For the week of November 10 – 25th Sunday after Pentecost
Morning Prayer: God, Protector of the widow, the orphan, and the stranger – in a world where many know despair, You raised Your Son Jesus to give hope for humanity and renewal to the earth.
Continue to strengthen and unify Your Church in its struggles against the forces of death in the world, where violence against creation and humanity obscures the hope of the new life You offer.
This we pray in the name of the Risen Lord, in the power of His Spirit. Amen.
From Resources for The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and Throughout the Year (2011)
Morning Hymn: #557 Blest Be the Tie that Binds
- Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. - Before our Father's throne we pour our ardent prayers;
our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares. - We share each other's woes, our mutual burdens bear;
and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear. - When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain;
but we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.
Psalm 146:8-10 (CEB)
8 The Lord: who makes the blind see.
The Lord: who straightens up those who are bent low.
The Lord: who loves the righteous.
9 The Lord: who protects immigrants,
who helps orphans and widows,
but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn!
10 The Lord will rule forever!
Zion, your God will rule from one generation to the next!
Praise the Lord!
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers for those dear to our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Church leadership is working on a church budget for 2025. As they pray over our income and expenses, please do the same. Prayerfully ask the Lord to guide your financial decisions; not only charitable contributions, but that you would be faithful stewards of your time, skills, talents and money. Thank you for giving to the ministries of Lightstreet United Methodist Church.
Offering prayer: Gracious God, whose compassion knows no bounds, we offer these gifts as a reflection of our love and gratitude. Just as the widow gave all she had, may we also give sacrificially, trusting in Your provision. Use these offerings to further Your kingdom, bringing hope and healing to those in need. Bless our giving, that it may glorify Your name and extend Your grace to all. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of preparation: #399 Take My Life and Let It Be Consecrated
- Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
- Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
- Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.
Scripture: Mark 12:38-44 (CEB)
38 As He was teaching, He said, “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They want to be greeted with honor in the markets. 39 They long for places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. 40 They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off they say long prayers. They will be judged most harshly.”
41 Jesus sat across from the collection box for the temple treasury and observed how the crowd gave their money. Many rich people were throwing in lots of money. 42 One poor widow came forward and put in two small copper coins worth a penny. 43 Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I assure you that this poor widow has put in more than everyone who’s been putting money in the treasury. 44 All of them are giving out of their spare change. But she from her hopeless poverty has given everything she had, even what she needed to live on.”
Message: Pastor Becky
Do you know the story of Ronald Read? He was an unassuming gas station attendant, who after retirement went on to work part time as a janitor for JC Penney’s. He lived a frugal life. He married a woman with two teenage children, bought a modest home, and lost his wife after only ten years of marriage. He opted to not remarry, but cared for the educational needs of his stepchildren. As a widower, he carried on his frugal life. He enjoyed chopping firewood and as the buttons fell off his coat, he closed it with large safety pins.
Upon his death, his estate administered two large bequests, one to the local library for $1.2 million and another for $4.8 million to the local hospital. The remainder of his estate was distributed to his stepchildren, caregivers, and friends. No one guessed he was a multimillionaire. No one knew, until his death. Appearances aren’t everything.
In today’s gospel we are challenged to see 2 people, the scribe and the widow. And, again, appearances aren’t everything.
Jesus has been clear about what He thinks about the scribe, yet He acknowledges “not all scribes”, but as He is seated outside the Temple, He takes the opportunity to warn the disciples about him. Jesus says, take note, the long robes, the seats of honor, those things mean nothing. What one wears or where one sits, those external things are gained by money and power. The influence they wield, that comes from fear and those that hand over that influence won’t be protected from having the same fate as the widow. Those who bow down and lift up the scribes won’t be protected and they will suffer under the scribe, just as the widow will.
People give a lot of attention to the external. If you look put together, then you must be, but is that really the truth?
Jesus was being truthful. Those who put themselves first will be judged the most harshly. Those that are willing to sacrifice the least of these for power and influence are not the closest to God’s heart. They serve a different god, an idol made in an image of themselves.
Jesus then turns His attention to the widow. It wasn’t that the rich folks offering wasn’t important. It was, the Temple had expenses; but Jesus wants us to see the widow’s offering. A meager 2 coins, the equivalent of a penny.
We know how much a penny is. It is 1/100 of a dollar. It seems trivial really. What can you do with one cent in comparison to the realities of what is needed at the Temple or what was needed for the caring of the poor. Either way, not much is being bought with one cent.
What is being given is complete fidelity to God. She is living in spiritual poverty; she is living as close to life and death as she can. It may be a choice or it may be a consequence of her life. What we do know is that she is living completely in faith and hope in God. She is giving in gratitude because she knows others are worse off than she is and her offering added to another’s offering will do mighty things. She is giving in order to be part of the offering. Once those two meager coins are in the collection, her gift is the offering. There are no identifying marks to set her gift apart from the others. There is no way to know which coins are hers or where it will go or what it will do, yet she will be part of it. She doesn’t need to be recognized; she knows her reward.
Beyond the contribution she becomes a symbol for no insignificant gift. She gave what she had, and this comes to life for us. What good is all the money in the world if we have no heart for the poor, the marginalized, or the oppressed?
What do our offerings do for the church and what do they do for us?
In a practical sense, our offerings pay the bills. They fund the budget. I think we can have healthy conversations about what that should look like. Those conversations stem from our desire to be good stewards of what God has given us. Sowing and reaping what God has in store for us and finding the best lens to look at those gifts and their use.
I think what giving to the offering does for us, might be a deeper conversation. It makes us think about what we need and what the world needs. What the church offers outside of the four walls. It puts us in cooperation with God and the vision of the Kingdom we have collectively together here. We are in partnership with God and each other to relieve hunger, fight injustice, house the homeless, and heal the sick.
The widow empowers us to give without shame. She didn’t refrain from giving because of the amount of her offering being too small, because she was investing in a big God. She didn’t allow her status to define her. She was and is a vital part of the congregation. She isn’t disqualifying herself because God isn’t disqualifying her. God doesn’t disqualify any of us from God’s grace. Never should the amount we give be equated with how much God loves each of us.
2 coins. One cent. Unlimited grace and boundless encouragement. All for the investment in the things that last, the very things that define us as disciples of Jesus Christ: care for the widow, the orphan and the least of these in whatever they need to survive. All to the glory of God.
Closing Hymn: #408 The Gift of Love
- Though I may speak with bravest fire, and have the gift to all inspire,
And have not love, my words are vain, as sounding brass, and hopeless gain.
- Though I may give all I possess, and striving so my love profess,
But not be given by love within, the profit soon turns strangely thin.
- Come, Spirit, come, and hearts control, our spirits long to be made whole.
Let inward love guide every deed; by this we worship, and are freed.
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
