25 Pentecost 27
B November 11,2018
1 Kings 17:8-16 Psalm 146
Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44
Lectionary Link
How many of you like the zoom feature on Google maps or Google earth? You can zoom in and see cars and people on the street or you can zoom out and see the entire world map. Zooming in and out gives different context and perspective for seeing.
When we read the Gospel, we can either read it in the zoom in mode or the zoom out mode.
What would the zoom in reading of our Gospel be for today? One can imagine that the Gospel was not written in the year 70 and assume that it is an eyewitness record of Jesus teaching a message to his disciples on wealth, giving and generosity. And what is the message? Great giving is not very great if it is only a small proportion of one's overall assets. If one gives 100 percent; that is great giving. And Jesus presented the contrast between the wealthy who appear to give much and the poor widow who gives but a couple of coins. Proportion is everything. So as you give to your local parish this year, ask yourself, how much do I have left over and is the parish really thriving on what I give? And if Jesus said, Too whom much is given much is required, am I giving what is required of me by Jesus?
But now let us zoom out for some further insights on this Gospel. Why does the poor widow in her piety believe that she has to give her last two coins to the Temple? The religion of the Temple proclaims in their Scriptures, the Lord cares for the widow and the orphans. The Lord takes care of the widows and the orphans. So why isn't the society of the Temple taking care of this widow? Why have the authorities of the Temple taught their religious rules so well that they have turned this widow against her own best welfare? Why does she feel the obligation to support the Temple with her last coins?
In this reading, one can find quite a condemnation upon exploitative leadership. What does exploitative leadership do? Exploitative leaders have the power and the charisma and the cleverness to make poor people and less educated people do things against their own best interests. This exploitation by the leadership is the judgment that Jesus lodges against the scribal leaders in this Gospel story.
But now let us zoom out again. We can only read a short passage from a Gospel on Sunday, and today we don't see what comes after our appointed reading. And what comes after our appointed reading? A prediction about the downfall of the Temple in Jerusalem. And while this prediction seems to be quite amazing in that it is offered through the speech of Jesus in his own time, we need to zoom out further.
We zoom out to realize from the work of biblical scholars that the Gospel of Mark was written by people who lived around the year 70, about four decades after Jesus was gone. The Gospel writer knew about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. The Gospel writer knew about the acceptance of Gentile people into the church and the resulting break down of the relationship with the majority of the members of synagogues. The Gospel writer knew about the growing antipathy between those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and those who did not. The end of the Temple brought the end of the priesthood; the priests no longer had a place to practice their priestly craft. One can see that the writer of the book of Hebrews idealized Jesus as a High Priest who attends to a heavenly altar. There are no Christian priests in the New Testament because the specific Greek word for priest referred to the Temple priests. When the Temple priesthood became extinct, slowly the priestly features once attributed to the Temple priests gradually were assimilated onto the presbyters who presided at the Holy Eucharist and so a priesthood evolved within the Christian movement.
The early Christians and members of the synagogue were trying understand the events of their time. One of big issues was this: Why did God permit the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple again? If God does not protect the holy city or the Temple, who does God protect?
The prophets of old, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others blamed the destruction of Israel and the Temple and the exile on the kings and religious leaders of Israel and Judah for their unfaithfulness to God.
So, too the oracle of Christ in the early church found in the Gospel of Mark is an oracle which assigns blame for the fate of Jerusalem and the Temple to exploitative behaviors of the religious leaders of Israel.
From our more secular understanding of history, we today might say that it was the Roman authorities who crucified Jesus; it was the Roman armies under orders who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple because of native uprisings. The difference between secular history and religious history is the notion of Providence. In Providence, one looks for divine meanings or insights about the events which have happened. For the writer of Mark's Gospel, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple were very current. They were trying to proclaim a purpose of God's providence in the middle of something horrendous. The main meaning of Providence is the belief that God still loves and cares for us, no matter what happens to us.
Let us now zoom out in a way which includes you and me today as we interact with this Gospel. First, are we proportional givers? Are we giving what is required? Are we giving sacrificially? Second, can we read the circumstantial judgments which confront our lives now? Our behaviors and the events that confront us are the crucible for determining future outcomes for us. Are we reading the circumstantial judgments in our lives in wise and insightful ways? Are we ready for the impending outcomes? Third, can we come to know the events of our lives as Providential? Can we still believe that God is lovingly involved in our lives when things apparently don't seem to go in how we intend or want?
Today on Veterans Day, we commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the end of the War that was supposed to be the War to end all wars. We honor today sacrifice and those who are willing to embrace sacrifice as a discipline of their lives on behalf of their country.
The widow who gave her last two coins personified sacrifice even when she gave to a Temple which would not survive and a priesthood that was soon to end.
The Gospel of Christ is a Gospel to recommend sacrifice as a way to live. The death of Jesus on the Cross followed by his resurrection is an invitation to present ourselves, our souls and bodies as living sacrifices, wholly acceptable to God, which is our spiritual sacrifice. Amen.
