The story we've just heard begins with the rich guys strutting their stuff in the Temple and concludes with Jesus' observations on what is classically called, "The Widow's Mite." Rich or poor, giving is basic to the practice of our faith. This is stated clearly and wonderfully in one of our LBW offering prayers (LBW page 67): Merciful Father, we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us-our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious love... One could even say that one reason to belong to a church is exactly to be able to give of our selves and, yes, our money, regularly in order to participate in a larger cause. The liturgy helps us to better understand and practice our spiritual need to give.

Rev. Gordon Cosby, founder and pastor of the Church of the Savior in Washington, D.C, a congregation famous for its dedication to Jesus-style justice for the poor and disenfranchised, tells a story of something that occurred decades ago when he was a young minister of a small Baptist congregation in a railroad town just outside of Lynchburg, Virginia.

My deacon sent for me one day and told me that he wanted my help. "We have a widow with six children in our congregation," he said "I've looked at the records and discovered that she is putting $4.00 a month into the treasury of the church - a tithe of her [$40 monthly] income. Of course, she is unable to do this. We want you to go and talk to her and let her know that she needs to feel no obligation whatsoever, and free her from the responsibility." I am not wise now [writes Gordon]; I was less wise then. I went and told her of the concern of the deacons. I told her as graciously and as supportively as I know how that she was relieved of the responsibility of giving. As I talked with her the tears came into her eyes. "I want to tell you," she said, "that you are taking away the last thing that gives my life dignity and meaning." - from Letters To Scattered Pilgrims, by Elizabeth O'Conner

The poor woman knew about her deep need for giving. Let's not be overly naÔve, however. While her church, like most churches, was very responsible and careful in its ministry and practices surrounding money, sometimes churches or their leaders are not. In religion, as in any other human venture, there will be those few who take advantage of the human impulse to give by coming up with some religious scam that is nothing but a front for their own greed.

Now, what did Jesus see when he watched a widow drop her penny into the Temple Treasury box? Generations of interpreters have said that Jesus saw a shining example of true, hold-nothing-back giving. And he may have seen that, as suggested by his words, This poor widow has put in more than all the others...She gave everything she had. In fact, his comments about her may well also be about his ultimate giving. Yet, contemporary scholars are now also seeing in the story of the Widow's Mite Jesus' criticism of the Temple offering system.

All practicing Jews were obligated by Mosaic Law to support the Temple. The crafty (if not cynical) placement of temple offering boxes, visible for all to see, offered a stage for the rich to show-off giving lots of money (but not enough to really hurt them). These scholars suggest that Jesus pointed out the show-off behavior of the religious teachers, because he also knew they were often called upon to oversee the financial affairs of widows, presumably to enhance the widows' well-being. Unfortunately, they in fact often ripped them off. When he said, "Now the widow doesn't have a cent to live on," Jesus was angry because the Temple system, once dedicated to the care of the poor and the widows and all the needy of Israel, now brought her and others like her to the point of destitution by its iron-clad system of tithes and offerings! "Like the [religious leaders] themselves, it no longer protected widows, but exploited them." [Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man, p 322] And the whole stinking set-up made the affluent look like pious wonders.

In our day lonely widows and widowers who spend their time watching religious programming on TV, fall victim to various high powered evangelists who bilk gullible people out of substantial amounts of money with the promise of prayers, healing, or other spiritual blessings. Send in $10 and get your blessed handkerchief, or a vial of muddy water from the River Jordan. Remember all the money that poured in to support and Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's corrupt operation?

Let's agree, then, that it is a terrible thing to exploit the need people have to give--but let's not give up on giving because we think there may be some crooks in the world, or because we do not agree with everything that our particular church is doing or planning. This assembly we call Calvary Lutheran is a good and responsible church, trying hard to do the things God wants. And God knows we need financial help to our ministries survive and even thrive. It's not only OK to ask people to give, we would be remiss if we didn't encourage one another to give! Giving, the kind of generous giving with no strings attached, is basic to the practice of our faith!

A church in St. Marys, Georgia recently faced a spiritual crisis of huge proportions. A reclusive man who hadn't attended church more than a few times in 25 years, died in July at age 88 and bequeathed 60 million dollars to the St. Marys United Methodist Church, no strings attached, other than the wish that the funds be used to "spread Christianity." (Sacramento Bee Nov 9, 2000)

Sixty million dollars! Is that a church treasurer's dream or what? Hardly anyone in the church knew this man and no one knew about the enormous gift he'd planned for this church of his childhood. The truth is, such a huge gift could easily become a monstrous nightmare. One of the first and perhaps wisest decisions they made was this: Sorry, Mr. Treasurer, but none of the money will be added to the church operating budget.

Why was that a wise decision? Because they knew they had to stay focused on giving,--their giving, not the old man's. If they simply invested the money so as to live off of it as a congregation, most members would eventually conclude that there was no longer any need to give to the church. And then they really would have a huge spiritual problem, because giving is basic to the practice of the Christian faith. So they are in the process of investing the money and setting up foundations to benefit the larger community, because they bravely decided they were going "to make the money count, not just count the money."

What we do with money suggests much about our practice of our faith in God-whether it will be lip service or an attempt to do the real thing. The widow gave her penny. And the old man gave $60 million. The point is, "Make the money count, not just count the money."

"The money" is a powerful symbol of our lives. What does our Lord see when he sees our offerings-or the conduct of our daily lives? From this day forward let's be more determined to "put our money where our mouth is." After all, the young man Jesus never held back, looked for no loopholes. He just gave from start to finish. Finally, on the Cross, Jesus gave his life. Jesus showed us the bottom-line and the goal for us all: Fill up a human being with God and what you have is willing, unconditional, and total giving. Amen.