The Widow's Offering

JW said about v. 43. “See what judgment is cast on the most specious, outward actions by the Judge of all! And how acceptable to him is the smallest, which springs from self-denying love!”

Holman Bible Handbook Priority of Love (12:18–44)

Jesus warned the scribes who used religion to get ahead and to take advantage of others (12:38–40). A widow evidenced characteristics of true discipleship (12:41–44). She showed devotion to God first (12:30), freedom from materialism (10:21), and total trust in the good God who would care for her (10:18b).

See what judgment is cast on the most specious, outward actions by the Judge of all! And how acceptable to him is the smallest, which springs from self-denying love!

Religious Leaders or sons held responsibility over widow’s husband’s estate, the religious leaders would often take more than necessary, not give much to the widow, and leave her in poverty

Widows were regarded as very low in the society

Simpulum = ladle used at Roman sacrifice

The Four Chaplains

Inscription says “Of Emperor Tiberius”

In recognizing that today is Veteran’s Day, and also the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1, I wanted to tell you a story that paid homage to military service members, their service, and their bravery.

Rings of barley wheat

Does anyone know of the story of the Four Chaplains? Well, when I was in training as a Chaplain Assistant this was a story we were told that motivated me so much.

Inscription says “of Empress Julia” (Tiberius’ mother)

(Story from jcca.org)

These four chaplains were relatively new chaplains and all held the rank of first lieutenant. They included a Methodist minister, Rev. George L. Fox; a Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, of the Reform movement; a Roman Catholic priest, Rev. John P. Washington; and Reformed Church in America minister, Rev. Clark V. Poling. Their backgrounds, personalities, and faiths were different, although Goode, Poling and Washington had all served as leaders in the Boy Scouts of America. They met at the Army Chaplains School at Harvard University, where they prepared for assignments in the European theater, sailing on board USAT Dorchester to report to their new assignments.

USAT Dorchester left New York on Jan. 23, 1943, en route to Greenland, carrying the four chaplains and approximately 900 others, as part of a convoy of three ships.

The ship’s captain, Hans J. Danielsen, had been alerted that Coast Guard sonar had detected a submarine. Because German U-boats were monitoring sea lanes and had attacked and sunk ships earlier during the war, Captain Danielsen had the ship’s crew on a state of high alert even before he received that information, ordering the men to sleep in their clothing and keep their life jackets on. Many soldiers sleeping deep in the ship’s hold disregarded the order because of the engine’s heat. Others ignored it because the life jackets were uncomfortable.

During the early morning hours of Feb. 3, 1943, at 12:55 a.m., the German submarine U-223 off Newfoundland in the North Atlantic torpedoed the vessel, which knocked out the Dorchester’s electrical system, leaving the ship dark. Panic set in among the men on board, many of them trapped below decks. The chaplains sought to calm the men and organize an orderly evacuation of the ship, and helped guide wounded men to safety.

One witness, Pvt. William B. Bednar, found himself floating in oil-smeared water surrounded by dead bodies and debris. “I could hear men crying, pleading, praying,” Bednar recalls. “I could also hear the chaplains preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going.”

Another sailor, Petty Officer John J. Mahoney, tried to reenter his cabin but Rabbi Goode stopped him. Mahoney, concerned about the cold Arctic air, explained he had forgotten his gloves.

“Never mind,” Goode responded. “I have two pairs.” The rabbi then gave the petty officer his own gloves. In retrospect, Mahoney realized that Rabbi Goode was not conveniently carrying two pairs of gloves, and that the rabbi had decided not to leave the Dorchester.

As life jackets were passed out, the supply ran out before each man had one. The chaplains removed their own life jackets and gave them to others. They helped as many men as they could into lifeboats, and then linked arms and, saying prayers and singing hymns, went down with the ship.

According to some reports, survivors could hear different languages mixed in the prayers of the chaplains, including Jewish prayers in Hebrew and Catholic prayers in Latin.

Some 230 of the 904 men aboard the ship were rescued. Life jackets offered little protection from hypothermia, which killed most men in the water. The water temperature was 34 °F (1 °C) and the air temperature was 36 °F (2 °C). By the time additional rescue ships arrived, “hundreds of dead bodies were seen floating on the water, kept up by their life jackets.”

This story offers a display of bravery that was and is shown by service members, especially ones who hold strong convictions to their faith.

Giving

The Widow

These four men gave all that they had. Not only did they give support, prayers, hope…but also gloves, room on lifeboats, and even lifejackets. They gave all that they had, and did so without complaint.

When I thought about this story I too thought about a Biblical story where someone gave all that they had, the widow. Our Scripture today told us about a widowed woman who approached the treasury. As many people went before and after her, giving large sums of money, she approached and gave all that she had, two copper coins.

