November 8 - Pentecost + 23

God Gives Abundantly
Mark 12:38-44
Pentecost + 23 – November 8, 2009

Just the other week, I went into our little utility room where we have that big chest freezer we got so we could take advantage of that Costco membership we have, so we could stock up when there are good deals on stuff – and I went in there & opened the freezer to put something in – and I had to move a bunch of stuff around so I could fit whatever it was in. & I came out in my kitchen & looked in that freezer on the top of the fridge – and it was full too. So I told Andy, “we can't buy anything else that needs to go in the freezer until we eat some of what's already there...” We're out of room; we have too much food.

And you know, it's not just our freezers. Our refrigerator has plenty of stuff in it – sometime so much stuff that we move stuff around & find things we forgot we had – those containers in the back that you're not sure what you had in them to begin with, the containers we're afraid to open because we know we'll regret it & so maybe we just decide to toss the whole thing, container & all.

And it doesn't end there. We have a pantry filled with Tupperware with rice & pasta & dried beans & flour & canned veggies, and what we call “snacky snacks” - Goldfish & granola bars & potato chips. And it's not uncommon for me to have to move stuff around in there, push aside the 1st row so I can get to the food in the back.

Our kitchen is filled to overflowing with about any kind of food we could ever want. And can I tell you how many times Andy & I, in our busy-ness, or laziness, or boredom, look at each other & say, “there's nothing to eat – let's order out!”

Compare that to the stories of the widows in the OT and the NT today: the widow from Zarephath who runs into the prophet Elijah, the widow who God has commanded to feed Elijah, although she didn't seem to have gotten that memo – she runs into him out at the edge of town as she is picking up sticks, getting ready to make a little fire & mix together the last of her flour with the last of oil to eat with her son & then sit down & die. Because that's it. She's at the end of her rope, scraping the bottom of the barrel – Old Mother Hubbard went to her cupboard, but the cupboard was bare – and there's no more; and apparently no one else she can ask for help – there's a drought going on in the land, after all, & everybody's gotta fend for themselves – nothing to spare you understand. She's in dire straits.

So's the widow in Mark's gospel- coming to worship at the temple with her 2 small coins – worth less than a penny – and she tosses it all in the plate. And so often we have heard this story, and we have seen this woman held up as an example, as a model of faith, a tower of trust, a generous giver that we we should as aspire to be like. Jesus points her out as having given more than all the others. But I think more than holding up as an example to follow, Jesus is lamenting the reality of his world, where a destitute woman puts in all she has to live on, when all around her are people who could make a difference, who had more than enough to help – taken advantage of by a system that was supposed to be taking care of her.

These stories still ring true to us today. We don't have to look far to see these stories playing out in the world around us. We've had plenty of rain, but the economy around us has certainly seemed to dry up. Technically, they tell us, the recession is over. What a relief! Except the unemployment numbers are up over 10%, the highest they've been since 1983. So, a lot of us may be feeling like the widows in this story, down to the last of whatever we have left, wanting to hold on to it. And we hear the stories about people who are hungry, having to decide between rent or food, knowing that their food is coming to the end and no way to know how they'll put more on the table – no promise from God that the supply will magically be refilled. We may wonder what more we have to give, when it feels like we have put everything into that offering plate.

We have that same sense of anxiety, of uncertainty that the widows felt. But my guess is that most of us are not where they were. In reality, most of us here this morning are probably like Andy & I, surrounded by abundance, our refrigerators filled with food that goes bad before we have a chance to eat it, our closets stuffed with clothes we don't wear anymore, our houses filled up with things we don't have room for but don't know how to get rid of, and yet so focused on what we don't have that we can't see the amazing abundance God has placed in our hands.

It's really a matter of perspective. As someone not too far out of grad school, with student loans and a car loan, and all of our other bills & expenses, there are days when I feel like the money I am putting into the offering plate are my last 2 pennies – yet, when I stop to think about it, I realize that there's not much I want that I don't have; and certainly nothing that I need that I don't have. And I am reminded of Martin's Luther's explanation to the first article of the Apostles' Creed. I don't usually stand up here & quote Martin Luther at you, but it fits. It's so true... If it's been awhile since confirmation class, here it is: I believe in God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven & earth...

And this is what Luther said we really mean when we say that 1st line every week:

“I believe that God has created me, together with all that exists. God has given me & still preserves my body & soul: eyes, ears, and all limbs & senses; reason & all mental faculties. In addition, God daily & abundantly provides shoes & clothing, food & drink, house & farm, spouse & children, fields, livestock, & all property – along with all the necessities and nourishment for this body & life. God protects me from all danger, and shields & preserves me from all evil. And all this is done out of pure fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness of mine at all! For all of this, I owe it to God to thank and praise, serve & obey him. This is most certainly true.”

This is most certainly true. God does daily & abundantly provide everything that we need for this life, and those of us who have more than we need are rich, rich enough to share. Rich enough to look on with Jesus as he calls his disciples to see the need of the widows around us, the people who are hungry or in need, and rich enough to respond to his call to give out of our abundance, to be a blessing as we ourselves have been blessed. May God inspire us with eyes to see, and hearts willing to share. Amen.