Enough

1960 Cornerstone, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, photo by jch.

1 Kings 17:8-16 , Gospel of Mark 12:38-44

The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.  –1 Kings 17:16

Today’s scripture readings share in common stories about widows, financially vulnerable members of their respective communities. Each widow is living without even so much as a social-security safety net. Yet, each hears and responds to God’s call to make a sacrificial gift.

The call to make a sacrificial gift reminds me of something I see every time I visit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  Outside of the clinic where Nora sees her oncology team, two sections of the hospital are joined together near the original cornerstone. In the cornerstone are sealed items, among them a 50-cent piece and a quarter. A description posted near the cornerstone explains that they were received by Danny Thomas, following a hospital fundraising speech in Peoria, Illinois. The two small coins were given by a little boy named Billy Johnson, a child with cerebral palsy, who was blind and partially deaf. With great effort, he said, “Danny Thomas, I want to help the poor, sick kids,” then handed over an envelope containing 75 cents.

Today’s Bible stories are like the story of Billy Johnson. It’s beautiful and inspiring to meet someone who appears to be a likely recipient for charity who proves to be a giver of gifts. If such a person can hear and act on God’s call, then perhaps we, too, can do the same, believing that God has provided enough.

The lectionary schedule of readings pairs these texts about sacrificial giving during a time when many congregations are in the middle of their annual pledge campaigns. We might think, “There they go again, talking about money at church.” But, as many Bible scholars point out, it’s difficult to preach from the Bible and not talk about money. The general topic of money, wealth, and possessions is referred to more than 2,000 times, and is the subject of nearly half of Jesus’ parables.

If we ponder the lengthy list of biblical citations, then we might ask, “Dear God, why is this so?” The answer seems to be that Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets, all recognized that money and possessions are connected to faith and ethics. Our relationship to money tells us something about our commitments to God and one another. What will we share with others? Can we overcome the impulse to focus only on self-survival? We all have legitimate needs, but how much is enough?

Jesus understood how feelings of insecurity and anxiety about our rank in society affect our attitudes toward money and possessions. 

One day in the Temple, he observed a poor widow making an offering of small coins. From this observation, he developed an object lesson for his disciples. It was a lesson about trust in God, and a lesson about proportional giving. It was a lesson that had roots in biblical history, and certainly the disciples heard echoes of stories like the one told in 1 Kings 17 about the Widow of Zarephath. She had resigned herself to go home, bake her last handful of meal, and die of starvation. Then, because God’s prophet told her not to be afraid, and probably because she didn’t have any better option, she followed the prophet’s instruction, and presented Elijah a gift of bread before making her own. As we know, the story concludes happily: “The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.” Acting on God’s call to share, the widow was pleasantly surprised to find that for her needs, there was still more than enough.

“Enough”[1] is the title of a book by John Bogle, founder of Vanguard Mutual Funds. He was the pioneer of the low-cost, no-load, indexed mutual fund. He also was a regular worshipper at the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and, in his own way, a theologian.

Bogle asks, “What are the true measures of one’s life? He answers by pointing to the people and institutions for which he had been appointed God’s steward. From his perspective, the extent of their vitality and health was the true measure. He found that after focusing on them, what was left over to live on always was more than enough.

Perhaps you are at a place on life’s journey where a sermon like this is hard to hear because you feel there definitely is not enough. The call to give to the church, or any charity, is tough to hear because you feel like one of the widows. There’s not much left in the kitchen pantry, and the bank account is emptier than you’d like it to be.

If this description fits you, then there are three things I’d like to say.

First, I’m sad and sorry that your circumstances are difficult. I invite you let me know in conversation or e-mail how we can pray for your needs.

Second, I know that guilt is a not a good motivation or reason to give. Please don’t donate to the church or any charity if your motivation is guilt. That sort of practice is neither healthy nor sustainable.

Third, for those motivated by God’s call, but without many resources, please never underestimate the great power of a small financial gift. Danny Thomas said that he’d rather have a thousand small gifts than one large gift.  Small gifts often represent greater sacrifice, and so inspire others. Many small gifts add up to show that we’re all in this work together, that we can do more together than any of us can separately. And when many people unite hearts and gifts for a common cause, in the end we often discover there is more than enough to meet our needs.

Whatever our measure of wealth and level of giving, we won’t always see some sort of material blessing flowing from our faithful stewardship. But there are valuable intangible rewards: The joy of contributing to the health and vitality of people and institutions we love, a successful life measured not by what we possess, but what we give away. If even a poor and defenseless widow, with no family or savings or social safety net, is able to trust in God’s provision, then how much more should we, who have these things, be willing to trust in God.

NOTES

[1] John C. Bogle, Enough: True Measures of Money, Business, and Life, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009.

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