Sermon for November 10, 2024: To Give Greatly based upon Mark 12: 38-44

Mark 12: 38-44
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Jesus Denounces the Scribes

     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 market-places, 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.’

The Widow’s Offering

     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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    I wanted share a story today that BeLoved Asheville posted on their Facebook page:
She arrived with a warm smile, holding something close to her heart. She looked at us and said, “You’ve helped so many of us here in Western North Carolina. I wanted to thank you in a way that goes beyond words. I make desserts—that’s my profession—and in every recipe, I pour my love for others. So, I brought this gelatin I prepared this morning, just for all of you.” I just have to tell you, the gelatin the lady brought to share is the most beautiful jello mold I have ever seen. It’s got big juicy strawberries and peaches in it. I kind of want to eat it right now. I love knowing that something so delectable looking came from such simple ingredients- a packet of gelatin, a container of strawberries, a can of peaches.

     Here’s another post titled " I remembered my first cup after the Hurricane" that BeLoved shared recently. It is a story someone shared with them about how their neighbors gathered in the early days after the storm:

Three days after the hurricane, I found myself in my kitchen, grateful for the gallons of water I’d stocked up on. With no electricity, no open stores, and no cell service, I decided to build a small fire outside my home. I needed something to bring a bit of normalcy amid the destruction, and coffee felt like the perfect start. The first sip warmed me, and I felt a tiny shift inside, a reassurance that everything would somehow be okay. I thought, "If this comforts me, maybe my neighbors need this, too."

So, I went door to door, a cup of coffee in hand. Some of these people I barely knew, yet each morning, we found ourselves coming together over a shared cup, feeling just a little more hopeful. One neighbor even told me, “For someone who treasures their morning coffee, your kindness was a beautiful reminder that things could feel normal again.

     The person who writes BeLoved’s posts then wrote:
His story reminded me of my own first post-hurricane coffee. Someone had come to BeLoved Asheville looking for water, and minutes later, they handed me a steaming cup. That coffee—shared amid the chaos—was one of the best I’d ever had. Maybe it was the kindness, maybe the familiarity, or maybe just the comfort of knowing someone had thought of me in that moment.

     A simple cup of coffee… it can build bridges, restore hope, and heal wounds we didn’t even know we had.
Today’s reading is often called “the Widow’s Mite.” I have been fortunate to observe many a widow give many a mite. I shared two stories from BeLoved Asheville, a community support organization that has been working together since 2009. BeLoved Asheville began with a small group of people who understand that “we need each other and that we can do far more together than we can do alone.” They work on connecting people to each other and to resources, and building communal power to support everyone’s thriving. But, this work isn’t just happening in North Carolina. It happens here, too.

     In the early days of the pandemic, when so many people were having a hard time finding and purchasing things they needed to survive, some people in Maine worked on getting a mutual aid group started. Mutual aid is a particular kind of organized sharing, based on treating people as trusted experts on their needs and sharing with each other as equals. The requests were often simple: “Has anyone in the Brunswick area found toilet paper in any stores?” or “does anyone have a few bottles of formula I could have for my baby?” I remember seeing a post from someone in Augusta who needed cat litter and laundry detergent. Tasha and I checked what we had. We didn’t have a ton of extra litter or detergent, but we had enough to share and regular paychecks coming in, so we knew we could replace it, so I messaged the person and said I could bring some by. I know it didn’t fix everything they had going on, but after I left, they could do several loads of laundry and clean up for their cats. And, that’s not nothing.

     Today’s reading, which features a poor person giving what, for them, is a sizable donation to their religious community, isn’t really a story about how we should tell poor people to give everything they have, though I’ve heard versions of that sermon preached. The widow is certainly to be understood as a faithful and generous person. And, I think her faithfulness is to be emulated. I try to, myself, even though I have far more means than she did. I don’t want to be a person who has money and then makes a big show of sharing it so that people will think well of me. I wanna give what I have because of the call to love God and love neighbor.

     Remember last week when we talked about the fruitful conversation Jesus and a nameless scribe had? They met each other as people equally devout, equally invested in living faithful lives. They both knew that loving God and love neighbor are the two most important commandment. That was the kind of scribe we hope for- one who is learned but also curious, and takes his place of authority in the community seriously while also not assuming he’s the only one with right answers.

     Today’s reading is about a different kind of scribe. There is always a risk when one has more education and more money and more influence in a community to use all of those things for your own edification. As Amanda Brobst-Renaud notes in her commentary on this text, Jesus is clearly rebuking those who seek honor and a good reputation and deference from the community while ignoring the needs of the poor. Those of us who are paid to be religious leaders have the opportunity to take advantage of the people who trust us. And, too often, religious systems rely on wringing out every last dollar and every moment of time from those who have little of either to share.

     My grandma always assumed that people who gave more money to the church got special treatment. She came to that belief honestly after years of observing that very thing happen. As a result, she always had really good boundaries around what she could give. She would share what she felt like she could, but, she was never tempted to, in the words of our reading, “give away her whole house.” She had a solid analysis of the situation: Christian communities should not be privileging the wealthy and she wouldn’t be pushed into giving more than she could in order to get the same treatment.

     In his commentary on the text, Samuel Cruz argues that Jesus is both “exalting the spiritual riches of the widow” and “letting the rich and powerful keep their scraps.” In the wake of the recent election, and the changes to the social safety nets and economy that the incoming majority party is promising, I imagine that we’re going to be spending some time doing what the widow in the story is doing- sharing money in places that are important to us- while also dealing with powerful people that are more concerned with being honored than caring for people. Let us remember those who give simple gifts out of great generosity, and be inspired to follow in their giving. Let us also resist the temptation to use our privilege in the community to make ourselves look good. Jesus never told us to follow him to impress people. He invited us to follow him in caring for the orphan and widow, in sharing with the hungry and thirsty, in tending to the imprisoned, and in welcoming the immigrant. May rid our systems of practices that take advantage of those with little to give, and celebrate the generosity of all who give greatly. For the coffee and jello molds that teach us about Jesus, we give thanks.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
​Two stories from BeLoved Asheville:

• Jello mold: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/tEV6RN97SPtmN6Wb/
• Coffee: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/VprxsVwQStV7z56U/

An Introduction to Mutual Aid from someone in the UK: https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MutualAid-AnIntroduction.pdf

Amanda Brobst-Renaud: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-32-2/commentary-on-mark-1238-44-6

Samuel Cruz: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-32-2/commentary-on-mark-1238-44-5