To Give Out of Love Psalm 146, Mark 12:38-44 Watch or listen to this service here.
What we translate today as “gave all she had to live on” is closer to… that widow gave her life, her all, to the temple. All she had to offer was 2 coins — this was her faith that the community would take care of her.
What kind of community was she in? One where those with power, the rich, the scribes, the priests, and town would devour her home, abuse her trust, and leave her a victim?
Or one where the community would honor her commitment, be sure she did not need for housing or food or health care, and treat her as an honored member of society?
We don’t know which it is. Just that Jesus warns us that big donors do not mean good people. And small gifts do not mean stingy people. Context matters.
Intentions matter.
Today we are remembering the people and animals who have given their lives, their all, to our community and trusting us to care for them in return. People who went and laid their lives on the line; laid their mental and physical health.
Some died.
Some lost parts of their bodies or aspects of their minds.
All were drastically changed.
All their families and friends and communities were and are changed.
As a community, we are called to care for one another. Care for the widow. Care for the widower. Care for the veteran. Care for the families and friends of veterans. We are called to recognize the people who serve the greater good – and who, through that service, depend on us to care for them in return.
We pray today and every day that swords will be turned into plows; that all nations and all peoples will live in shalom – that perfect peace of God. We pray and we hope and we work. And we won’t get there if we don’t remember our past. Remember how hard peace is. How easy it is to clamor for war.
War is often made by rich scribes, by those who are not vulnerable. And the homes of the vulnerable are devoured. The lives of the common people and animals are upended, or lost. The most given is from those with the least to give.
That is our warning. If at all possible, as much as it depends on us, do not war. Seek peace. And if war happens, and when conflict happens, keep aiming for armistice. For peace. For an end.
Keep the vulnerable in mind.
And honor that sacrifice. Amen.
Pastor Whitney Bruno Sermons 