The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost
November 10, 2024
Mark 12:38-44

The audio of this sermon is available here. The video of the worship service is available on the Trinity YouTube channel.

Then [Jesus] called his disciples and said to them, “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.” It’s a remarkable little story. It says that Jesus is sitting opposite the temple treasury, watching the people put their offerings in. Of course, the wealthiest people put in the biggest sums. Because they can give, handsomely, out of their largesse.

Of course, this is strange to us. When we pass the plate at church, a lot of us put our checks in a sealed envelope. For the sake of discretion. More of us, like me, mail our money directly to the church and no one even sees us put anything in the plate at all. So just the thought of other people watching what we give, makes us a little nervous. 

But what strikes me most, is that Jesus is people watching. You’ve done that at the airport, right? Or maybe a restaurant. Or maybe you’re doing right now, I don’t know. People watching. Jesus has watched the scribes strut around in their fancy clothes and say really long prayers. He’s watched rich people put in lots of money. And now Jesus has watched this woman put in all she has. Jesus is observant, he’s a people watcher. Because you can learn things from people.

As, this week, we have all been people watchers. As we have all learned things. On Tuesday evening and Wednesday, we watched. We watched people line up at the polls. We watched a victory speech and a concession. We watched the world react. And we learned about our country, who we are; and if we reflect on our own reactions, if we watch ourselves, we can learn about who we are as individuals. And then yesterday, we watched as the people of the Episcopal Church in West Missouri gathered to elect their next bishop. I watched as they did not elect me. And I know, then, that the Lord God is willing me to remain here. For the work we still have yet to do together. You can learn a whole lot by people watching. It’s like what my dad used to tell me when he was teaching me to swing a golf club, “watch and learn.”

And yet, we can go level deeper. Jesus is watching. He watches, and he learns about us. The things we say, what we do with our lives, and yes, what we do with our money – Jesus is watching. And that reveals something about us. Jesus knows. Jesus is learning. There is no sealed envelope. There is no secret discretion – before the Lord God Almighty – all is seen, and all is being revealed. “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid” (BCP, 355). Jesus is watching, and learning about us. And that is the spiritual question – since Jesus is watching your life, what has he learned about you?

There is no hiding anything from God, and I do not mean for that to sound scary. When I talk about “the fear of the Lord,” I don’t mean “being scared.” I mean, standing in awe of the One who is always watching. Always learning. What is Jesus learning about you?

And, I hate to break it to you, just as you like people watching, people like watching you. You know, when you’re in the airport watching all those people, wondering why they chose that to wear to get on airplane, wondering how that family is going to make it through their vacation together, they are also watching you. 

And yes, it is as true today as it has ever been – the people of this world will be watching the Church. They want to know what people of faith think and do. I believe that the world is desperate to know God, it’s just they don’t know where to start. And so they look at the Church. What do we say? Who do we choose to love? What do we do with our money? People are watching us, the Church – and what are people who don’t go to church learning about Jesus by watching people who do go to church? Because they’re learning something alright. Are we giving them a good lesson? Are they learning about love and mercy and compassion? Are they learning about generosity and kindness? Are they learning about people who choose to live together, even if they do not agree? Are they learning about the God of grace who stretched wide his arms upon the cross? Or are they learning things that are not of God? Have we, the Church, watched the world, and learned too much from it? They are watching, and they are learning. The real question that we all must face, is what are they seeing in us? And what are they learning from us?

This whole lesson, this story about Jesus and the treasury and the poor woman who puts in all she has – it is about money, but it’s not just about money. It’s about what we are doing with our whole selves. 

So, humbly, I ask that you put your whole self into your faith, into your relationship with the Lord God, and into your commitment to the church. As I, too, will continue to give my whole self to the Lord God, to my faith, and to this church. 

What you have to give may not be much, and I’m not talking about money. But what you do have, offer it freely to the Lord God. The widow put in two small copper coins. And that was worth more than all the big money. But mostly, she put her heart into it. Watch her, learn from her. Give everything you have got. Give everything you have got to your prayers; give everything you have to resisting evil; give everything you have to proclaiming this good news; give everything you have to seeing Jesus in all people; give everything you have to respecting the dignity of every single person (BCP, Baptismal Covenant). So that when people watch you, when they watch what you are saying, what you are doing, how you use your money; they will see Jesus. And they will learn something about this God.