We had a mild fall day with 40 present at Eucharist. Only two more Sundays left in Pentecost. A brilliant November sun provided angled light through our sycamore leaves still on the trees. Still plenty of leaves on the ground for the kids to play
Today was Veteran’s Day when we remember those who served in the miliary. Catherine invited those who had served to the front. Each person listed his/her years of service, representing the navy, army, marines from the 1950’s to the present.
We had also had the flags out on the graves of those who previously served.
In addition we read a special litany recognizing :
-Those that are in our presence that are either in active duty or reserve duty, and the fathers, mothers, siblings, spouses and grandparents of those that are currently serving.
-Those that are in our presence that have served in the military in the past.
-Those that are in our presence who have lost a loved one in war.
-Those who have gathered in your name in safety because of the sacrifices of others.
Finally we had prayer chain in honor of Alexander Long V who will be deployed back to Afghanistan. It was quite a moving ceremony, connecting to one another :
Today we also had the final collection for Operating Christmas Child of Samaritan’s purse. 21 boxes were brought in
We started collecting Christmas candy to over three hundred prisoners at Peumansend
Creek Regional Jail.
More immediate was the loose offering which will go to the Moravian Board of Central Elders on Staten Island to be used for Hurricane Sandy cleanup. There are plans for a small group to help with this process in early December. The sermon topic was the Widow mite, moving us to give out of our abundance for causes.
We celebrated numerous birthdays, including Susan and David, including those not present
Over the past several weeks, the texts from Mark have featured varying levels of commitment or lack thereof. In response to Jesus’ ministry, some people were all in, some were all out, and others were almost all in.
The rich man in Mark 10:22 went away grieving for he had many possessions (10:22). He was all out.
James and John (10:35-45) are willing to be all in if Jesus will promote them to the corner office. They’re all in if their conditions are met.
Bartimaeus (10:46-52), the blind man who receives his sight, like our poor widow, is all in.
The scripture is also part of a larger critique Jesus levels at the Temple and its practices more generally, a critique that began with the clearing of the Temple in the previous chapter and continues in this one.
The scripture in Mark deals with a group – the scribes and one person, a widow. (The bulletin is here ).
The scribes are the educated class. Those who are supposed to be upholding the theology of abundance but are operating in a theology of scarcity through their exploitation of the widows. They do nothing for them and actually enrich themselves from their losses. They are selfish and ostentacious. The scribes’ problem is that they are more concerned with what they have than with the needs of those around them.
Widows were the vulnerable in Jesus society. Becoming a widow was the fate most feared by a woman. They were people with no means of support. They didn’t own property. They usually didn’t have any way to earn money. They were people on welfare — living off handouts from society or family. Yet in her poverty, she lived with a theology of abundance giving all that she had to meet the needs of others and her religious obligations. Getting back to the beginning she is all "in", giving to the max. As the sermon suggests, "this widow also decides to take a chance on God and to act with hope by sharing the last bit of money that she has. "
So what type of disciple are we ? Discipleship involves absolute surrender to and trust in the God to whose will and purpose Jesus is about to commit himself absolutely in his passion.
Do we live our lives out of joy, gracious giving, seeking out the needs of others or are we like the scribes ? We should remember the needs of others in the approaching holiday season, caring for each other and the world. Like the widow, we all have our vulnerabilities.
The sermon puts it this way as Americajns – " We have become starving people—we are afraid of not having enough, or of losing what we have, and as a result, we have become selfish, angry and resentful, even bitter, and we find ourselves starving—starving for hope.
One obvious target is giving aid and assistance to those on Staten Island who lost property from Hurrican Sandy. It will likely be the second highest costing hurricane behind Katrina. The other prerogative on this veterans day is becoming more knowledgeable about veterans issues, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, mental health issues and financial struggles.