The Widow's Mite: Visualizing Generosity
The Rev. Mark Sherwindt, Pastor
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Thankoffering Sunday, November 11-12, 2006
Celebrating the Work of the Women of the Church
Having the opportunity to celebrate the women of the church is an occasion of great pride for me as a pastor in the ELCA. We made the decision back in 1971 to acknowledge the historic, ground-breaking inclusion of women in the many positions of local leadership, which they evidently held in New Testament churches. With the ordination of women we decided to welcome women - to challenge women - to listen to God's voice calling them to share their gifts and talents, following the Spirit's lead to enrich and strengthen the community of God's people by saying Yes to their Lord, Yes to God's call, and Yes to Christ's church. Our decision to ordain women wasn't just a nice thing to do. It was not simply the politically correct thing to do. It was the faithful thing to do in terms of Jesus' proclamation of the Gospel, in terms of models of inclusion found in the New Testament, in terms of God's call to the church right now.
As New Testament scholar Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza documented in her book In Memory of Her, it took three hundred years for the ground-breaking inclusion of New Testament Christianity to finally give in to the male dominance of Roman culture. It took another seven hundred years for celibacy to become the norm for the church's male priesthood. Lutherans led the way in reversing the exclusion of a married clergy; and now, almost five hundred years later, the ELCA has reversed the exclusion of women in ministry. God issues the call, and it has been our experience these past thirty-five years that our churches have been enriched and strengthened by the re-inclusion of women in all roles of leadership. Their gifts have proven essential in helping us to understand how everyone gains from the diverse stories and unique voices that are heard when doors previously closed to women are open, and ceiling made of glass are shattered here in the house of the Lord.
I understand that the bigger benefit is not just the number of ordained women in our church. The bigger benefit comes from including the gifts that women bring to the life of the church in such areas of our life as the Church Council, where Darlene Milavickas served as President for six year before passing the role on to Laura Thompson. We have benefited from including women on staff, in Christian Education, as worship leaders, on property committees, in such ministries as the Food Pantry & Clothing Closet, overseeing staff relations as well as long-term strategic planning. By the way, on this weekend that we lift up veterans, it is interesting that, while all of us know folks and have friends and perhaps family in Iraq, as a congregation our most direct link to our veterans serving in Iraq is a woman, our own Jenny (Horton) Elkins, who just returned for good in October after a lengthy stint right outside Baghdad. Zion has been blessed with a history that has been filled with gifted women, and the faithfulness to acknowledge their gifts, making full use of their willingness to share them. Men and women alike have found Zion to be a church family that has been filled with all sorts of opportunities to grow closer to God and one another through the service we offer and the camaraderie we share.
There has been a lot of talk this past week about the leap forward women have taken with Nancy Pelosi soon to be addressed as Madame Speaker (the Speaker of the House of Representatives), given the results of Tuesday's election. We've also heard about record numbers of women serving in the halls of Congress. It is always interesting to see how the media will spin the events taking place around us. I heard one commentator refer to the “mirror” effect, which holds that if we can see it, we are more likely to do it. In this case, seeing a woman right behind the President, third in line to the Presidency, holding one of the most powerful offices in the world, will make a powerful statement for women everywhere. More women will reach higher because of the image of a Madame Speaker.
Women, of course, have held powerful positions throughout history, and they hold positions of power around the world today. Still, every step along the journey to full inclusion and unfettered access leading in all directions is good for women and the communities they serve. However, as helpful an image as it might be to picture Nancy Pelosi on television sitting right there in front of us when the President addresses both houses of Congress, I'm pretty sure that's not the picture Jesus had in mind when he called his listeners' attention to our Gospel Lesson. “Beware of the scribes,” he began. These were the important folks, those who could afford long robes, and command an audience because of their status and influence. These were the ones in the best seats. These were the ones who had made it in the world's eyes. They could give long speeches, going on and on about what good comes from trusting their leadership. But Jesus knew that their grand plans required that somebody pay; and what is more, he knew who it was that had to pay, the poor, widows, and the like. “They devour widows' houses….”
Somebody's got to pay. Think of that. Imagine that. Visualize that. This is the picture Jesus paints with his observation; and then, the punch line: be a payer, not a player. That's what we see with this picture of the widow's mite, when Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the basket. Many rich people, we are told, put in large sums. Then there came a poor widow, who put in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. Jesus called his followers and said to them, “Listen up. This poor widow has put in more than all those others 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 that she had to live on.” [Mark 12:44] No, this is not the time to check your pockets, replacing paper money with copper coins. It's not about the coins. It's about the widow. It's about an aged woman with little known support trusting God with everything she had … right now.
You know, I'm not the wealthiest man in the world; but as worshipers at our early service have seen, I can afford long robes and I can say long prayers. I'm pretty generous with my support of the church. But I can't say that my offering would show me trusting God with everything I had right now. When I think back to the days when my offering was an act of reaching into my pocket and trusting God with everything I had, I'm kind of glad I'm not back there now, not just because Marilyn and I have two kids in college, but because it's just more comfortable being more comfortable. When Marilyn and I were first married, we were still graduate students living on student stipends. For our honey-moon, we spent some time along on the north shore of Lake Superior in a cabin that couldn't have cost more that $10 or $12 a night. The stay came with a free gift, this wooden carving board, which we still have. Those were the days when we would find ourselves standing in line with our poor widow, reaching in our pockets for some change we might place in the offering with her.
When I took my first call, I met my first wave of faithful widows, both literally and figuratively speaking. I saw firsthand what Jesus meant. It wasn't coins that they brought, but their commitment. It wasn't just coins that they gave, but a whole lot more. By that time I was in a position to be more generous, but when I saw what these folks gave, the bar for what generosity looked like was raised a whole lot higher. There's that mirror effect: if you can see it, you are more likely to do it. What a difference it makes to see the widow's mite, humble people giving their all, trusting God with everything they have. Nancy Pelosi doesn't do that for me; but then, neither did Denny Hastert, or Tip O'Neil, Dick Cheney, not even George Bush. Meta Schucht, Clara Kircher, her daughter Rosie, not all widows, and then there were many who were not women, like Bob and Jim, and so many others with stories to tell that would transform our understanding of generosity and commitment and trust if we could listen to their stories and see God's light shining through their witness.
We've got those folks right here at Zion - women and men - who love the Lord, the work of the kingdom, and the life of the church. Look around you. We are not a rich people. We're not a congregation blessed with super-abundance. We're comfortable enough, and in many ways, blessed. I'm sure you've all heard the funny line about stewardship. A preacher gets up to make an announcement. “I've got some good news and bad. The good news is that we've got plenty of money to pay all our bills and more. The bad news is that it's still in your pockets!” This morning's Gospel is partly about giving, but mostly it's about picturing generosity and commitment and trust. If you trust God in everything, you'll not go wrong; and if we trust God together, neither will we.
I've got to tell you about an email I received from Kay Davis the other day. It was entitled “New Church Signs.” Perhaps you've seen them. There's one I found kind of funny: “The best vitamin for Christians is B1” - as in be one. Here's another that I think you'll enjoy. It applies directly to our Gospel. “Aspire to inspire before you expire.” I like that one. The widow inspired Jesus, and her witness is remembered in order to inspire us. The bottom line is that God's richest blessings are ours, here and now, to enjoy and to share … by living joyously and giving generously … in Jesus' name. Amen