May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
SEASON: Last Pentecost - CHRIST THE KING
PROPER: B
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: November 26,2000
TEXT: John 18:33-37 - Jesus before Pilate
Pilate asked him, “So your are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
ISSUE: Who reigns in and over our lives is the issue of this passage. Pilate represents the powers of the world. Jesus represents the loving power of God over the creation, and Jesus reveals the truth about God. Pilate cannot understand Jesus and the truth that he offers and orders the crucifixion. But while Kingdoms of this world rise and fall, Christ is risen and Christ comes again at Christmas. The challenge and the welcome to allow God and His Christ to rule over our lives continues.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This is the last Sunday of Pentecost, now commonly known as Christ the King Sunday. We have come to the end of the church’s year. The new year begins in the church next Sunday with the First Sunday of Advent. Once again for this season, the Hebrew Scripture and the Christian Scripture readings are apocalyptic writings from Daniel and Revelation. Each written at times of great tribulation for God’s people, when great foreign powers ruled and viciously attacked the people of God. But each of these readings proclaim the power of God to over rule those foreign powers, and God’ people are given hope.
In a fascinating vignette the Gospel reading from John portrays Jesus before Pontius Pilate. For all intents and purposes this is the end of Jesus’ life. It is his apocalyptic moment standing before the great power of the world. Pilate the Roman governor of Israel stands with Jesus. It is a fascinating picture. Pilate represents the world’s great power, the Roman Empire. Jesus has no power at all as the world understands power. He is little more than an itinerant preacher, a magician-healer, sage, a rebel prophet. His enemies bring him before Pilate with a charge that he claims to be King of the Jews, or of Israel. He is brought before Pilate, since the Judean authorities have no power to execute him. Pilate begins a dialog with Jesus. He wants to know if there is any validity to the charge that Jesus claims to be a king, “Are you the King of the Jews?” It is curious that Pilate and Jesus enter into this dialog, which was hardly required on the part of Pilate. He is by far the greater authority here. Jesus verbally spars with him, which insinuates that in some sense they are equals. In the sparring Pilate assumes Jesus is some sort of king, but why would ones own people turn him over to Roman Authority. Then Jesus makes the startling claim, “My kingdom is not of this world.” It is not a kingdom of Israel. Rather it is the Kingdom of God, the realm of God, the dominion of God. Jesus has come to bear witness to the truth.
Much like Jesus’ own disciples, Pilate cannot understand. He doesn’t get it. He cannot understand that Jesus comes to reveal, proclaim the Kingdom, Dominion, Realm of God. He has come to bear witness to the truth about God and about God’s Kingdom. Unable to understand, Pilate says, “And what is truth?” He then does the only thing he knows how to do, he orders the execution, the crucifixion of Jesus. The end of Jesus’ ministry has come. This scene is an apocalyptic one. The end has come. The disciples are depressed and dispersed. The flee and hide. The sky turns black, the earth is shaken by a quake. Doomsday has come. But then what happens. A new day comes, a new age is born, and Christ appears risen. The truth about the power of God over the powers of the world, of Pilate’s world is revealed. The truth is that God rules over the powers of the world in spite of what people think.
Now, I know that we might be wondering why we are talking about the Crucifixion of Jesus when we are about to enter into the Advent-Christmas season. It is because we have come to the end of the year, and as Christ came to the end of his life and was raised. We also come to the end of this year and enter into a transition of Christ, The King, being born again into the anxieties, difficulties, troubles, uncertainties, foolishness, and sinfulness of our lives.
Notice in all of this the challenges to our human and worldly way of thinking. The Kingdom, Domain, Realm, Empire of God is quite the opposite. It is the great turn around, the great reversal, which is “the truth” that Jesus comes to reveal. Jesus and Pilate stand before one another. Pilate and the corrupted Judeans appear to hold the reigns of power. However, they only hold the reigns of power that lead to death. Jesus proclaims and participates in the power of God, that leads to resurrection, new life, beginning again, with the assure that Christ will come again to the people of God with reconciliation, redemption, and hope. That’s what our Advent transition is all about, the coming of Christ again to the sinfulness and brokeness, to the world’s culture of death. The world’s culture of death is its drugs and drug dealers, its atomic weapons, its biological weapons, its corruption, its poverty and crime in the streets, its racism and sexism.
“What is the truth?” Pilate asks. What is truth in the Realm Of God over which Jesus proclaims and rules? The truth is that God loves the poor and hates the greedy. The truth is that God loves those who are suffering and hate those who laugh at and are apathetic about human suffering and need. God loves and honors those who are hungry and hates those who stuff themselves and watch out only for themselves. God honors and loves those who are persecuted for the sake of demanding justice.
