Sermon: Widows and Mites 11.11.18

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

I would like to look at both our readings today.

The Book of Ruth in the Old Testament is a simple story that can be read in about 10 minutes. But it is full of meaning. It is a story of kinship, caring and loyalty, and faith in God – although God is not specifically referred to. The key characters are Naomi and Ruth. Naomi is a Hebrew woman from Bethlehem who was married to E’lim’e’lech. Now early on in their marriage there was a great famine, and they moved into the country of Moab. There, their two sons Mahlon and Chilion, married Moabite women Or’pah and Ruth.

In chapter one, Naomi’s troubles are relentless as one by one, famine, displacement, and bereavement steal her joy, turning her into a bitter woman. First her husband dies, and then both her sons also die. In chapter two Ruth ekes out a living for Naomi and herself. Both are abundantly blessed in the process. Then in chapter three, Ruth, at Naomi’s bidding, encounters Boaz on the threshing floor. In chapter four, the birth of Ruth’s child Obed brings Naomi a joy that she thought she would never experience again. What began in misfortune turns out to be a blessing for generations to come.

The Book of Ruth also invites us to ask what it means for us to belong: to God, to a community, to each other. “Belonging” in Christian tradition does not imply a sense of ownership, but rather of caretaking, safety, and affection. Naomi, and her two Moabite daughter-in-laws, Ruth and Orpah, and their husbands formed a family bridging across ethnic differences and traditional hostilities.

When their husbands died, Ruth was willing to give up her own family connections and the land that she had grown up in, to maintain her relationship with Naomi. By bringing Ruth a Moabite with her, Naomi, risked losing her standing and respect among her people on her return to Bethlehem. Belonging (whether in families or in churches) requires mutual vulnerability.

Ruth and Naomi’s loyalty to each other could have cost them their standing in their tribal society… but it truly worked out to be a story of love that brought blessing, where their barrenness and grief eventually turns to hope and new life – especially in the birth of Obed, who was the father of Jesse… who in turn was the father of David. This cross-cultural story becomes part of the genealogy of King David and therefore is part of the genealogy of own Saviour Jesus.

I am also inspired today of the story of the poor widow and her faith that offered what little she had as a gift to God… a personal act of great courage – especially in the temple that preached the law of tithing (that is giving ten percent of everything that we grow or earn to God), and a temple culture that praised (and no doubt welcomed) the wealthy who could make a spectacle of their benevolent donations… enhancing their standing and power in the community.

Yet Jesus praises the widows two mites, two small coins, that were all she had, and she gave them to God, ashamed of her own poverty, of being a widow in a patriarchal society that respected men  (it was the same for Naomi and Ruth who, too, were widows) ashamed perhaps of her age… perhaps she had no children or friends to support her in her old age… yet Jesus saw her generosity… reminding us that God sees the heart, the true intention, and the true cost of our giving.

For when we give, is it a glib few dollars given out of a sense of duty? Or, is it given out of generosity truly given first and foremost to God – for God to use… in God’s will… inspired by the Spirit?

I’m sure many of you who use the New Zealand Prayer-book in your daily devotions will know this reflection from ‘Daily Devotions for Thursday morning’: “E te whanau. Sparse sowing, meagre reaping; but if we are generous, bountiful will be the harvest. So, let us give what we can, not with regret, nor from a sense of duty. God loves a cheerful giver.

“And when we help others, we will not just meet their needs, we will unleash a flood of gratitude to God. Many will give glory to God for our loyalty to the gospel and for our generosity. God loves a cheerful giver.”

The economic system, which the Bible seems to promote, is not the same of the pre-dominant economic practices of business. The economy of God (and this is probably the topic for another sermon) is that all things come from God – which is the basis of Grace – God is the giver of all good things – and God freely gives to us and to all us. And God’s economy which Jesus tries to explain to us in the Lord’s Prayer… is that when we forgive others – this unleashes God’s forgiveness to us…. “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us” So, too, when we give money, time, or of ourselves…. the promise is this will unleash God’s generosity to us, and God will generously give back to us. As Jesus says, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get.” (Luke 6:37)

I know it seems irresponsible behaviour in our careful rational world… but this is what living by faith is – and faith is risky, because we are first and foremost putting our trust in God whom we cannot see – and not in ourselves or our logic.

Hence, Jesus praises the widow to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those 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 she had to live on.” By worldly standards she did a stupid thing. But by faith, she did a beautiful thing and we must believe that God would continue to provide for her needs (although that part is not in the story).

I might have already told you, but just over a month ago, I had a week’s break and attended a gathering of the Third Order of the Society of St Francis, which I am a member of. It was called a Convocation which is a gathering held every three years. We had about 60 people there, and on the last day, after we had been to church at St Stephens, Tohunanui, we came back to the conference centre for our last session.

Bishop Godfrey Fry – an Australian Franciscan made the suggestion that we take up a freewill offering for Franciscan Aid, a charity working in the Pacific in Melanesia. It was just out of the blue and none of us came specifically prepared to give to any cause. As a group of people, the majority of our members were elderly women probably many of them widows… but without a fuss we raised $500. Sure, it’s was not much in the scheme of things… an average of $10 per person… but it happened so easily and so effortlessly… I was amazed at the simple generosity of the people. It was example to me of how God’s economy works.

I feel as though there are quite a few themes in our readings today.

A significant one: is that it seems to me that God honours the place of widows, as Psalm 68:5 says: ‘Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God…’

What a wonderful promise for many who may become widows or are widows, there is a special place in God’s heart – and so too there should be a special place in our church and its ministries for widows. (Of course, that is not to the exclusion of other people at different ages and stages of life).

Secondly, especially in the Book of Ruth we see the importance of love, and care, and loyalty – sure the story was of a family from over 2 ½ thousand years ago. But it speaks to our spiritual family in the church – if we are mutually vulnerable to each other, and ready to be loyal despite the risks… God promises to bless us.

And thirdly our gospel reading reminds us of God’s economy of grace, which encourages us to be generous – and to freely give back to God with the courage of that poor widow who gave all she had. What was insignificant by worldly standards, was not insignificant to God. And the promise is: if we are generous to God, God will be generous to us.

So enough said – may that in all we do and say – we give God the glory!