Other Possible Title: The Widow's Mite - The Temple's Weakness

There was a man who called at the church and asked if he could speak to the Head Hog at the trough. The secretary said, “Who?” Then she gathered herself and said “Sir, if you mean our pastor you will have to treat him with a little more respect than that and ask for the ‘Reverend’ or ‘The Pastor.' But certainly you cannot refer to him as the Head Hog at the Trough.” The man said, “I understand. I was calling because I have $10,000 I was thinking about donating to the building fund.” She said, “Hold on for just a moment—I think the big pig just walked in the door.”

Now I am sure the secretary wouldn’t treat me like that, some of the laity perhaps but not the secretary! But we all are subject to changing our tune when substantial amounts of money are offered. That is why this passage of Scripture has been an enduring image throughout the ages. We play favorites. We treat those who give more as if they are the pillars on which the church is erected.

But consider for a moment another image. Jesus, sitting opposite the place where the offerings were put, is observing the people make their donations as they come into the temple. He is not alone. Seated with him are the leaders—the Sadducees. It is startling to think of Jesus sitting with those whom he had scorned for their hypocrisy. Remember that as they watch there is no paper money so all of the offerings make a terrible noise as they roll down this long horn shaped object and fall into the pool of coins. And here comes this little old lady and she has two small coins worth nothing and drops them in. They barely make a noise. You can almost see the Temple leaders as they roll their eyes and hope for better results with the next person who walks in the door. Jesus then calls his Disciples over and says, “This poor widow has put more in to the treasury than all the others.” To the Sadducees this woman is a waste of time but to Jesus she is the stuff by which Kingdoms are erected. Thus, at its heart, the story of the widow's mite is a strong reminder to the kingdoms of this world…

I

That the Kingdom of God is built by the wealthy as well as the widow. Let me point out something from this text that should be obvious. Jesus was watching people give. He did not tell the leaders to stop collecting money. In fact, even when this widow gave everything she had, he did not criticize the temple that collected it. Let me add here, that I am keenly aware that the church has been accused of extorting people out of their money. In some cases that is a legitimate criticism but I will submit to you that in most cases it is not the church which motivates people to give; it is people are moved by the same motivations of the widow who gave her mite. And what was her motivation? She knew that giving was important to God.

Whether rich or poor we must recognize that one of the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith is giving. First giving of ourselves and then giving of our resources. But there are some in the church who resist at all cost emphasizing the topic money. For one reason or another they think it inappropriate.

Will Willimon, professor of preaching, told about a large church that hired a church fund-raiser to direct its ambitious financial campaign. The fund-raiser proposed his strategy at the first planning session. He wanted the members to visit every home. He was met with immediate resistance. One cynic at the stewardship meeting cited that this church had a high percentage of retired people on fixed incomes. They could not be expected to pledge, the cynic argued.

The fund-raiser asked for permission to see in confidence the list of major givers. At the next meeting he told the stewardship committee that he had completed an analysis of the church’s giving patterns. “Please note,” he reported, “that the majority of your top 50 contributors are ‘widows on fixed incomes.’ Please note that, according to my calculations, those ‘widows on fixed incomes’ pay about 60 percent of this congregation’s annual budget. I’d say if you want to improve the giving in this congregation, you need to talk to those women first, find out why they give, then try to infect the rest of the congregation with the faith of these ‘widows on fixed incomes.’”

I’m not sure if that got the cynics attention but if truth be told it is the widows-on-fixed-income that give the most. And while it may not get our attention as it should it does get the attention of Jesus. Calling his disciple to him he said, “I tell you the truth this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” On that day, I am sure tax collectors, officials, and Pharisees entered the temple on that day and put in several drachma. Hundreds times more what this poor lady put in. She dropped two lepta in the treasury. It would take 50 such poor widows to equal one drachma’ worth of giving. But it got Jesus’ attention.

Like the business fellow who needed millions of dollars to clinch an important deal. He went to the temple to pray for the money. By chance he sat next to a man who was praying for $100 to pay an urgent debt. The businessman took out his wallet and pressed $100 into the other man's hand. Overjoyed, the man got up and left the temple. The businessman then closed his eyes and prayed: "And now, Lord, that I have your undivided attention . . ."

This woman got Jesus undivided attention not for how much she gave but what it represented. It represented everything she had. She gave the more because of it.

II

At the heart of the story is this second lesson: That the Kingdom of God recognizes the level of our sacrifice. It’s like the young fellow in Sunday School whose teacher asked her eight eager children if they would give $1,000,000 to the missionaries. "YES!" they all screamed!! "Would you give $1,000?" Again they shouted, "YES!" "How about $100?" "Oh, YES we would!" they all agreed!! "Would you give just a dollar to the missionaries?" she asked. The boys exclaimed "YES!" just as before except for Johnny. "Johnny," the teacher said as she noticed the boy clutching his pocket, "why didn't you say 'YES' this time?" "Well," he stammered, "I HAVE a dollar."

She, out of her poverty, Jesus said, put in everything—all she had to live on. We all dream about giving large sums of money to cure the world’s ills. But you have a dollar. Right now, in your pocket, you have a dollar. Start there. Right now, you have a skill, apply that. Right now, you have a talent. Start there. Right now, in your pocket, you have hand, lend it. You have a dollar. Start there.

Do you recall Jesus’ words: He who is faithful in little will be faithful in much.

III

Finally, at the heart of the story is a subtle third lesson in the form of a warning. Now listen...I am about to tell you that everything I just told you concerning the widow’s mite is wrong. That’s right. You heard it here first. The preacher was wrong. Now let me tell you why. Scholars believe that Jesus is not simply commending the woman for her generosity but rather lamenting an injustice. Jesus’ praise of the widow is raw sarcasm directed at the clergy.

If this poor widow who enters the Temple gives everything she has and leaves poor while the institution of the Temple flourishes and the clergy go home well paid then the whole system is a sham. She has become the victim of a religious institution which was intended to benefit her. The treasury of the temple should be helping her not taking her last two lepta.

How do we know this? What in this Scripture tells us that Jesus is pointing out that this poor widow is being abused? Four things. First Jesus emphasizes three times for effect that she sacrificed everything. As the Temple authorities listen in he says: This poor widow put more in than all the others; she put in everything; it was all she had to live on. Secondly, just the day before he had driven the money changers out of the Temple declaring that God’s house shall be a house of prayer. In is unlikely Jesus is casually sitting with the Temple leaders for the sole purpose of watching people give. Third, we know they had a practice of abusing the helpless. In verse 40, which immediately precedes this story, the teachers of the law are criticized for devouring widow’s houses. Fourth, look at the verses which immediately follow the story: Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple. Jesus walks out of the Temple, condemning it to destruction, because he has seen with his own eyes the final straw: the devouring of a widow by the very Temple designed to care for her. In allowing the widow to give everything away without any thought to care, the leaders of the Temple beg for their own destruction.

For these reasons this is a very poor text to use for a stewardship message. This is really an indictment of false religion which preys on peoples devotion rather then a text promoting generosity and self-sacrifice. And for that reason maybe this is a very good stewardship message. This year as many stewardship campaigns are going on it is the church leadership that needs to be reminded why we are here. Let me close with the words of James, the brother of Jesus, who reminds us that the religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Amen.