The truth in God’s kingdom is that the last, least, the lost, the lonely, are invited into the banquet of God. Anybody even sinners can welcome their own family and friends, who pay you back and give you gifts in return.
In the Kingdom of God the truth is that you hate your own worldly mother and father, sister and brother, and see all of God’s people, gay, Asian, Black, Hispanics, Caucasian as your family and the people with whom you are to be intimate.
The truth in the Kingdom of God is that people turn the other cheek, and walk the extra mile, and give their clothing away.
In the realm and Kingdom of God, the truth of the matter is that people don’t walk out on one another: their wives, husbands and children for greener pastures elsewhere.
In Jesus’ kingdom, God is like some poor old widow lady who demands justice from the corrupt rulers and judges of this world.
In the Kingdom of God, the bratty selfish kid who wants things his way and ends up nearly dead is welcomed back and forgiven. What’s more good and faithful are challenged to lighten up and come and join the festivit5ies of God.
In the Empire of God, God is like a no good foreigner that reaches out to the very religious people who hate him, and extends an abundance of grace, far more than they can or could ever deserve.
Those who bear the burden of the day in God’s kingdom, working in his garden and picking his grapes receive the same benevolent and generous salary and benefits of those who come at the end of the day.
In the Kingdom of God, and the truth about that Kingdom or Domain, or Realm is that the Widows, the children, the least get a place of honor and status. The least are allowed to sit on the lap of the Son of God and to join with him.
In the Realm of God, the truth is that all who come to Christ as their Lord and Master, their King of Kings, and invited to participate in the fellowship, in the companionship, the eating together with God. And so it goes, in dying and serving, taking up the cross we take on meaningful, purposeful lives in the Kingdom of God.
We live in a world that knows little else but being anxious about what we are going to eat, drink, and wear. Yet the truth of the Kingdom of Christ is that God will provide the ‘stuff’ we need, and we do not worry or become anxious. It does nothing, and adds not one cubit to our stature. But we seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness. That’s the stuff of which we are meant to be made.
Jesus and Pilate stand before one another. Pilate represents the culture and human condition of force, manipulation, domination, and power as the world understands it. In sharp, keen, contrast Jesus represents the power of God, the truth about God. God is love. God is forgiving. God reaches out in affection. God is patient and kind. It is a power that touches the human condition with love and enables free response and the freedom to change. It is the love that raises up that which has fallen. It is the power and love that comes not in prestigious pomp and circumstances, but that comes in the form of a suffering servant and in the form of an infant child that touches human hearts and changes them. Standing before Pilate and in the manger, all who hear his voice and cry know the real truth about God that stands as hope for the powers of the world.
Sunday, November 26, 2000
Sunday, November 19, 2000
Pentecost 23
May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
SEASON: Pentecost 23
PROPER: 28B
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: November 19, 2000
TEXT: Mark 13:14-23 The Little Apocalypse
“But be alert; I have already told you everything.”
See also: Daniel 12:1-13
ISSUE: - Apocalyptic scripture speaks of terrible times, and is a sign of the end of an age. The challenge of the church is to stand firm for Jesus Christ. Every age seems to know its difficult times. Christians are called upon to stand firm in our faith and not be distracted. We believe that God is with us in Christ, and will see us through those difficulties. The age to come for the Christian is the prevailing Kingdom and Realm of a victorious God to whom we have been led through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We are coming now to the ‘end’ of the church’s year. This is the 23 Sunday of Pentecost, with next Sunday being the last of the Pentecost season. It is transition period of moving from the life story and teachings of Jesus in the Gospel to the transitional period of John the Baptist calling for repentance, and followed by the birth of Jesus as the herald and of a new age.
The readings today, and up coming lectionary readings are defined as “Apocalyptic” readings. They are readings that deal with the end of the age. There is in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures a number of sections that are apocalyptic in their structure. One of the earliest apocalyptic writings is the story of Noah and The Ark. The story tells of a time when there is great hatred and injustice, wickedness. It is a time of great unfaithfulness toward God. Noah, the one righteous man of the time, follows the instruction of God, preparing for the devastation that is to come in the great flood. It is a time of great transition. Evil is washed away, and a new order begins.
The Book of Daniel tells of extraordinarily difficult times for Israel, conquered by evil destructive enemies. The Book is thought to have been written during the reign of a pagan ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV had desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem by slaughtering pigs on the altar, turning the Temple into a brothel, and erecting an image of himself. For people living in this age, they saw it as an abomination, the end of the age, and with anticipation and hope that God would bring about a new age.
