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THE TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST November 10, 2024 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto OPENING HYMN: 905 “Come, Thou Almighty King” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhTs7psy5fE We begin our service with the Invocation: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Confession and Absolution Page 184-185 Psalm 107:1-2, 41-42, antiphon v. 8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble. He raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks. The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son And to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men! Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us. Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And with thy Spirit. Collect Prayer: Almighty and ever-living God, You have given exceedingly great and precious promises to those who trust in You. Grant us so firmly to believe in Your Son Jesus that our faith may never be found wanting; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Our Old Testament Reading (please sit) 1st Kings 17:8-16 Psalm 146 (antiphon v. 9a) In our hymnal Our Epistle Reading Hebrews 9:24-28 Our Gospel Reading (please stand) Mark 12:38-44 THE NICENE CREED Page 191 HYMN OF THE DAY: 738 “Lord of All Hopefulness” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOZqqLMAt18 THE SERMON – As we approach Remembrance Day, I’ve thought of words I once read on a monument to the those who died in the First and Second World Wars: "All gave some, but some gave all." That's a powerful reminder of something many people take for granted. The freedom we enjoy cost something. That freedom was paid for with the blood of fighting men and women who saw their society as something worth fighting for. We find this sobering "some gave all" reality in our Gospel reading today. This passage from Mark recalls a poor widow who gave two small copper coins. We’re told exactly how much she gave for good theological reasons. The original Greek states she put in two lepta, which was worth about 1/64 of a denarius. A denarius was one day's wages for a labourer. If we do the math, we can calculate what this small amount would be in today's money. According to Statistics Canada the average annual income for an individual is $55,600. Divide this by 260 the number of working days in a year, and you come up with the modern-day equivalent of a denarius -- a day's wages or $214. Now, divide this by 64, and this is all the widow had to live on – $3.34 a day! This is all the woman had in the world. Take careful note, too, of what the text does not say. Jesus doesn’t say that the widow put in her last $3.34 that was left over after the groceries were covered, and the bills paid. She had $3.34 to live on -- period. And it is that amount that she faithfully gave back to the Lord. You can be sure the more affluent people around her put in much more than she did, dollar-wise, yet Jesus says clearly, she gave far more than any of them. We're not told whether this woman went on to receive an abundance of material wealth because of this blessed act of stewardship. For all we know, she may very well have gone hungry, deprived herself because of her offering. This was probably the case. Jesus is saying, very directly here, that it is not the exact amount you give to the Lord, but where your heart is when you give. God cares about your faith, and your heart. And that's why our Lord calls this widow's meager offering, given out of her immense poverty, greater than all those who contributed to the offering box out of their abundance. She didn't give for a tax deduction, or a pat on the back. She didn't give what was left over. She didn't let everyone around her know she just gave her last $3.34. Nobody knew any of this, except Jesus, who knew her situation, her motivation, and her heart. Almighty God knows our situation, our motivation, and our heart as well. We can fool everyone else; we can't fool Him. He knows the truth of our dedication to the Church, even if that dedication is our service and time. He knows when our heart is uncaring and selfish. That's something that's often overlooked in our relationship with God. God doesn't want your time and talent ‘leftovers,’ nor does He want your time and talent on some barter system, as if these gifts of His are commodities. God knows whether our offerings, be it time, talent, or treasure, are given as a left over, or out of love and devotion to Him. Even if they’re a proverbial “mite.” God’s love is ours as an absolutely free and unmerited gift. This is because of Jesus Christ's all-atoning, all-consuming gift: His complete payment on the cross for our sins. Christ’s lesson today is about the trust and faith that naturally bears fruit through the time, talent, and resources we return to God out of humble thankfulness and joy. The Old Testament often speaks of this ‘first-fruits’ stewardship in terms of agricultural produce – crops. The very first harvest is gathered up and returned to the Lord in thankfulness. When this offering was made in ancient Israel, the farmer didn’t know if there was going to be a bad frost, a plague of locusts, drought, or some other disaster. And so, the crops that would come after the ‘first fruits’ offering, the other 90 per cent, were still ‘theoretical.’ It hadn’t grown yet, no less been harvested. For all the farmer knew he may very well have given away the only crop to grow that year. What if floods came? What if there were thunderstorms, downpours? What if he became injured, unable to work, and had to watch from his bed as his crops rotted in the field, unharvested? There are any number of reasons he could give to take care of himself first, and then give what's left over to God. But that's not what the faithful Old Testament farmer did, nor what the widow did with her contribution. They gave the first fruits of their harvest in full trust, and confidence, that God would provide. They gave of themselves knowing that whether they lived, or died, they belonged to God. They believed their salvation through faith was, and is, absolutely certain. “Fear, love, and trust in God above all things,” as we read in Luther’s explanation of the First Commandment in the Small Catechism. God has entrusted us as caretakers of His rich gifts to use in praise, and worship, of Him. As well we are to use them in faithful Christian service to one another, even to those who don't yet know Christ, and the life and salvation that is theirs through His sacrifice. That's the key here: sacrifice. I don't think anybody will disagree that stewardship requires it. Yet without Christ's all-atoning, all-redeeming sacrifice, all our sacrifices and righteousness, the Prophet Isaiah wrote, are as dirty, soiled rags before God. In terms of our salvation, all gave none, not some, because that's all we have to offer -- nothing. This is why Jesus Christ had to give all – and did. He selflessly sacrificed everything for the lives of His fallen, rebellious children. He gave all so that we could have all -- all of Heaven, eternal life, and salvation. All of God's free and undeserving love. Saving faith and trust in this reality of justification, of how we’re made right with God, will bear God-pleasing fruit in all areas of life. Of this we can be sure, because the Word of God, the Bible, tells us so. Understood in this light -- the light of the cross of Jesus -- all other sacrifices of ours that we make in this life cease to be burdens and chores. They’re no longer something we ‘squeeze in’ as afterthoughts. They cease to be worries or foolish checklists created to make sure we're keeping up our end of the bargain with God. When understood in the all-redeeming, loving light of the cross, all the gifts in our lives, whether great or small, are recognized for what they truly are: joyous opportunities God grants us to serve Him, and one another. To praise, thank, and trust in Him for all He has already given up for us in Christ’s life-giving, life-saving, death and resurrection. To Him, who gave all, because we can give nothing. Amen. PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Hymn 962 The Distribution Post-Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201 CLOSING HYMN: 922 “Go, My Children, with My Blessing” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBOZaAhDlzs