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Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the text for this morning comes from the Gospel reading. You may be seated. This is the third to last Sunday in the church year. And as you heard the choir sing about watch, for we do not know that hour or that day when our Lord will return. It’s really a way of reminding us that daily we need to be repentant and ready. For though we may be young and full of health, God may call us home. And though we may be old and full of life, God may allow us to keep lingering for many more years to come. God is the giver of life, and God alone takes life. It is his gift, and he does with it according to his will. We love to think that it is all part of our plan to live healthily and act in healthy manners. It is still God who does all things.
And it is in that context that Jesus says these words to us in this morning’s gospel reading because we know not when that time will come, and there are some major sins that plague you and me and are like dogs yapping at our heels, constantly biting us. The three specific sins of which Jesus addresses in this morning’s text are pride, avarice—which is a big word for love of money—and hypocrisy. Pride, avarice, and hypocrisy. He reveals also to us in this morning’s text what faith does in our life of giving.
He sets up these two groups of people, or really a group of people and one singular person. Isn’t that interesting? Not two groups of people, but a group of people and a singular person. The group of people, the rich people, he sets up, and everybody on the outside appearance praises them. Because they have not been foolish with their wealth, they have been enabled by their wisdom to have kept their wealth, and in fact, they’re able to give a great amount to the church. The other person that Jesus brings up is this singular woman, a widow, who has nothing, and yet she gives nothing compared to what the rich people give. And Jesus praises her gift today and not the amount of the gift of the rich.
Because Jesus is getting out a very important point in this text. The rich people are only referred to as rich because they are rich according to their earthly possessions. The poor widow is referred to as poor only in regard to her earthly possessions. And yet the rich, all of the rich people that he is addressing, though they had from the outside this look, and though the poor woman, the widow, had from the outside this look, Jesus gives us an insight he doesn’t give anyone else. He actually lets us see what’s inside of their hearts. He lets us see what’s the motivation, why do they do what they do, and he gives us the insight to see that it’s not to be judged by what is done on the outside that really has any meaning.
You see, the rich people of which he refers to, who are rich very well on the outside, have nothing on the inside. Spiritually, they’re bankrupt. They’re bankrupt. Spiritually, they are completely overdrawn and have nothing. They owe everything. They are completely bereft of anything. And that’s a difficult place to be in. But on the outside, they don’t look like it. The poor widow, who has nothing on the outside and looks bereft and without, on the inside, she is overflowing with wealth. She is overflowing with gifts that God has given. It’s a very interesting text indeed.
Now you and I can say all that we want to say about our ability to manage our money, but you’re like me, and you’re not better than me, and you’re not worse than me, but you struggle with money just like I do. You and I heard arguments in our house from our parents, discussions, however you want to talk about them, more about financial things than we did about almost anything else in our life. You, with your spouse, have discussed many important and vital things, but it has been financial things about which you have discussed with the most passion, with decided opinions and points of view. We cannot think that we don’t have avarice within us.
The church is full of lovers of money. You’re one of them, and so am I. Welcome to the club. We pray to our God, help me, O Lord. Help my heart to give out of my earthly poverty because I don’t have anything in this world. Do you? We argue about it with other people as if we do, but we have nothing in this world. It was Job who said it so well: Naked I came into this world. Naked I shall return. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Interesting indeed that the Old Testament reading would be about a singular poor widow who had nothing except enough to make for herself and her son. And what does God, not Elijah, what does God tell Elijah to do? But say, give me a morsel. Did Elijah ask for all of the bread? God told Elijah only to ask for a morsel, and he did. The woman gave out of her poverty, but really she gave out of the wealth within her heart, didn’t she? You have that wealth in your heart. You know and have tasted, and you’ve seen that the Lord is good. You can recount how he has carried you and your family through so many difficult job changes, financial struggles. You know how he has carried you time and time again when you gave out of joy and when you withheld. When you thought and felt so positive about what you were doing and when you were so worried and anxious, he carried you.
This is what God is speaking to you and to me about. He’s not speaking to someone who is impenitent. He’s speaking to you who are repentant, who need to be reminded that God is very sure to want to keep your soul.
This was interesting, what this woman did, both the widow at Zarephath and this widow in our text. They didn’t think this through in their head, but they acted on it. And what they did in their action was this statement: You know what, God? You’re right. I can’t outgive you, can I? I will give it. Now, they didn’t think that through, but that is the result of what they did. They made their actions say they cannot outgive God. The widow at Zarephath, when she gave that morsel, she knew she was withholding something from herself and from her son, and yet what did God do? Provide for them. Provide for them.
Oh, it wasn’t necessarily in a way that would have brought them great honor and prestige. They had to be humble, like all things in our life. But God provided for them. And this widow here, we know not how God provided for her, but she entrusted herself into the hands of her loving father. Somehow, someway. And in fact, when it is somehow, someway, isn’t it interesting that it always leaves us humble? With how God provides. When you and I have been provided for by God, we’ve been humbled. Isn’t it interesting? We forget that being humbled so easily.
You know, God doesn’t have any need for your wealth whatsoever. What is there that you have that God doesn’t? Or better yet, what is there that you have that God didn’t give you first? He has no need of your money. He only wants your heart. That’s what he wants. This text isn’t about an amount. Don’t even think about it. This text has nothing to do with an amount. Don’t ever hear someone say, “Pastor spoke about an amount.” This text is not about amount. This text is about the heart. Everything about the heart.
This text is about where your heart is with what God has given you—not earthly things, spiritual things. Anytime you have come back to God with great amount of egg on your face or having consumed an entire crow because of your pride, did God ever turn you away with shame and scold you? Maybe human beings do that to one another, and we do. As sinners, we do. But God didn’t, and he doesn’t, and he won’t, and he hasn’t. He gives you forgiveness. When did you ever come back and he could say to you, “I told you so”? I told you so, and he said that to you? Never. He always says what he said to the prodigal son: Look, that which I thought was lost has been found. That which I thought was dead is alive. Come, let us feast and rejoice. My son is home. My daughter is home.
You’ve been filled with vast amount of spiritual wealth. It overflows from your heart. That’s what enables you to do those things that God does through you. But when it comes to these earthly things that we fear, that we’re anxious about, that we try to hold on to, that we try to plan, God alone will provide in his way, which brings us, most of the time, humility, but he will provide. This is all about the heart. And the widow gave herself into the hands of her provider, her Lord. He’s who provides for you, isn’t he? He who has faithfully provided for you has never let you hunger, has never let you starve, has never let you without protection of the elements, has always cared for you. He will provide.
Take time to read Psalm 73 when you go home. In Psalm 73, beginning at around verse 16 through verse 29, there are a lot of verses that remind you Who’s providing for you. The difficulty is that in the psalm, it brings out our reality. Because the psalmist is writing, don’t look at those who prosper and be jealous or envious. Don’t look at those who seem to have everything go right and as if you don’t. And then he reminds you and me, the righteous and their children never hunger. The righteous and their children are always provided for. The righteous and their children are mine, and I don’t let go of my children.
Jesus is saying, give out of that wealth. There is no end to the amount that God gives you in that department. Don’t give out of an amount that God gives you when he gives you an amount. Give out of the wealth of what God has given your heart. Because he never ever mishandles you, who struggle with money, just as he’s never mishandled me, who struggles with money. Just as he’s never mishandled this parish, which struggles with money. He loves it. These are the kind of sinners he loves and will never let go.
Help me, O Lord, to give with such confidence and joy out of the great wealth overflowing from my heart which you alone keep giving me and will give me again. And will give me again. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding. Keep your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.