The most popular apocalyptic literature is the Book of Revelation. It tells of a period of great tribulation and turmoil for the early church during the persecutions. The Roman Emperor and Empire is seen as the great beast, that was about to devour the child to born of the virgin. The dragon is the beast of the Empire consuming all that is good and holy. All of this is written in symbolic language that the people of the time understood quite well. But Revelation is also a message of great hope that a new Jerusalem will come and Christ will be the ultimate victor.
Mark’s gospel refers to the “desolating sacrilege’ being set up. He warns the people of the time, a very difficult time is coming, the end of the age. God’s people will be going through a great period of transition. Apocalyptic literature is usually written in periods of transition. Now recall that last Sunday was the story of the Widow giving her last penny. Jesus saw this scene as one of great injustice. The Temple leadership in league with the Romans had become terribly corrupt. Jesus leaves the Temple telling his disciples that every ‘beautiful’ stone will be torn down. There was an indication that the Emperor Caligula planned to place a statue of himself in the Temple, declaring himself to be a god. Thus, Mark says in this gospel, ‘“When you see the desolating sacrilege set up” (you know what I’m talking about) then you can expect all hell to break loose. It will be the end of the age. Flea to the mountains, and God forbid that it is winter or that a woman is pregnant.’ By the time Mark is writing this gospel, the Temple was being destroyed by the Romans. It was leveled and never rebuilt. They raised flags with the image of the Emperor over the ruins. But consider what that meant. The Temple was Israel religious center. It was the seat of its government. To lose that was to lose everything. Then end is and had come. If the destruction had not stopped when it did no one would have survived by the grace of God. There were false messiahs, false messengers who led people to believe that they could fight back, but that was impossible against such a formidable Roman force. The final message is that Christians keep the faith. Stay faithful and God will prevail, and a new age of hope will come. The faithful shall be saved and come through the ordeal.
Even in our own time we have experienced apocalyptic events. There have been in recent years for many of us periods of great cultural anxiety. Those who lived through World War II sure new the anxiety of that age. The great vulture, the horrible dragon was laying waste in Europe. Adolph Hitler. Democracy was being gobbled up. Genocide was rampant as six million Jews were murdered. The war ended with an atomic explosion when the sky turned black in Hiroshima. It was truly an apocalyptic age. The world then looked forward to a new age of the rebirth of democracy and of peace.
The next generation brought about a new apocalyptic ear. The Cold War, that was most vividly expressed and not really so cold came the shape of the Vietnam War. The age of cultural anxiety continued as that period was fought out on the battle field and in the streets and colleges of this country. Remember one of the popular movies, Apocalypse Now! We lived on the brink of disaster in the so called cold war through the Cuban missile crisis.
Even today we live in a period of great cultural anxiety in so many ways. Terrorism is a significant and an insidious beast. Milosevich, Sadam Hussane and Asamabad bin Ladin (spellings?)are the beasts of our age. They are the names and the images of the beasts of our age. The weaponry of nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorist, laser weapons, biological weapons of destruction are an awful frightening reality in our time.
Since the recent unresolved election cultural anxiety is heightened in this threatened age. A peaceful government and election by the people, and the peaceful transition of power are up for grabs. It is scary. We are uncertain about the future leadership, and how a country will be governed in the midst of such political division, not to mention that it appears that the real governing forces are not individuals by large controlling corporations and lobbyists. The struggle between good and evil continues. Drugs, racisim large corporations, horrendous weaponry, sexism are all the beasts and the dragons of our time gnawing away and consuming what we cherish and create dissension and grief.
Notice the symbols and icons that have developed in our own culture in our ages of anxiety. We had Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Spiderman, the Ningent Turtles. In all of these is the subtle recognition that humanity needs something stronger, something beyond itself, and stronger than itself, something more powerful and at one with justice, with righteousness, and hope. We loved characters like Roy Rogers and John Wayne, western heroes. We try to look to fellows like Gus Griffin and Christa McCalluf, astronauts, that gave us some hope that we could reach for the stars. But quite often even our cultural idols or icons disappoint us, some like Magic Johnson, Pete Rose, Jim Jones and Jimmy Swaggart turn out to be nothing but false messiahs.
Where do we turn? We have to turn to God. We have to be faithful, loyal and committed, in a world that is ailing. We need a new rainbow. We need a new Jerusalem. We need God, and the Realm, Domain, or Kingdom of God. We need the Christ who can and does lead the way. We need the resurrection that lifts us up in hope. What is that we have seen in Jesus Christ. We have seen the one who came and entered into the human condition. We saw Jesus who in humble birth embraced the expendable peasantry, the poor, the lame, the blind, and the imprisoned victims, and who stood firm in his accusations against the corrupt powers of this time. In Christ we see the stories and parables that call for the great reversals, the great turn a rounds required. Those who are of faith, loyalty, trust, and commitment are invited to step into the Kingdom of God. Stay awake, be alert, the Kingdom of God has come in Christ, and continues to come.
