Sermon, Proper 27B, Mark 12:38-44

Today is Veterans Day.  This day began as Armistice Day in 1919 to honor those who died in the Great War.  It has since evolved into Veterans Day to honor all men and women, living and dead, who served in the U.S. military.

When I was in Sheridan, one of my parishioners was a former naval commander who served as the captain of a nuclear sub.  He once told me that hymn 579 was the Navy theme song.  So in honor of him and all military personnel, I select that hymn every Sunday around Veterans Day.

This day has special meaning for a lot of people.  In celebration of this day, there can be inap-propriate actions, as well as appropriate.  On the inappropriate side are those who would glorify the military machine, the wars won and the idolization of veterans of popular wars while vilifying those of unpopular wars.  Lest we forget, those who served in Viet Nam fell in that last group.

On the appropriate side are those who honor all those people who served simply because they served, whether you agree with the military or not.  It would also include honoring those who served in the “lesser branches” of the Coast Guard or Merchant Marines.

So, whether anti-war or pro-war, anti-military or pro-military, we, as citizens of this country, should take time to honor those men and women who served and sacrificed as members of our military.  As it says in Rite I, it is meet and right so to do today.

And even if a vet hasn’t sacrificed his or her life, they have sacrificed in other ways.  I am certainly not a fan of the military complex and its desire for new and better ways to kill people, but I’ll never understand why active duty personnel have to pay income tax, buy their own uniforms or live in substandard housing.  As a country, we should be treating these people better.

As I said, one appropriate act on this day is to honor all veterans – not just those who served in wars or were decorated or who died, but those veterans like my dad who was a cook in the USAF and whose biggest sacrifice was spending summers in Kansas.  We do this because we need them all.  We need the Navy recruiter in Billings, MT; we need the Coast Guard helicopter pilot in Alaska; we need those involved in firefights and those who clean latrines.  They all serve and make use of what they have to offer.

Something that constantly amazes me is how the lectionary so often reflects what is happening in our lives.  Today we celebrate and honor those people who have served our country in the armed forces and for the benefits we have received because of that service.  We are also in the midst of our annual pledge drive; that time of year when you decide what the church at large, and St. Luke’s in particular, is worth to you, through your pledge of time, talent and treasure.  And today we get a gospel lesson that addresses pledge, service and benefits.

As I said, we are in the midst of our pledge drive and the lectionary gives us the story of Jesus at the temple watching people putting money into the treasury.  The temple couldn’t do its business without the offerings from the people.  They couldn’t offer services, they couldn’t offer emergency help to those in need, and their priests wouldn’t be able to live.  As with our church today, we couldn’t do our business without your offerings.  We couldn’t offer services and emergency help to those in need, and your priest wouldn’t be able to live. 

This passage today reminds us of two things.  First, that the church needs the support of everybody in order to continue to offer services, help those in need, and do all the other things we do.  We need the support of the wealthy who put in large sums of money from their abundance, and we need the support of those who make offerings even out of their poverty.  Just like the military needs the cook in Kansas as much as they need frontline soldiers, we also need the support and service of every member.

Second, Jesus holds up the widow not because she gave her last two cents to the church (actually, the temple), but because she was willing to make a personal sacrifice for something she believed in.  Like our veterans were willing to make personal sacrifices for something they believed in, this widow made her own ultimate sacrifice.  Jesus contrasts her actions to those of all the wealthy people giving large sums and tells his disciples that they really aren’t making a sacrifice for God at all; they are giving to God from their leftovers, the money that doesn’t matter to them.

As we remember and honor our military veterans this day, let us also remember and honor the widow in today’s gospel passage; because both of them made sacrifices not all of us are willing to make.  But we must also not denigrate those who served in unpopular wars and/or unimportant places, nor must we denigrate those who make their offering to the church from their leftovers; because both of them still serve and give; those gifts and talents can still be used.

And finally, in this pledge season, and as we contemplate our veterans and the widow, we need to ask ourselves what this place is worth.  Is God as manifested in the parish of St. Luke’s only worthy of our leftovers?  Or is God as manifested in the parish of St. Luke’s worthy of a much more meaningful offering?  Because, really, like the veterans and all those people in today’s gospel, only you can decide how much to give.

Amen.