From the Pulpit:

Jesus Notices

This is the last day Jesus will ever teach in the temple.  He’s already ridden a small donkey into Jerusalem .  He’s already thrown the money changers out of the temple.  And the Pharisees and scribes are not happy with Him. In the dark recesses of the temple they hiss and whisper about this no nothing of a carpenter’s son from an unimportant place called Galilee . They plot and scheme about how to get rid of this rabble rouser, this person who dares to throw out the money changers and who continues to question authority.

In the magnificent splendor of the temple grounds stands Jesus, watching all the people who are gathered there on this particular day.  He climbs up the steps to the entrance of the temple, and stands in the same place where in a few short days He will be condemned by Pilate. He looks out at the crowd of people milling about on the temple grounds. Many of the people are not clothed in fine robes, and neither is He. The people begin to notice Him. They gather at the base of the steps and listen to His words. “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.  They will receive the greater condemnation.”

It’s easy to stand with Jesus and condemn the scribes and the Pharisees.  It’s easy to make them the bad guys and Jesus and us the good guys.  I don’t know about you but I have many Pharisee moments. When I look the other way at the homeless surrounding us on every street corner, I’m having a Pharisee moment.  When I take pride in all my possessions, I’m having a Pharisee moment. I have a passion for fine cars, I think of them as great pieces of sculpture. And once I even had a really fine car, until the engine blew up on the California desert.  No one could look down her nose any more than I did as I drove around in that fine car. What I’m saying is many of us who live in this country are privileged and can easily slip into the role of a Pharisee. We don’t even have to be rich to be privileged. By the standards of most of the people in the world, if we don’t go to bed hungry and we have a roof over our heads we are privileged.  The fine line between good and bad guys begins to blur as I think of my Pharisee moments. And I don’t think I’m any different than any of us gathered here today.  I think we all have our Pharisee moments

We could turn these moments into an awareness exercise and say to ourselves every time we have such a moment, “Whoops I just had a Pharisee moment.”  I know this may sound silly, but simple awareness can be the beginning of positive change. Perhaps when I see a homeless person on the street I might not automaticity think, “Well, they only want money for liquor.”  Maybe I could stop judging and making excuses for why I don’t simply give the person the money I can give in that moment.  Not because they deserve it or don’t deserve it, but because they asked me for it.  And they like me are a child of God.

Jesus ends His final public teaching day in the temple with the following narrative. He turns His attention from the scribes and begins to watch the crowd put money into the treasury. He sees many rich people putting in large sums of money.  Yet His attention is drawn to one poor widow who only puts in two small copper coins. He calls His disciples over, and begins to speak to them. “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.”

I find great hope in this story.  Not because I feel at some point in my life I will be able to give away all that I have.  What gives me hope is that Jesus notices the widow’s gift.  He surely notices and is pleased by whatever little amount I can give in time, talents, and money.  He surely notices when I can rise above myself and be more of who I’m meant to be.  One of my teachers Evelyn Eaton put it this way.  “And here we offer and present to you ourselves, all that we are, and all that we shall ever be as we go shinning.” 

All that we are at times isn’t very much.  But every one of us here today wants and is working toward becoming a better person in thought, word and deed.  Every one of us reaches toward all that we can ever be, and day by day we shine just a little bit more, and just a little bit brighter, and such as we make up the kingdom of God.  Not because we are perfect, but because we reach toward becoming better people.  And Jesus notices our shinning moments.

Have you ever read a story to a child when you were just so tired you could barely do anything more for anyone else?  You were all that you could be in that moment in time. And Jesus noticed.  Have you ever listened to an elder tell the same story over and over again and you didn’t get angry with them?  You were all that you could be in that moment.  And Jesus noticed. Have you ever pledged just a little bit more than you thought you could give? Have you taken a casserole to a sick friend, sat in a hospital room and held the hand of a friend as her husband lay dying, have you ever come to church when you really felt like just staying in bed a few more hours, have you ever baked a loaf of bread for the stranger who might show up on any given Sunday, have you ever done the grunt work around a church, pounded nails for Habitat for Humanity, helped a prisoner learn to read or mentor a child, have you ever just done a random act of kindness?  You were all that you could be in any of those moments, And Jesus noticed.

So many times in the stories told about Jesus there is this tension between the rich and the poor, the have and the have nots, the living and the dead, the healed and the sick. Today’s stories focuses on the rich and the poor, the Pharisees and the scribes against a poor widow. But the thing we have to remember is that in any time and in any place there are good Pharisees and bad widows. And at any moment and in any place we each carry within us the capacity to be the bad Pharisee.  Yet because we also have the capacity to be all that we can be at any moment and in any place we can reach toward all that we are meant to be.  Jesus will and does notice every some deed we do to reach toward the best that we can ever be.

In this short span of time, we’ve walked a long journey together. We’ve traveled back in time and stood on the steps of the temple as Jesus observed the scribes and told us exactly what He thought of men in long robes, wanting nothing but the best. Even though Mark didn’t include women in this part of the story, we all know women can be just as pompous as any man. Jesus talks to His disciples, and tells them what He saw the poor widow put into the treasury.  And we all know men can be just as giving as any woman.

In these two stories Jesus observes the scribes and sees the poor widow. He teaches in other stories,  He does miracles in other stories,  He even walks on water in one story. But in these two stories Jesus is observing and teaching from His observations.  Today in this time and in this place I know He sees us, notices us, and watches us as we struggle to be all that we can be. And each time we do a little more than we think we can ever do for our families, our friends, for the strangers surrounding us, for the poor and the homeless, we shine just a little bit brighter. When we connect all our small acts of kindness the whole kingdom shines just a little bit brighter. And Jesus notices.

Amen.