We do not escape the fact that every age has its apocalyptic events. The struggle between good and evil goes on. But for those of faith, the victory, the hope, we embrace and hold fast to the Christ. Christ’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of God is realized and continues to come into being. God will have it no other way until the full victory is accomplished.
SEASON: Pentecost 23
PROPER: 28B
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: November 19, 2000
TEXT: Mark 13:14-23 The Little Apocalypse
“But be alert; I have already told you everything.”
See also: Daniel 12:1-13
ISSUE: - Apocalyptic scripture speaks of terrible times, and is a sign of the end of an age. The challenge of the church is to stand firm for Jesus Christ. Every age seems to know its difficult times. Christians are called upon to stand firm in our faith and not be distracted. We believe that God is with us in Christ, and will see us through those difficulties. The age to come for the Christian is the prevailing Kingdom and Realm of a victorious God to whom we have been led through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We are coming now to the ‘end’ of the church’s year. This is the 23 Sunday of Pentecost, with next Sunday being the last of the Pentecost season. It is transition period of moving from the life story and teachings of Jesus in the Gospel to the transitional period of John the Baptist calling for repentance, and followed by the birth of Jesus as the herald and of a new age.
The readings today, and up coming lectionary readings are defined as “Apocalyptic” readings. They are readings that deal with the end of the age. There is in both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures a number of sections that are apocalyptic in their structure. One of the earliest apocalyptic writings is the story of Noah and The Ark. The story tells of a time when there is great hatred and injustice, wickedness. It is a time of great unfaithfulness toward God. Noah, the one righteous man of the time, follows the instruction of God, preparing for the devastation that is to come in the great flood. It is a time of great transition. Evil is washed away, and a new order begins.
The Book of Daniel tells of extraordinarily difficult times for Israel, conquered by evil destructive enemies. The Book is thought to have been written during the reign of a pagan ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV had desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem by slaughtering pigs on the altar, turning the Temple into a brothel, and erecting an image of himself. For people living in this age, they saw it as an abomination, the end of the age, and with anticipation and hope that God would bring about a new age.
The most popular apocalyptic literature is the Book of Revelation. It tells of a period of great tribulation and turmoil for the early church during the persecutions. The Roman Emperor and Empire is seen as the great beast, that was about to devour the child to born of the virgin. The dragon is the beast of the Empire consuming all that is good and holy. All of this is written in symbolic language that the people of the time understood quite well. But Revelation is also a message of great hope that a new Jerusalem will come and Christ will be the ultimate victor.
Mark’s gospel refers to the “desolating sacrilege’ being set up. He warns the people of the time, a very difficult time is coming, the end of the age. God’s people will be going through a great period of transition. Apocalyptic literature is usually written in periods of transition. Now recall that last Sunday was the story of the Widow giving her last penny. Jesus saw this scene as one of great injustice. The Temple leadership in league with the Romans had become terribly corrupt. Jesus leaves the Temple telling his disciples that every ‘beautiful’ stone will be torn down. There was an indication that the Emperor Caligula planned to place a statue of himself in the Temple, declaring himself to be a god. Thus, Mark says in this gospel, ‘“When you see the desolating sacrilege set up” (you know what I’m talking about) then you can expect all hell to break loose. It will be the end of the age. Flea to the mountains, and God forbid that it is winter or that a woman is pregnant.’ By the time Mark is writing this gospel, the Temple was being destroyed by the Romans. It was leveled and never rebuilt. They raised flags with the image of the Emperor over the ruins. But consider what that meant. The Temple was Israel religious center. It was the seat of its government. To lose that was to lose everything. Then end is and had come. If the destruction had not stopped when it did no one would have survived by the grace of God. There were false messiahs, false messengers who led people to believe that they could fight back, but that was impossible against such a formidable Roman force. The final message is that Christians keep the faith. Stay faithful and God will prevail, and a new age of hope will come. The faithful shall be saved and come through the ordeal.
Even in our own time we have experienced apocalyptic events. There have been in recent years for many of us periods of great cultural anxiety. Those who lived through World War II sure new the anxiety of that age. The great vulture, the horrible dragon was laying waste in Europe. Adolph Hitler. Democracy was being gobbled up. Genocide was rampant as six million Jews were murdered. The war ended with an atomic explosion when the sky turned black in Hiroshima. It was truly an apocalyptic age. The world then looked forward to a new age of the rebirth of democracy and of peace.
