There is an old fable about a pig and a chicken who are being chased around a farmyard by a farmer who wanted ham and eggs for breakfast. According to the fable the conversation, as the pig outran the chicken went like this:

Chicken : Obviously, I am the primary contributor here. I've given 3 of my best (nest) eggs to this breakfast. *cluck cluck* to you, you dirty sow.

Pig : *Oink* You may be involved, dear chicken; but I am committed.

In this morning's gospel text we have the story of the widow's mite that helps us tell the difference between true commitment and a mere contribution. The term mite comes from the King James version of the Bible where the text reads: "And there came a certain poor widow and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing." In the widow's time the coins would have been called a "Prutah," or "Lepton." Some place its worth as one twentieth of a measure of grain. However it is measured, the coin's monetary value is tiny, but its worth in this parable is great.

In the gospels, Jesus has few kind words for the scribes. Once in a while he has respect for the Pharisees and what they represent, but not so for the scribes. His condemnation of them is consistent. In this morning's text he attacks first their dress. Scribes in Jesus' day wore long linen robes with a white mantle decorated with beautiful fringes. Their dress identified them as someone of importance and prestige. It was tradition that when they passed through the public gathering places people would rise respectfully to their feet to greet them. In like manner a wealthy host would show off their importance and good taste by having a scribe sit in the best, most visible seats. Scribes of course got the seat of honor in the synagogue, prominently facing the congregation, the torah close at hand.

The scribes were in love with themselves and their position. Their problem as Jesus points out is not that they are accorded respect and honor, the problem is they like it too much. And they are willing to use their position to the expense of others. As the story unfolds, Jesus levels a charge against the scribes: "they devour widow's houses." The charge comes from the fact that scribes were self supporting. Even though they had a position of honor, many scribes were poor. It was deemed an act of obedience and piety to extend the hospitality of the community's resources for their support. The lifestyle of the scribes often found the poorest and the least capable further impoverishing themselves to support the lavish lifestyle of the scribes.

The text then contrasts the behavior of the scribes with that of a poor widow. I have a mental image of this woman approaching the temple. She would have come to one of 13 trumpet shaped receptacles that stood against the wall of the Court of Women, where contributions were placed. Her step is humble, yet at the same time a bit defiant. She knows that she will be harshly judged by others who have more to give than she does?her tiny contribution will be treated with disdain. Yet, she dares to give anyway. And Jesus lifts up her gift as the lavish one.

The contrast between the lavish behavior of the scribes and the widow seem obvious. In the strutting of the scribes I am reminded of this story about the legendary vanity of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. At the age of 89, he agreed on the witness stand in court that he was the world's greatest living architect. When his wife demurred, suggesting that he should be more modest, he rejoined, "You forget, Olgivanna, I was under oath." (Neil Levine, The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright) The widow on the other hand gives out of her poverty. She knew the hurts and wounds of the world. She knew that she had very little. Yet, she trusted God enough to give her all. She, of all the people Jesus observed coming to give their temple contributions, held nothing back. All the others gave a contribution instead of a commitment. They had limited their giving so that they would have something for their own use. The widow's two almost worthless coins represented her last shred of security, her fragile thread of hope of her future…and she chose to place that security and hope with God. Perhaps we may even dare to say that her gift foreshadows the gift that Jesus is about to make of his very life.

The widow is, of course, our model for being the church. Her actions not only apply to the financial contributions that we place in the offering plates each week, but in the way we commit our lives to God. Our lives are to reflect the total giving of God that we know in Christ's life giving love. Her gift calls us to look at the ways in which we trust God…do we turn our lives completely over to God, or do we hold back, reserving a measure of who and what we are. Are we at the place where we can make a commitment instead of contributions?knowing that all we have comes from God, and so giving ourselves completely and without reserve to what God calls us to.

For me this model of commitment gets lived out in the community of faith. In "Letters and papers from Prison," Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes: "The church is the church only when it exists for others…it must tell people of every calling what it means to live in Christ, to exist for others. It must not under-estimate the importance of human example; it is not abstract argument, but example, that gives its word emphasis and power." As the church we must be the models of Christian commitment to the world. We must remember that the church does not exist to serve us, but we exist to serve God.

Together let us go examine our lives…question whether we are making a contribution or a commitment. May we reach a place in our journeys that we can pour out our whole heart, our whole being, our whole life into the places where our gifts are most needed…responding in the example of God's love for us, modeled in God's Son, Jesus Christ.