1 Kings 17:8-16 Psalm 146
Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44
Lectionary Link
How many of you like the zoom feature on Google maps or Google earth? You can zoom in and see cars and people on the street or you can zoom out and see the entire world map. Zooming in and out gives different context and perspective for seeing.
When we read the Gospel, we can either read it in the zoom in mode or the zoom out mode.
What would the zoom in reading of our Gospel be for today? One can imagine that the Gospel was not written in the year 70 and assume that it is an eyewitness record of Jesus teaching a message to his disciples on wealth, giving and generosity. And what is the message? Great giving is not very great if it is only a small proportion of one's overall assets. If one gives 100 percent; that is great giving. And Jesus presented the contrast between the wealthy who appear to give much and the poor widow who gives but a couple of coins. Proportion is everything. So as you give to your local parish this year, ask yourself, how much do I have left over and is the parish really thriving on what I give? And if Jesus said, Too whom much is given much is required, am I giving what is required of me by Jesus?
But now let us zoom out for some further insights on this Gospel. Why does the poor widow in her piety believe that she has to give her last two coins to the Temple? The religion of the Temple proclaims in their Scriptures, the Lord cares for the widow and the orphans. The Lord takes care of the widows and the orphans. So why isn't the society of the Temple taking care of this widow? Why have the authorities of the Temple taught their religious rules so well that they have turned this widow against her own best welfare? Why does she feel the obligation to support the Temple with her last coins?
In this reading, one can find quite a condemnation upon exploitative leadership. What does exploitative leadership do? Exploitative leaders have the power and the charisma and the cleverness to make poor people and less educated people do things against their own best interests. This exploitation by the leadership is the judgment that Jesus lodges against the scribal leaders in this Gospel story.
But now let us zoom out again. We can only read a short passage from a Gospel on Sunday, and today we don't see what comes after our appointed reading. And what comes after our appointed reading? A prediction about the downfall of the Temple in Jerusalem. And while this prediction seems to be quite amazing in that it is offered through the speech of Jesus in his own time, we need to zoom out further.
We zoom out to realize from the work of biblical scholars that the Gospel of Mark was written by people who lived around the year 70, about four decades after Jesus was gone. The Gospel writer knew about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. The Gospel writer knew about the acceptance of Gentile people into the church and the resulting break down of the relationship with the majority of the members of synagogues. The Gospel writer knew about the growing antipathy between those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and those who did not. The end of the Temple brought the end of the priesthood; the priests no longer had a place to practice their priestly craft. One can see that the writer of the book of Hebrews idealized Jesus as a High Priest who attends to a heavenly altar. There are no Christian priests in the New Testament because the specific Greek word for priest referred to the Temple priests. When the Temple priesthood became extinct, slowly the priestly features once attributed to the Temple priests gradually were assimilated onto the presbyters who presided at the Holy Eucharist and so a priesthood evolved within the Christian movement.
The early Christians and members of the synagogue were trying understand the events of their time. One of big issues was this: Why did God permit the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple again? If God does not protect the holy city or the Temple, who does God protect?
The prophets of old, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others blamed the destruction of Israel and the Temple and the exile on the kings and religious leaders of Israel and Judah for their unfaithfulness to God.
So, too the oracle of Christ in the early church found in the Gospel of Mark is an oracle which assigns blame for the fate of Jerusalem and the Temple to exploitative behaviors of the religious leaders of Israel.
From our more secular understanding of history, we today might say that it was the Roman authorities who crucified Jesus; it was the Roman armies under orders who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple because of native uprisings. The difference between secular history and religious history is the notion of Providence. In Providence, one looks for divine meanings or insights about the events which have happened. For the writer of Mark's Gospel, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple were very current. They were trying to proclaim a purpose of God's providence in the middle of something horrendous. The main meaning of Providence is the belief that God still loves and cares for us, no matter what happens to us.
Let us now zoom out in a way which includes you and me today as we interact with this Gospel. First, are we proportional givers? Are we giving what is required? Are we giving sacrificially? Second, can we read the circumstantial judgments which confront our lives now? Our behaviors and the events that confront us are the crucible for determining future outcomes for us. Are we reading the circumstantial judgments in our lives in wise and insightful ways? Are we ready for the impending outcomes? Third, can we come to know the events of our lives as Providential? Can we still believe that God is lovingly involved in our lives when things apparently don't seem to go in how we intend or want?
Today on Veterans Day, we commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the end of the War that was supposed to be the War to end all wars. We honor today sacrifice and those who are willing to embrace sacrifice as a discipline of their lives on behalf of their country.
The widow who gave her last two coins personified sacrifice even when she gave to a Temple which would not survive and a priesthood that was soon to end.
The Gospel of Christ is a Gospel to recommend sacrifice as a way to live. The death of Jesus on the Cross followed by his resurrection is an invitation to present ourselves, our souls and bodies as living sacrifices, wholly acceptable to God, which is our spiritual sacrifice. Amen.
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