The next generation brought about a new apocalyptic ear. The Cold War, that was most vividly expressed and not really so cold came the shape of the Vietnam War. The age of cultural anxiety continued as that period was fought out on the battle field and in the streets and colleges of this country. Remember one of the popular movies, Apocalypse Now! We lived on the brink of disaster in the so called cold war through the Cuban missile crisis.
Even today we live in a period of great cultural anxiety in so many ways. Terrorism is a significant and an insidious beast. Milosevich, Sadam Hussane and Asamabad bin Ladin (spellings?)are the beasts of our age. They are the names and the images of the beasts of our age. The weaponry of nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorist, laser weapons, biological weapons of destruction are an awful frightening reality in our time.
Since the recent unresolved election cultural anxiety is heightened in this threatened age. A peaceful government and election by the people, and the peaceful transition of power are up for grabs. It is scary. We are uncertain about the future leadership, and how a country will be governed in the midst of such political division, not to mention that it appears that the real governing forces are not individuals by large controlling corporations and lobbyists. The struggle between good and evil continues. Drugs, racisim large corporations, horrendous weaponry, sexism are all the beasts and the dragons of our time gnawing away and consuming what we cherish and create dissension and grief.
Notice the symbols and icons that have developed in our own culture in our ages of anxiety. We had Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Spiderman, the Ningent Turtles. In all of these is the subtle recognition that humanity needs something stronger, something beyond itself, and stronger than itself, something more powerful and at one with justice, with righteousness, and hope. We loved characters like Roy Rogers and John Wayne, western heroes. We try to look to fellows like Gus Griffin and Christa McCalluf, astronauts, that gave us some hope that we could reach for the stars. But quite often even our cultural idols or icons disappoint us, some like Magic Johnson, Pete Rose, Jim Jones and Jimmy Swaggart turn out to be nothing but false messiahs.
Where do we turn? We have to turn to God. We have to be faithful, loyal and committed, in a world that is ailing. We need a new rainbow. We need a new Jerusalem. We need God, and the Realm, Domain, or Kingdom of God. We need the Christ who can and does lead the way. We need the resurrection that lifts us up in hope. What is that we have seen in Jesus Christ. We have seen the one who came and entered into the human condition. We saw Jesus who in humble birth embraced the expendable peasantry, the poor, the lame, the blind, and the imprisoned victims, and who stood firm in his accusations against the corrupt powers of this time. In Christ we see the stories and parables that call for the great reversals, the great turn a rounds required. Those who are of faith, loyalty, trust, and commitment are invited to step into the Kingdom of God. Stay awake, be alert, the Kingdom of God has come in Christ, and continues to come.
We do not escape the fact that every age has its apocalyptic events. The struggle between good and evil goes on. But for those of faith, the victory, the hope, we embrace and hold fast to the Christ. Christ’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of God is realized and continues to come into being. God will have it no other way until the full victory is accomplished.
Sunday, November 12, 2000
Pentecost 22
May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
SEASON: Pentecost 22
PROPER: B
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: November 12, 2000
TEXT: Mark 12:38-44 (13:1-2_ - Jesus’ Lament Over the Widow Victimized by the Temple System
“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.”
ISSUE: - In this passage from Mark, Jesus laments the victimization of the poor. It is believed to be Jesus’ last visit to the Temple. The widows of the period were often victimized like so many of the poor. The passage stands as a challenge to how the church functions in the world today, and how we develop a sense of stewardship, compassion, and meaningful, faithful giving of our lives.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I must begin this morning by saying that I stand here somewhat uncomfortable in my long robes after reading that Gospel. We clergy are also often greeted after services with respect and the title of “Father.” So having both read and heard this passage from Mark, I assure you it is with humbling concern.
It is a very challenging passage as it refers to the widow who stands as a stark contrast to the rich scribes and Pharisees that dump large sums of money into the Temple coffers as compared to the poor widow who puts drops in two copper coins worth about a penny. The implication is that those who can well afford to put in large sums could probably have done even better, while the poor widow has given everything that she has. There are those with millions who giving even a tithe of all they have are not giving really as much as a poor person with only a few dollars giving a tithe is a far greater sacrifice.
This passage seems to be an appropriate one for this season, in which many churches are in the midst of their stewardship campaigns. It almost appears that it is a deliberate story placed at this point in the lectionary. Needless to say it seems an important point that the poor widow in the story gives every appearance of being most generous and extraordinarily trusting that God will provide for her well being in response to her generosity. She is not only a contrast to the scribes and Pharisees, but all to the rich young man who came to Jesus in the story a few weeks ago. He was told to sell everything and give it to the poor and follow Jesus, but recall how he went away very sad for he was very rich. Here again the poor widow who has so little gives everything. We may well commend her generosity as an example to a very rich and affluent country that we are. Even the poor in this country, I am told, are far better off than the poor in other countries. It has recently been pointed out that the real questions for Americans today is not “Who wants to be a millionaire?” like the popular TV Show asks, but rather “Who is Already a Millionaire,” because there are many in this country, (if not a few in this parish!)
