Sermon for November 14, 2021 - My Two Mites

GOSPEL: Mark 12:38-44

The holy gospel according to Mark.

Glory to you, O Lord.

38As [Jesus] taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! 40They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
  41He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43Then he 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. 44For 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.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

Which one are you? 

Where do you find yourself in today’s story?

Granted, our religious and political systems

are much different than 2000 years ago,

and some of this story doesn’t simply translate

into life in 2021,

But who are you in this story?

Do you identify with the scribes?



I know I do. 

long robes, long prayers. 

I like having place of honour at wedding banquets, 

I am often given the best seat in the church,

though not many actually want to sit there. 

Devouring widow’s houses - Jesus accuses the scribes.

That is quite an accusation,

there are different thoughts on what Jesus meant,

but, most likely,  

the scribes who were in charge of the treasury 

would skim off the top,

Part of the offering given to the treasury 

would help care for widows,

It seems the scribes would benefit,

and houses of widows would be devoured. 

It might be similar to foreclosure today.

Devouring Widow’s houses still happens today 

and we participate in it, 

when we buy clothing that is sewn 

in unethical clothing production. 

We do it when we buy coffee that is not fair trade, 

or buying water from mega-corporations 

that exploit vital water sources. 

We do it when we shop at stores that do not 

pay equitable wages to their employees, 

further perpetuating poverty. 

A difficult truth, 

particularly for people in the west: 

Our consumption and desire for goods 

comes at the expense of the poorest in the world.

Do you identify with the scribes? I do.



Do you identify with the many rich people 

putting large sums of money in the treasury?

We are the wealthiest people in the world. 

Generally speaking, if you own an automobile, 

and have access to clean water,

you are the wealthy in this world. 

If you think about financial charitable giving - 

to the church or another charity,

We often we give money (or time)

out of our abundance. 

Often we will give to a charity 

so long as we get an income tax receipt. 

Having said this, 

you are the church!

You are the baptized, 

you are filled with the Holy Spirit,

Who enables us to give in gratitude. 

we do want to be faithful

We do have good motives, sometimes, 

but we also ought to acknowledge 

our mixed motives when it comes to 

charitable contributions. 

Through this pandemic, 

we have all heard about great needs in the world,

in the church, in society,

Yet amidst all that need,

I have not sacrificed my luxuries 

to give to those in need.

Do you identify with the rich people? I do.



Do you identify with the poor widow?

She gave all she had - 

two small coins,

a seemingly insignificant gift,

yet this offering is a sign 

that she is completely reliant 

on the religious system,

or better,

completely reliant upon God.

She had two coins.

She could have given one,

and kept the other. 

instead she gave all she had.

Do you feel like you want to give, 

that you want to make a difference, 

but all you have in your pocket 

are two copper coins? 

Do you ever feel like it is a struggle to make ends meet? 

There are systems in place 

to help us when we’re down and out, 

like the food bank 

or employment insurance 

or child subsidies, 

but what would it mean to actually use them? 

As much as we westerners tend to be 

individualistic and independent,

Part of us just want to be taken care of.

When we’re down, 

we want someone to help.

When someone in our community is down, 

we want to help them.

Do you identify with the poor widow? I do.



Do you identify with Jesus? 

Do you see hypocrisy - 

in the church, in the world,

and your heart breaks for the devoured?

Do you see brokenness in humanity and in systems,

and long for the Refiner’s fire 

to burn away exploitive impurities?

Do you identify with Jesus? I do.

Do you identify with the disciples? 

Do you ever think you know what Jesus is calling us to do 

and who Jesus is calling us to be, 

only to have your mind blown?

Ever struggle to make sense of these radical teachings? 

Do you want to follow Jesus, 

to be part of this Jesus movement. 

to want to know what God is up to in the world?

Do you identify with the disciples? I do.

This teaching scene happens shortly after 

Jesus was asked about paying taxes. 

“Is it lawful to pay taxes” 

they Give Jesus a coin - who is on it? Caesar. 

But they’re in the temple - the place where the faithful 

acknowledge that everything belongs to God. 

Give to Caesar what is Caesar, 

and give to God what is God’s - Jesus says

We believe Our God is Creator and Sustainer. 

we believe All belongs to God - 

the universe, the galaxy, 

the earth and all that is in it. 

The shoes on our feet and the car in our driveway - 

all belong to God. 

Jesus praises the Widow - giving all that she has 

showing that she completely reliant upon God

This is also a sign that she is participating in caring for 

the poor, the widow, the orphan - 

those in need.

that’s the religion that God wants.

Jesus does not denounce the wealthy. 

their contributions matter.

Their contributions care for the poor, 

the widow, and the orphan,

Yet the widow’s gift is greater.

Jesus does not denounce the disciples,

but rather invites them to learn from them all

Like the rich young ruler, the blind beggar, and the poor widow,

we are invited to trust Jesus with all that we have

and all that we are.

The call is to live generously. 

To live and give with gratitude 

for God’s gifts in our lives.

To live and give mindful that we are always completely 

reliant upon our God for our life and our salvation.

To live and give mindful that 

all that we have and all that we are belongs to God.

We should identify with the wealthy

We are the wealthiest in the world - 

we can make a real difference 

for our neighbours in need.

We should identify with the scribes.

Jesus seems to be hardest on the religious leaders - 

often Jesus does it often in front of the disciples 

I believe because Jesus wants them to learn 

what it means to be leaders in the church. 

It is a privilege to be held to a higher standard 

as followers of Jesus - 

Just as Jesus called out the scribes,

we too ought to recognize our own hypocrisy, 

we ought to study God’s Word, 

perhaps most of all, 

in gratitude for being the people of God, 

we ought to take on the task of pure religion:

of caring for the poor, 

the widow and the orphan, 

even if that looks a little different today 

than it did in antiquity.

We should identify with the poor widow

Acknowledge we are completely reliant upon our God. 

We thrive when we rely on each other. 

When we do give,

we give not out of our abundance,

but we give of our first fruits;

giving generously, 

living generously - 

living in a way that recognizes that 

all of us rely completely on God .

Living and giving generously, 

trusting that God will use 

every copper coin we can give.

We give thee but Thine own - 

we give what God has first given us.

Ultimately, like the widow,

you all have only two mites to give:

your body and your soul.

Let us pray… O God, give us generous hearts. Give us the courage to recognize our own hypocrisy and sin and to turn and follow you. Open our eyes to the things we do, small and large, that devour widow’s houses, help us to see when we are participating in furthering poverty and give us a vision and urgency for an equitable neighbourhood. O God, give us generous hearts. lead us to live and give generously, give us faith and courage, like the widow, to give my whole self, to give to you my only two mites of body and soul in trust that you will provide. Most of all, give us grace to follow Jesus, the One who, like that poor widow,  indeed gave all that he had so that we all might live, in and through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen