1 Grace, Mercy and Peace to You from God Our Father and from Our Lord

Rev. Daniel Mackey Pentecost 24 November 11, 2012 Mark 12:38-44 Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Muncie, Ind. Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “She out of her poverty has put everything she had, all she had to live on.” Who is this widow in our lesson? Of course, she’s a real person. This event actually happened. On Holy Wednesday, just two days before His crucifixion, Jesus is sitting in the temple, watching the various people give their offerings and then praises this woman for her small copper coins, her pennies, her mites—her life. She gives all that she has to God, recognizing that He will provide. She doesn’t put her trust in men. She can’t: the scribes have devoured her house and no one has attempted to stop them. Jesus points out the injustice to her and those like her, condemning the scribes for seeking seats of honor both in the religious and in the secular world. Jesus damns the scribes for neglecting the widows of Israel and robbing them of their meager incomes. The scribes did not produce, but rather convinced little old ladies to give their money so that the scribes could meditate on Scripture. Instead of spending their time studying God’s holy writ, they abused the Scripture to advance their own standing in the eyes of men. These scribes aren’t very good scribes even, walking around the marketplaces, chatting with their friends, showing off their fancy clothes, and mocking God with their fake and false prayers. In the meanwhile, these little old ladies supporting the scribes are going hungry, all the while thinking they are serving God by giving to the scribes. The scribes will receive the greater condemnation. But, again, this particular widow doesn’t put her trust in men, for they have failed her. She has nothing left. No longer do the scribes come by to visit—she’s got no money left but two small copper coins. And where does she put it? She goes to the temple, to the House of Yahweh, to the place where God’s glory dwells. She goes to where God has promised to be. 1 The rich make a show of the large sums they give. They give, but it doesn’t hurt. They give, but they hold back. They don’t trust God. They don’t believe that the temple is where God’s glory dwells, for in their giving of their large sums they are seeking glory for themselves. Does the temple need their large contributions? No. The temple doesn’t need the money. The temple needs her husband, Yahweh, the God of Israel. These rich people are buying the priests and the temple, treating God’s bride like a prostitute. They are using the temple, defiling it rather than loving it. How could we expect for this poor widow to care for herself once her money is gone? I think we often picture this woman as old and frail. The text doesn’t say that. It simply says she was poor. With disease and war and uprisings, her husband could have died at an early age. This poor woman, this widow, could easily find herself enslaved to selling her body for bread while the scribes went along the marketplaces, making a show. In giving her two pennies, this widow could be subjecting herself to death, to defilement, to a living hell. But, she is a daughter of Israel. Israel is the bride of her God, Yahweh. She has been widowed by her earthly husband but not by her heavenly husband. As a wife ought to be able to do, she relies on her husband’s support, his providing, his care, his sacrifice. She gives all that she has—everything, out of her poverty, destituting herself—so that he will care for her. And so this widow becomes more than a simple, poor widow with two small copper pennies. She becomes and is an object of praise, a saint, a woman of great and abiding faith—Jesus calls her so. He praises her. He directs His disciples and even us to look at her and He says, “This is My bride. She is without a husband. I will be a husband to her. I will redeem her, sacrifice for her, and love her, for she is My sister.” The scribes knew the law. They knew that they had the duty to care for the widows. Deuteronomy 25 describes for the Israelites the great extent that a brother ought to go to care for his deceased brother’s wife, commanding what is called Levirate marriage. If the brother dies without male offspring, then the 2 brother has the duty to provide his sister-in-law with a male child so that his brother’s name (this includes his land and inheritance) is perpetuated. If he refuses to do so, he is greatly shamed and his name is ruined. The brother who honors his widowed sister-in-law is called a kinsman-redeemer, sacrificing of himself for the sake of his brother. Jesus looks at this widow, who has placed herself along with her two small pennies, into God’s hands, and He redeems her. He came to earth to be her brother. But, more than that, He came to be her kinsman-redeemer. Two days later, He sacrifices Himself on the cross, shedding His blood, taking on her poverty of sin, destitutes Himself for her. Jesus is the exact opposite of the scribes. They pretend at knowing God’s Word; He is God’s Word enfleshed. They walk around in their long robes; He wears a single handspun robe, of which He is stripped and for which the soldiers cast lots. They like greetings in the marketplaces; as He carried His cross to Calvary, only jeers and insults came from those in the bazaar. They seek after the best seats in both the religious and political worlds; He sits on the mercy seat of God, where sacrifice is made for the propitiation of sins. They devour the widows’ houses; He restores the widows’ houses by taking them into His house. They make a pretense of long prayers; His very life of total obedience and His innocent suffering and death ascend as the highest prayer to the Father—“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” They give of their abundance; He gives all, taking on the poverty of their sin. The widow doesn’t need those two small copper pennies, she needs her husband. She needs her God to be a husband to her, restoring her life and giving her a future. She needs a kinsman-redeemer, and Jesus is one to her. Likewise, the Church doesn’t need money. The Church needs her husband, Jesus Christ. We don’t need money or fancy robes or long-winded prayers or greetings from the world. We need Jesus Christ, and He gives Himself to us. He is our husband; and we, the Church, are His bride. He washes us in the waters of Holy Baptism, presenting us to Himself in splendor. He has 3 sacrificed Himself for us—with His life, with His death. He feeds us and nourishes us with His very body and very blood to eat and to drink. He gives us brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, parents and grandparents—joining us to all the saints in the faith. He restores our name by giving us His name, His glory, His honor and praise and might and power. We need not hold onto anything or seek anything other than Christ’s glory. It is in His temple that He has promised to be—and His temple is His flesh. The poor widow knew that, and Christ raised her up. She is exalted before us this morning, for the sake of Christ. As He is lifted up, so too is this woman. As Christ is lifted up, so too are we. Jesus is a faithful husband to us, and He restores us and promises us a future. So, who is this widow in our Gospel lesson? She is one redeemed by Christ, relying on His care. She is the Church, looking to her heavenly husband. Thanks be to God, she is us. In Jesus’ name. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus + to life everlasting. 4 .

Load more