This passage, however, has another twist to it. Modern Biblical Scholars are saying we need to pay more attention to what this story is really all about. The point of the story (and my reason for adding the additional verses to it) is that it is not about the widow so much as about the corrupt scribes and Pharisees. I tell you once again, I stand here in my long robes, a little nervous about the real meaning of this story.
Jesus has come to the Temple with his disciples. He observes how the scribes and Pharisees, who are community leaders are behaving. They enjoy their long rich robes. They like being greeted in the marketplaces. Since they were of higher honor, persons of lesser honor were required to greet them. They sought out the best seats at the banquets that they attended and got the best seats in the Temple where they faced those of lesser honor, and had back rests because of their esteemed position. Jesus goes on to challenge and insult them for their long prayers, when they were in fact cheating and devouring the homes of widows.
Widows, (a word in Hebrew which means silent ones) in a man’s world were extraordinarily vulnerable. Without a husband and son, they had no one to speak up for them. A widow in such a position was totally dependent upon the lawyers, scribes and Pharisees, to settle their estates and manage their affairs. The widows were often cheated and eventually lost their homes; hence, they and their homes were devoured. Jesus sat with his disciples watching the rich, which means greedy, dumping their sums of money, much of which had been extorted from the poor, into the Temple coffers. Then along comes one of the widows and contributes all she has. While we have often thought that this was a great noble act on the part of the widow, and it may well have been, Jesus is outraged. She is being victimized. How can a person who dumps in everything live? What has she to live on? She’s been duped by a corrupt system. The Temple was both the political and religious center governed by the educated scribes and Pharisees, who were themselves manipulated by Roman authority. It was so very corrupt that the coins of the widows and the properties stolen from them were buying the long royal robes and supporting the great sumptuous banquets of the scribes and Pharisees.
The Temple structure was so corrupt that from Jesus’ point of view it needed to be torn down stone by stone. Biblical Scholar, John Pilch, refers to this story not as a statement about the great generosity of the widow, but as a great lament on the part of Jesus. He weeps for the widow who has been victimized by a corrupt system. The rich and greedy can well afford to give away all they have, and need to follow a higher power, but the poor who have nothing need not be further victimized. Let every stone of the temple, let everything that symbolizes and holds this corrupted system be torn down and ultimately destroyed. Jesus was not crucified because he told nice stories about, and pointed out the generosity of widows. He was crucified because he hated the system of the corrupted powerful, who play acted (were hypocrites with long prayers) at being godly when underneath the reality of their cunning was downright evil. We have often referred to the story of Jesus going into the Temple and upsetting the tables of the moneychangers as the “Cleansing of the Temple.” Not so. It was far more likely that it was Jesus’ symbolic gesture at destroying the Temple and its corruption. Once again you see Jesus turning things, the world, its way of thinking and being, upside down. The story is not commending the widow; it is lambasting the larger rich, greedy, and corrupt system that is destroying the old lady. She has nothing to live on and no one to stand up for her. She will now die. Jesus will never again according to the synoptic gospels ever step into the Temple again. It had become symbolic of a world system that drained impoverished people dry. The good news is that Jesus dares to challenge the system so that all might live and have life more abundantly.
It’s interesting, fascinating, that Jesus takes his disciples to the Temple to watch, to observe what is going on. Can we suppose that Christ with all the company of heaven are gathered here this morning watching, observing our actions and motives. And, the priests and clergy in Churches around the world are standing before their respective altars in their long robes lifting up in offering the bread and wine, and the gifts we have placed into the offering basin. What in fact is being lifted up as gathered Christian congregations worship in their finery? What is seen there in that behavior and action? As we gather to worship this day and so many Sundays what is the modern American Christian offering to God today?
They may well be offerings out of our abundance, which may be but a pittance of what we really have and possess. They may be profoundly sacrificial. They may be significant gifts for the church’s building fund, and mere modest token gifts to be used toward human need. The gifts we offer may be offerings accumulated through an economic system that has gained its wealth off of the backs of poor people around the world working in sweat shops for the meager wages that educated Americans and labor unions would not themselves tolerate for an instant. Maybe we offer our gifts out of fear that God will somehow punish us if we are negligent in our giving. Maybe we give out of a thanksgiving that we are well, healthy, and able to contribute to the fullness of life in everything we do. Maybe we give because we ourselves feel, sense, and know the abundant love and forgiveness of God that has been bestowed upon us.