Jesus witnessed this action by this woman and called together his disciples, saying “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

While this woman didn’t give her life and sink with a ship after giving her life jacket, she might as well had. Widows and fatherless children were among the most vulnerable and defenseless members of society (Malina and Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary, 135-36, 191-92). They were unable to care for themselves, which meant someone had to.

This responsibility was sometimes given to the oldest boy, but in most situations the estate and money, which was left behind by the deceased husband/father, was managed by scribes and religious leaders. These people, as the Scripture tells us, often abused this position, taking more from them than necessary. This abuse left widows, in particular, very vulnerable.

Jesus says that this widow “put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Doesn’t that sound like the four Chaplains, giving all that they had to live on in that moment? Jesus is telling the disciples, and us right now that this woman was sacrificing everything she had to be a good steward. She did so with unrelenting faith in God, that He would provide for her what she needed. God did not demand that she gave all that she had, but she did so anyways.

This story provides for us two contrasting elements, the scribes and the poor widow.

Us and Today

We live in a world where giving tends to be done with two parameters. 1) when it is convenient for me, and 2) when it benefits me. While not everyone follows these two parameters, it is a pretty popular mindset today. We have stopped having faith that God would provide to us, especially when we give to those who are in need, and wonder how we are going to provide for ourselves.

Convenience

I have been one to find myself in this position too. I used to be really good at tithing, it was a responsibility that I took very seriously, and something that I did specifically. I would take my pay check, figure out what 10% was, and even round-up to the nearest dollar. I would then write a check to the church and put it in the collection plate on the following Sunday. But, then other expenses started stacking up.

I needed to pay larger bills, cover costs for wedding preparation, fix my car, buy furniture, pay my quarterly taxes…and much more. As those things started stacking on, my giving became more of a “when I could afford to” task.

Can you imagine if the Chaplains acted in a similar way, only giving what they could when they thought it wouldn’t hurt them? If they acted this way then the story I shared with you today wouldn’t exist.

I stopped making tithing my priority, skipped weeks…months, and things kept getting harder. My finances were falling short of what I needed them to be, I set my priorities in wrong directions, and I found myself asking “how did I get here?”

This story of the widow giving her offering has reignited within me a desire to give. With that, so did John Wesley’s sermon The Use of Money. He says this with regards to money...

I. We ought to gain all we can gain but this it is certain we ought not to do; we ought not to gain money at the expense of life, nor at the expense of our health.

II. Do not throw the precious talent into the sea.

III. Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then "give all you can."

In a later sermon

The hardest part about giving, the hardest part about tithing is that there is no accountability system. For example, if you don’t pay your heating bill, you lose heat; if you don’t pay your house taxes, you could lose your home; if you don’t pay your monthly car loan bill, you could lose your car.

You see, if we maintain an understanding that everything we have is God’s gift to us, it may change our perspective. Instead of looking at tithing as “I have to give 10% back to God,” look at it like this: “God gives me 100% of what I have, and of that 100% He is allowing me to keep 90% of it.”

If you don’t tithe, you won’t be kicked out of church. If you don’t tithe, you won’t lose your home, your car, food, Jesus won’t stop loving you. But still, we try and find ways to build our own kingdom up, rather than God’s. We make excuses as to why we can’t tithe, and go from there.

The amazing thing about the widow is that she gave out of her poverty. For her, and for us, to give from our poverty means that our eyes are not on ourselves or earthly rewards, but that they are on the treasures in heaven.

Beneficial

The amazing thing about this story is the contrast that we see in it.

That first parameter, being that tithing is easier

It is one of the oddest things to occur in our faith, the more money we give to the church and to those who are in need, the more money we get. I know, basic math would teach us that this is incorrect, but there is a variable that math doesn’t consider, God.

After we have given our Scripturally commanded 10% back in the form of a tithe, we have 90% left to manage.

When I started taking my faith seriously, when I began my journey as a pastor

Having earned all that we can, Wesley says that we should not “throw the precious talent into the sea.” This is something that I think we are all guilty of. He explains what this means by saying, “Do not throw it away in idle expenses, which is just the same as throwing it into the sea. Expend no part of it merely to gratify the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, or the pride of life.”

So, we need to save all that we can. This means we spend our money on the things that are important for our living, without going too overboard. There is a desire to have all of the newest things, the best looking cars and clothes…we desire a fulfillment of our flesh. This is the part that gets me in trouble, and often effects my tithing. I pay my bills, make sure I have enough for them, but then I want to buy something big and fancy, something expensive. Or, knowing that my tithing and giving aren’t where they should be, I debate with myself on the things I should sacrifice.

Lastly, after we have earned all that we can, and then saved all that we can, Wesley says we should “give all you can.” This has to be one of the hardest things for people to do.

This is

I’ve heard arguments before like this: “I already tithed, why should I give more of my money away?”

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