widowslivesmatter. the power of hope

Based on two bible stories.  1 Kings 17:8-16; Gospel of Mark 12:38-44.

There is a power at work in these stories we hear today.   We can see the connection between the first reading and the gospel today.  The plight of widows.  It might be more difficult, with retirements and social security, to appreciate their plight.  In the developing world, conditions for women are still very challenging.  Women and children are more vulnerable and have less economic opportunity.  In recent times, microloans have provided women with opportunity to start cottage industries and small businesses out of which they might sustain their households; especially in the wake of the AIDS crisis and civil wars in Africa.  But widows with children are particularly vulnerable to the predatory behavior of men.  A widow’s life is harder. 

I don’t want to dismiss the challenges vulnerable people, like widows and children face in the US.  They do face them.  But they are more likely to have access to necessary resources here.  Widows need not die from starvation here.  Bu we know some widows who depend on compassionate family to care for them as they age.  Arlene’s son and daughter-in-law care for her and Carol Royer is caring for her mother. 

But in the ancient neat east?  Life was hard. Survival was a daily challenge.  The Jews had laws that instructed them to care for widows and orphans and foreigners.  The Book of Ruth is a parable about the Jewish community’s treatment of widows and foreigners.  Boaz acts righteously and obeys the law by providing access to food for Ruth and Naomi.  He goes further by establishing a relationship with the widowed Ruth that provides economic shelter from poverty, for her and Naomi.   It’s a beautiful story about the law of compassionate economics that lifts up the poor and vulnerable.   

In the first story, Elijah the prophet is running from King Ahab, because he has publicly denounced the throne as cursed by God.  God is withholding rain as judgment against Ahab’s unfaithful leadership.  Elijah is in a vulnerable situation, hunted by the King.  The clarity with which God speaks to Elijah is amazing, isn’t it?  Direct.  Provisional.  God is personally going to meet Elijah’s needs.

Go to Zarapheth.  I have already directed a widow to feed you there.  Thing is, she’s poor.  Desperate.  Facing her last meal.  There has been a famine in the land.  She has little hope to survive another day. She has a child.  Imagine the anguish, not being able to feed your own little boy.  And now a man comes commanding you to give water and bread.  And to give all that she has left to him first.  To a stranger who promises that the LORD will provide for her and her son until the drought ends.  Do you trust him with your life? She does.  And her faith is credited to her with sustained provisions, miraculous and effective.  God is concerned for the prophet; God is concerned for the widow. God provides for them. 

Mark 12 is a chapter in which Jesus has challenged the temple leadership, priests and scribes.  He has asserted that the Messiah’s authority exceeds that of King David’s.  Messiah is not only a descendent of David, but His Lord. Jesus elevates the status of Messiah above that of the King.  He will also rule the temple.  Jesus has denounced the economics of temple, the way that the poor are neglected and the wealthy honored.  The religious elite devour widows’ houses, he says.  Religious ritual practiced by a royal priesthood cannot replace compassionate justice for the poor.  Temple worship must be balanced by greater justice in the land.  And then he teaches by the example of a widow.

I’ve never thought of her actions in this way before but, I believe the widow’s act is an act of intentional public defiance.  Civil disobedience.  No one would have blamed her if she withheld her tithe to live. She goes up to the treasury with the wealthy men.  The contrast is visible and noticeable.   She drops in her two cents.  And walks away.   And her message is clear.  What they give is nothing in comparison to what she gives.  She gives 100% of her poverty, they give 10% of their wealth.  She is shaming the system and the men who benefit from it.  She is shaming the wealthy, who give for appearances and to ameliorate their own guilt.  She is giving as an act of courage, an act of power. She is not weak.  Her vulnerability becomes her strength.  I like to think she knew the story of the widow of Zarepheth. She dares to trust God and the law of Moses to protect her.  She dares to announce her dependence before the people of Israel in the temple.  She dares to say aloud, care about me, show compassion to me and women like me.  While you give to the temple treasury, women and children starve. 

We give out of abundance.  Maybe this text makes some of us uncomfortable. But that’s not the point.  Everyone can give.  Everyone ought to give.  Generosity is human. It starts with the parent/child relationship. We need to give, in order to see our dependence and descendent thrive.   

Giving is also a reflection of gratitude.  If one is thankful, one is giving.  It’s not the amount that matters, it’s the percent.  What percent of what you have is to you a gift you have received, for which you are thankful?  What percent of that is worth giving to others?  We give out of our abundance.  What would it be like to give out of gratitude?  What would it be like to give from faith, trusting that God provides?  What sort of giving might we do that is an act of justice, of civil disobedience, that raises the awareness of the plight of a particularly vulnerable people?  Is Peter’s Porch like that? Could it be? 

The power at work in these stories is the power of hope brought about by faith in God.  A God who rasies the dead and creates a new future of provision and peace.  May we experience the generous provision of God and be compassion toward those who are most vulnerable among us.  May we see in them the power of hope to give as an act of justice and faith. Amen.