In the story of the opulent scribes and the impoverished widow, perhaps we ourselves can also observe that the scribes are really the more impoverished spiritually than the widow who having so little possession can give herself in loyalty, trust, commitment and faith to God’s care. The fact of the matter is that we are all spiritually impoverished to some degree. We live in the most prosperous age in all of history. Yet, the statistics of our time declare that:
· That the Divorce Rate is doubled.
· Teen suicide has tripled.
· Violent crime has quadrupled.
· The prison population has quintupled.
· And babies born to unwed mothers has sextupled (no-pun intended).
· Cohabitation, which is according to some a predictor of divorce, has increased sevenfold. (Homiletics/2000, Text file NOV1200.TXT)
Maybe all that we have to offer is the victimization and spiritual impoverishment that the modern culture and its hedonistic philosophies have bestowed upon us. Like the scribes and Pharisees we may all contribute to victimization, insensitivity towards, and the humiliation of others. On other occasions we may be the victimized trying to give, even beyond our means with little sense of hope. But then this is the human condition in need of a savior. We need one who stands as the standard that challenges the world’s corruption and demands it be demolished stone by stone. We need the savior who calls us and shows us the way to being responsible stewards and citizens in the Realm of God’s Domain and Kingdom of justice, fair play, compassion, intense caring for human need, and with an insatiable love for God.
SEASON: Pentecost 22
PROPER: B
PLACE: St. John's Parish, Kingsville
DATE: November 12, 2000
TEXT: Mark 12:38-44 (13:1-2_ - Jesus’ Lament Over the Widow Victimized by the Temple System
“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.”
ISSUE: - In this passage from Mark, Jesus laments the victimization of the poor. It is believed to be Jesus’ last visit to the Temple. The widows of the period were often victimized like so many of the poor. The passage stands as a challenge to how the church functions in the world today, and how we develop a sense of stewardship, compassion, and meaningful, faithful giving of our lives.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I must begin this morning by saying that I stand here somewhat uncomfortable in my long robes after reading that Gospel. We clergy are also often greeted after services with respect and the title of “Father.” So having both read and heard this passage from Mark, I assure you it is with humbling concern.
It is a very challenging passage as it refers to the widow who stands as a stark contrast to the rich scribes and Pharisees that dump large sums of money into the Temple coffers as compared to the poor widow who puts drops in two copper coins worth about a penny. The implication is that those who can well afford to put in large sums could probably have done even better, while the poor widow has given everything that she has. There are those with millions who giving even a tithe of all they have are not giving really as much as a poor person with only a few dollars giving a tithe is a far greater sacrifice.
This passage seems to be an appropriate one for this season, in which many churches are in the midst of their stewardship campaigns. It almost appears that it is a deliberate story placed at this point in the lectionary. Needless to say it seems an important point that the poor widow in the story gives every appearance of being most generous and extraordinarily trusting that God will provide for her well being in response to her generosity. She is not only a contrast to the scribes and Pharisees, but all to the rich young man who came to Jesus in the story a few weeks ago. He was told to sell everything and give it to the poor and follow Jesus, but recall how he went away very sad for he was very rich. Here again the poor widow who has so little gives everything. We may well commend her generosity as an example to a very rich and affluent country that we are. Even the poor in this country, I am told, are far better off than the poor in other countries. It has recently been pointed out that the real questions for Americans today is not “Who wants to be a millionaire?” like the popular TV Show asks, but rather “Who is Already a Millionaire,” because there are many in this country, (if not a few in this parish!)
This passage, however, has another twist to it. Modern Biblical Scholars are saying we need to pay more attention to what this story is really all about. The point of the story (and my reason for adding the additional verses to it) is that it is not about the widow so much as about the corrupt scribes and Pharisees. I tell you once again, I stand here in my long robes, a little nervous about the real meaning of this story.
Jesus has come to the Temple with his disciples. He observes how the scribes and Pharisees, who are community leaders are behaving. They enjoy their long rich robes. They like being greeted in the marketplaces. Since they were of higher honor, persons of lesser honor were required to greet them. They sought out the best seats at the banquets that they attended and got the best seats in the Temple where they faced those of lesser honor, and had back rests because of their esteemed position. Jesus goes on to challenge and insult them for their long prayers, when they were in fact cheating and devouring the homes of widows.
