Mother Vivian Shelby – Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, November 10, 2024

The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord cares for the stranger. He sustains the orphan and widow but frustrates the way of the wicked. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 So Jesus is teaching and trying to show two of the different sides of humanity. You have the scribes who are doing things in public to get attention and to raise their reputation. This is not about God. As he says, it’s about them enjoying having long robes and being greeted with respect and having the seat of importance at dinners. 

But then we also have the widow. The widow who comes to the treasury and puts in all she has to live on. Two small pennies. But then we have all of the people with great wealth giving a small portion compared to what they have. And she gives everything. Absolutely everything. 

Then I also want to talk about the other widow from our first reading. These are two people of faith. Elijah, the prophet, who when God says, yeah, “I want you to go to this town and there’s going to be this widow and she’s going to feed you.” He says, “okay”. And when he gets to town and sees a widow, he goes up to her and asks her for water and food. Doesn’t know her from anyone. And the widow is completely honest with him and says, “I don’t have enough to give you. I’m going to go home and feed my son and we’re probably going to die.”  

And he doesn’t respond as our context might suggest. “Oh, my goodness. First of all, let me get you some food” or “no, I couldn’t possibly take the last” because he has faith in God. And God says, “I know you just have a little. But if you have faith, the oil and the meal will not run out.” And it comes to pass.  

She makes the cake for him first. So she’s giving of what she has first. And then, lo and behold, there’s enough left for her and her son. And then the next day, there’s enough for three more. And the next day and the next day. So God fulfilled that promise to that family.  

So what does this have to do with us today? People stuck between this world and getting rewards in this world with the pretty clothes and the seats of honor and respect from the public. Or loving God so much and loving the temple so much that she’s willing to give her last bit to help with the upkeep of the temple, the place, the house of God. And she gives it.  

Do we have people like this today? Yes. Are we both of those people? I am definitely both those people on occasion, right? And it’s really about motivation. Is my motivation to try to do every single thing in my life for the betterment of the kingdom of God? Or am I wrapped around the axle about what I’m going to get. How I’m going to look. What I’m going to get to do. How I’m going to get to be important or not.  

Now, the good news is God made us this way. This is human nature to be pulled between those things. And as Christians, we ask forgiveness. We say we’re sorry, we repent and we try again.  

But truly, Jesus says, the biggest condemnation goes to the scribes who aren’t taking care of the widow. As a widow back then, you had no guarantee of an inheritance when your husband died. Not that all women were left destitute, but it was not a guarantee. So the church was supposed to care for them. And sometimes they fell short.  

So what can we do? Well, I would say this is about humility. Most of us can continue doing the things that we’re doing. But it’s a focus shift. Are we focused on God? Are we focused on the needy, the poor, the other? And how God is calling us to serve them.  

If we have it in our heart, then how do we do it? What are we doing? That’s what I want you to think about this week. I’m on the board for Longview Community Ministry, and that’s who the kettle is for this month. And I will tell you, they serve the poorest of the poor. And those poor people who are just on the cusp of making it, but can’t quite seem to make ends meet and get kicked out of their house, and then they’re struggling even worse. So please give generously to this incredible ministry. And I tell you what, whenever we bring food into the back, we’ve got a basket back there, that food goes directly to Longview Community Ministries, and then that food goes directly to people. Part of LCM’s budget is to pay the East Texas Food Bank for food to give to the poor. They give a great price, but they’re still having to pay for food. So the more food that you give, or cash donations you give, the more people they can help.  

And this Saturday is Coats for Kids. That’s an LCM ministry. If you have more than one coat, you have an abundance. Last year, LCM gave out 900 coats for people who could not afford to buy a coat for the winter. So if you have extra coats that you don’t need, next Saturday, they’re giving away the coats at the Broughton Center. You can bring them here, you can take them to LCM.  

Also, we need volunteers on Saturday. You can do an hour, two hours. And it’s a beautiful thing to be a Christian, and to be in that environment, and to be able to fulfill our baptismal covenant by respecting the dignity of every human being that walks through that door, and taking them on their little shopping spree.  

So, how are we spending our time? How are we spending our talent? And how are we spending our treasure? The world needs us. God made us for this time. We had a lot of turmoil this week. We knew it was coming, and we knew it would be over. But last Sunday, and this Sunday, our work has not changed. Being united, loving one another, helping the most unfortunate.  

We have a lot of work to do. Amen.