NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2021
Today is the twelfth Sunday of Kingdomtide. The assigned lectionary gospel text for this Sunday is the very familiar one of “The Widow’s Mite.” It coincides well with the 2021 Covenant and UCC Stewardship logo and theme, “Rooted in Love.”
In the assigned 7 verses of Mark 12, there seems to be 2 different events put together for no apparent reason. However, a closer look seems to reveal that Mark is using these two events that he records consecutively to demonstrate contrasts. The first event of Jesus’ teaching is an example of how people respond when they are not “rooted in love.” In the second event we know as “The Widow’s Mite,” Jesus demonstrates in real time, the actions of one whose faith is “rooted in love.” When people are rooted in love, their faith causes them to see and respond differently than those who are not.
Here is a couple of examples of such contrasts from the mid-1980s. In those early days when AIDS was still very much a disease of the unknown, with unresearched implications; many were dying. There was only one funeral home in Atlanta that would handle the remains of a person KNOWN to have died from AIDS. Contrast that to Mother Teresa, in those early days, visiting an AIDS patient with Kaposi Sarcoma and kissing him on the forehead. A reporter asked Mother Teresa what she saw when she looked at this AIDS patient. Her answer was one “rooted in love.” She said, “I see Jesus in a distressing disguise.”
Our faith and “rooted in love” should cause us to respond differently and more compassionately with our resources. God does not require us to give all we have as the widow generously did in the gospel, but God is asking us to share a portion of what we have.
Join us at Covenant for worship this Sunday, in-person, by Zoom or Facebook Livestream as we take a closer look at “Mark 12:38-44” in my sermon “ROOTED IN LOVE.”
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