the widow's mite

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today is Veterans' Day, so as we turn to God in the morning let's remember our service men and women serving far from home and those who have served in the past. No matter how you feel about the wars we are fighting and have fought before, we owe a debt of gratitude and care for those who have served. As a society we don't always live up to that obligation, so let's hear the day as a call to work for fair treatment for our returning veterans. If you're free this morning there is a Veteran's Day service at Irondequoit Town Hall at 10:45, but wherever you are today you can lift up a prayer of thanksgiving and comfort for our veterans.

Today's reading is familiar to many of us. Widows in Jesus' time were especially vulnerable because women's economic opportunities were very limited and their voice in society was almost absent. At the same time, scripture says over and over that God is especially receptive to the cries of widows, orphans, and other vulnerable people. This story of the widow's contribution comes right after Jesus has accused the religious leaders of "devouring widows' homes." Looking at the two passages together we see that this widow, and many others, have supported the temple (and church) even when they could barely afford to do so, but the religious leaders haven't always cared for these vulnerable members of society enough. May we always hear the voices of those in need.

God bless,
Sam

Luke 21:1-4
He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; 2he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”