Preacher The Rev. Canon Allisyn Thomas
RCL/Year B
Mark 12:38-44
If we were called to read scripture simplistically, the message of today’s Gospel reading from Mark could be summed up pretty easily: Scribes—bad; Widow—Good.
In fact, after the deacon reads the lesson, ending with “The Gospel of the Lord,” and we respond with “Praise to you, Lord Christ,” that could simplybe the end of it, and we would simply go on with the rest of the service.
But despite wishing it might be so, at least some of the time, we are not called to read scripture simplistically. A simplistic reading of scripture generally will not inform, prepare, challenge or inspire us for life. Jesus did not come among us to simply make life easier. In fact far from it.
Rather his life, presence, and being were given to us, among other things, so we might live the lives given us by God fully in all its confoundedness: there is joy, there is sorrow; there is abundance, there is want or scarcity; there is comfort, there is unease; there is great love, there is heartbreak; there is surety, there are unknowns.
As Dr. M. Scott Peck’s says in the beginning of his book, The Road Less Traveled, “life is difficult.”
And it is. It’s also glorious, and everything in-between.
Thus we are not called to read scripture with preconceived notions that foreclose the possibility of revelation. We are cautioned to do more than simply skim through it.
So how then do we work our way through today’s Gospel reading from Mark that opens it up for us beyond what may be our initial impressions?
We are presented with polarities—the scribes and well-to-do, who give to the temple what they believe is doable, “out of their abundance,” versus the widow, who gives everything she has “out of her poverty.”
Clearly the widow’s actions are held up as the righteous. And we applaud her for them. But what are we really applauding here?
If we’re very honest with ourselves, while we may applaud her, at the same time we don’t want to be her. A widow in a culture in which she is not seen or heard and dependent on institutions and others for her very survival.
And most, if not all of us, do not want to be in a position that in order to survive we must be reliant on the good intentions, laws, charity, or whims of others. We may not demand the best seat at the table but we want a seat. To be noticed. To be seen.
So perhaps this story is about something more than simply giving. Because the truth is most of us here will never be like the poor widow. We will never give all our money away, at least when we’re alive—it’s not only not smart, in many ways it’s not even good stewardship of what we have been given.
However, without disregarding the importance of what it means to give to God, especially now during our Stewardship Season, and it is important, perhaps this story is telling us something about how we see and what it means to see each other through God’s eyes, to practice a sacred perspective.
Most likely the scribes, the wealthy and even Jesus’ disciples didn’t notice the poor widow or what she gave. She was invisible to them.
But Jesus did notice her and in so doing showed us something about it means to see with a sacred perspective.
Jesus does not so much praise the widow or even hold her up as an example, but rather describes her, describes what she has done. And in doing so exposes her humanity, her humility, and true worth. Not for what she gave but for who she is. A beloved child of God, in an unjust and oppressive system, trying to do what she believed was right, even with her challenges.
The Rev. Dr. David Lose notes:
God sees her . . . and God cares about her . . . which leads me to conclude that God also sees our struggles, recognizes our challenges . . .
But even more, I think God is inviting us to look around and see each other . . . really see each other.
God cares and invites us to care, too . . . God believes . . . that we have something to contribute, that we can make a difference, that our words and actions can help bring more fully the fruition of the kingdom.[i]
How interesting then that in God’s time, Kairos time, this is the lesson we are given today. In fact, there probably could not be a more perfect lesson for where we find ourselves now.
What at times has seemed like a never-ending election season, with unforeseen twists and turns all along the way, has laid bare the fact that too many do not “see” others with a sacred perspective. And this lack of sight has laid bare wounds as well as created them.
And I know many of you here this morning feel those wounds deeply. You may feel confused, betrayed, angry, frightened, and despairing. Unsure where to turn for comfort, let alone hope.
You feel unseen.
All too often in such situations is there is a tendency to overlook people and their feelings, and jump straight to explanations and solutions. It’s certainly simpler.
But a lot of times it’s not helpful either because it can short circuit healing, understanding and true change that happens on the soul level.
Something we would be well served to remember and heed.
Now this is not the time for platitudes, which I think we have seen and heard a fair amount of since the election, much of which are well intended, but once again, not helpful—yes, there is much work to do. Yes, it’s darkest before the dawn. Yes, this too shall pass.
They’re right. They’re just not very helpful right now.
So what might be helpful today, at this point in time? Well, I don’t have any magic answers. I wish I did. But by and through God’s grace, we can trust and hope in this.
Just like the poor widow, God sees us, God cares about us and cares about our struggles and recognizes our challenges.
And not just that. God values and validates our humanity, our humility and true worth. Not for what we give, or do, but for who we are. Our essence.
We are all God’s beloveds.
And no one, absolutely no one can take that away. It is the foundation of a sacred perspective God invites us to have. Desires for us to have.
And one way to build upon this foundation is to be in community, which is why it is so important we are together today and in the days to come, both in person and online, in all the various ways this community, and other communities that help nurture our sacred perspective, come together.
To create safe spaces, havens, where people can be who they were created to be and nourished and strengthened for whatever is ahead. Which includes seeing and standing with the oppressed and marginalized: the LGBQI community, immigrants, poor people, those with disabilities, the unsheltered and homeless, and all those who are like the poor widow—unseen and powerless by worldly standards.
Together we are able to see God is ways we would never see on our own, as well as glean understanding on how God sees us, in ways we would never see on our own.
Which guides and allows us to see in clearer ways the path set before us. Our words and actions can, in the words of Dr. Lose, “contribute . . . to help bring about the fruition of God’s kingdom.”
And therein lays great hope.
There is work to be done. Wounds to be addressed. Injustice, unjust use of power, and intolerance to be named and dealt with.
But for now, for this moment in time, let’s find rest, refreshment and strength for the journey in the company of this blessed community knowing God sees us, values us, takes delight in who we are, and loves us, truly and deeply loves us more than we can ever imagine.
Perhaps this lesson from Mark’s Gospel simply is about giving after all. Only it’s about what God gives to us.
The Rev. Canon Allisyn Thomas
St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, San Diego
10 November 2024
[i] David Lose, “Surprisingly Good News,” . . . in the meantime (accessed 5 November 2024 at https://www.davidlose.net/2015/11/pentecost-24-b-surprisingly-good-news/ )