Widows, (a word in Hebrew which means silent ones) in a man’s world were extraordinarily vulnerable. Without a husband and son, they had no one to speak up for them. A widow in such a position was totally dependent upon the lawyers, scribes and Pharisees, to settle their estates and manage their affairs. The widows were often cheated and eventually lost their homes; hence, they and their homes were devoured. Jesus sat with his disciples watching the rich, which means greedy, dumping their sums of money, much of which had been extorted from the poor, into the Temple coffers. Then along comes one of the widows and contributes all she has. While we have often thought that this was a great noble act on the part of the widow, and it may well have been, Jesus is outraged. She is being victimized. How can a person who dumps in everything live? What has she to live on? She’s been duped by a corrupt system. The Temple was both the political and religious center governed by the educated scribes and Pharisees, who were themselves manipulated by Roman authority. It was so very corrupt that the coins of the widows and the properties stolen from them were buying the long royal robes and supporting the great sumptuous banquets of the scribes and Pharisees.
The Temple structure was so corrupt that from Jesus’ point of view it needed to be torn down stone by stone. Biblical Scholar, John Pilch, refers to this story not as a statement about the great generosity of the widow, but as a great lament on the part of Jesus. He weeps for the widow who has been victimized by a corrupt system. The rich and greedy can well afford to give away all they have, and need to follow a higher power, but the poor who have nothing need not be further victimized. Let every stone of the temple, let everything that symbolizes and holds this corrupted system be torn down and ultimately destroyed. Jesus was not crucified because he told nice stories about, and pointed out the generosity of widows. He was crucified because he hated the system of the corrupted powerful, who play acted (were hypocrites with long prayers) at being godly when underneath the reality of their cunning was downright evil. We have often referred to the story of Jesus going into the Temple and upsetting the tables of the moneychangers as the “Cleansing of the Temple.” Not so. It was far more likely that it was Jesus’ symbolic gesture at destroying the Temple and its corruption. Once again you see Jesus turning things, the world, its way of thinking and being, upside down. The story is not commending the widow; it is lambasting the larger rich, greedy, and corrupt system that is destroying the old lady. She has nothing to live on and no one to stand up for her. She will now die. Jesus will never again according to the synoptic gospels ever step into the Temple again. It had become symbolic of a world system that drained impoverished people dry. The good news is that Jesus dares to challenge the system so that all might live and have life more abundantly.
It’s interesting, fascinating, that Jesus takes his disciples to the Temple to watch, to observe what is going on. Can we suppose that Christ with all the company of heaven are gathered here this morning watching, observing our actions and motives. And, the priests and clergy in Churches around the world are standing before their respective altars in their long robes lifting up in offering the bread and wine, and the gifts we have placed into the offering basin. What in fact is being lifted up as gathered Christian congregations worship in their finery? What is seen there in that behavior and action? As we gather to worship this day and so many Sundays what is the modern American Christian offering to God today?
They may well be offerings out of our abundance, which may be but a pittance of what we really have and possess. They may be profoundly sacrificial. They may be significant gifts for the church’s building fund, and mere modest token gifts to be used toward human need. The gifts we offer may be offerings accumulated through an economic system that has gained its wealth off of the backs of poor people around the world working in sweat shops for the meager wages that educated Americans and labor unions would not themselves tolerate for an instant. Maybe we offer our gifts out of fear that God will somehow punish us if we are negligent in our giving. Maybe we give out of a thanksgiving that we are well, healthy, and able to contribute to the fullness of life in everything we do. Maybe we give because we ourselves feel, sense, and know the abundant love and forgiveness of God that has been bestowed upon us.
In the story of the opulent scribes and the impoverished widow, perhaps we ourselves can also observe that the scribes are really the more impoverished spiritually than the widow who having so little possession can give herself in loyalty, trust, commitment and faith to God’s care. The fact of the matter is that we are all spiritually impoverished to some degree. We live in the most prosperous age in all of history. Yet, the statistics of our time declare that:
· That the Divorce Rate is doubled.
· Teen suicide has tripled.
· Violent crime has quadrupled.
· The prison population has quintupled.
· And babies born to unwed mothers has sextupled (no-pun intended).
· Cohabitation, which is according to some a predictor of divorce, has increased sevenfold. (Homiletics/2000, Text file NOV1200.TXT)
Maybe all that we have to offer is the victimization and spiritual impoverishment that the modern culture and its hedonistic philosophies have bestowed upon us. Like the scribes and Pharisees we may all contribute to victimization, insensitivity towards, and the humiliation of others. On other occasions we may be the victimized trying to give, even beyond our means with little sense of hope. But then this is the human condition in need of a savior. We need one who stands as the standard that challenges the world’s corruption and demands it be demolished stone by stone. We need the savior who calls us and shows us the way to being responsible stewards and citizens in the Realm of God’s Domain and Kingdom of justice, fair play, compassion, intense caring for human need, and with an insatiable love for God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
