus sharp words to his critics who were so concerned about his credentials, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? Or we can hear in the background, the Song of Mary, "my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, he has scattered the proud in their conceit, he has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. "

    In scripture the two widows are forever lifted up as examples of courageous hospitality and loving liberality. Now I want to make it clear, that they did not give out of guilt, fear, or social pressure. The widow of Zarephath did not think how history would remember her. She had a faith that God was not going to trick her and that God respected her dignity. Nor did the widow in the temple know that Jesus was looking. Yet I suspect she left the temple with a smile on her face not a grimace. Giving to God made her glad. She knew God smiled upon her. They both gave out of the love in their hearts. That is really what stewardship, or pledging, or offering is all about, giving in thanksgiving from the love in one's heart.

    Society may have thought of them as victims but the two widows appear out of the pages of biblical history as quite strong and independent people. I know that the example of the two widows have been exploited and twisted in many a parish's plea for funds. I suppose I could hold up a picture of our heating plant and say natural gas for the winter-$17,000, or liability and fire insurance-$6.000, or janitorial supplies- $2,000. But I would just like to leave you with a picture of the two widows one with a few sticks to make a final fire, the other with her two last coins in her hand; one living on the edge of a desert wilderness, the other in the temple at Jerusalem obscured by wealth and importance. Simply being thankful for God's love – priceless!

    And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.