Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
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To really understand the Gospel reading from today, it's important to know that in the Temple, there was a large horn where you would place coins to go into the offering box. When you placed your coins in the horn, they would have made a lot of noise.
Imagine if we gave only coins at the offertory instead of cash or checks and that our offering plate was designed to ring as loudly as possible whenever coins were put in it. Person after person puts in a mass of coins, each one resounding all across the room.
Now imagine you're jobless, and you've been so for a while. Imagine you have no one to help support you. And you're down to your last few cents.
Instead of a long and loud ringing, there's just a few plops in the plate. And everyone in the church can turn around and see that it was you.
That's the crux of this story. The woman making her offering is a widow, meaning in Jesus' time she couldn't work and she had no one to support her, and she's down to her last few cents.
Logic would dictate that she not give an offering. This is her livelihood, and no good can come from her giving. In the face of others giving so freely, her offering would have been an embarrassment because everyone there could have turned around and known it was her.
So why give? Well, Jesus says that she gave all that "she had to live on." Jesus would know something about this because He gave all of His life for us on the cross. Why did He do that? He did it out of love.
That's the reason that makes the most sense as to why this widow would give- because she loves God and like anything we love, we want to give all towards what we love.
Jesus also juxtaposes her against the Scribes in the temple around her. Jesus tells us that their focus in on what they wear, what respect they are given, and what seat of honor they have, both in their religious life and their life in the world. They care about their appearance, and one could imagine that their giving is very much the same.
One could imagine that they give, "out of their abundance", using Jesus' words, in order to hear that sound in the horn of the treasury. One could imagine that they give to show how important they are to everyone.
Jesus condemns these people for their sole focus on appearance, but He praises the widow because her gift out of all she has truly matters, if only for what it means.
In hearing our Gospel this morning, we are called to think about our own giving. What is at the heart of it? Do we give to show how philanthropic we are, or do we give because we love God and we want to show that, not just through our actions, but through our money as well? Is giving a priority for us? Is it part of our monthly budget?
Now don't misunderstand me, I want those of you who can to give like the rich people Jesus sees in the Temple. For those with abundance, I want you to give out of abundance. But I also want you to give because you love God. I want your gifts to this church really be a gift unto the Lord.
Are we grateful for what we have? Do we want to give back in thanksgiving for it? When you take out your check books, think about these things, because as the poor widow shows, our reason for giving is what matters most, and as Jesus reminds us, all our giving should be out of love.