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25th Sunday after Pentecost • Year B
November 10, 2024 • Proper 27
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Historical Collect
Almighty, eternal God, show mercy to your children who humbly pray, that we who have no confidence in our worth may not be judged but tenderly received. Grant this, we pray, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Gelasian Sacramentary, 7th Century)
Thematic Collect
God of abundance, you pour out upon us grace and mercy without limit, still we live as those in fear of scarcity. Teach us your ways of generous living that we might share the abundance of your love; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
The Common Thread
“Thus says the Lord.” When God speaks, his word accomplishes his will (Isa 55:11). So, we may trust because just as he spoke heaven and earth and sea into existence, he also provides everything we need: food, justice, freedom. He is always faithful, so we may also hope in him. This hope is based on more than words; it is based on the action of his Son, who has redeemed us and is coming again for those who fervently await him. The poor widow trusted him through the means of faith. May we too, spend our all for God, believing he is our faithful provision.
First Reading • 1 Kings 17:8-16
“Better is a little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.” (Psa 37:16) The little flour and oil that the kind widow had, she spent on Elijah. For all she knew, it was all she had to feed herself and her son. Yet the Lord caused the supply to never run out for the duration of the drought. The miraculous provision of God is what we experience in our lives. Even as we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” the supply has never been spent. God supplies our daily needs and does so richly and abundantly.
Psalm • Psalm 146:1-10
It is astonishing where people place their trust. Lottery tickets, pensions, employers, politicians, entertainers, and pastors are some examples. None of these is a sure bet and in none of them is salvation found. The real blessings of life come from God. Those who know this, put their trust in the Lord and are able to give their last flour and oil for a prophet, and their last penny for the kingdom. For they know the Lord keeps faith forever.
Second Reading • Hebrews 9:24-28
No matter how much we give—though it seems small enough—it is nothing compared to the surpassing greatness of the offering of Jesus Christ. We give our small offerings over and over again. But Christ's offering was so perfect and complete that it needed giving only once. A lifetime of trying over and over to remove our own sin will fail but the one work of Christ nearly 70 generations ago, still holds today.
Gospel • Mark 12:38-44
What great trust the widow had. Jesus could hardly have helped using her example to teach his disciples the kind of confident trust they should have in God. Because she had no wealth, the widow was able by God's grace to have a wealth of faith. Where more money would have likely weighed her down, her poverty freed her to give all she had left. No matter how much we have, we must give our all. With the hymn writer we are invited to sing, “Take me Jesus, take me now” (“I Surrender All,” Judson W. Van DeVenter).
Resources
Links to Worship Resources for this Service
