It’s a Matter of Trust – November 9, 2025

~November 9, 2025 ~
(Contemporary) (Traditi0nal)

“It’s a Matter of Trust”

I Kings 17:8-16, Mark 12:38-44
November 9, 2025

Of course I have to start today with an acknowledgment.  The title of this sermon is a shout out to Billy Joel, who sang a song with a similar name.  “A Matter of Trust.”

I was actually going to call this sermon “It’s a Matter of Faith.”  But that was so close to the Billy Joel title that I thought his title might have a little more “curb appeal” – on our sign.  Maybe it would be a curiosity to the Billy Joel fans out there.

Anyway, I think you’ll agree that “faith” and “trust” are very similar words.  Because having faith in something and putting your trust in something are synonymous.  “Faith” and “Trust” are used almost interchangeably.  Or, sometimes they’re put together, for emphasis.  “Do you put your faith and trust in God?”  That’s almost redundant, isn’t it.  Although one might say that “Faith” is the more “spiritual” word.

Well, here today, we have two stories of faith and trust.  In fact, we have two stories about two widows.  And I think these stories go hand in hand.  The widow of Zarephath and the widow at the Temple treasury are both stories of trust.  Both of those women showed great faith and trust in God.  And both showed that by giving of themselves, sacrificially.  Both gave, we would say, “from the heart.”  For both, their giving was “a matter of trust!”

The widow of Zarephath had very little for herself and her son.  Widows in those days often had very little.  With no husband to support them, life was often very difficult.  This woman said she only had a little bit of flour and oil.  And she also had very little hope.  When Elijah came to her and asked for some bread, she told him how little she had.  And then she said, “I’m going to bake some bread for me and my son, so that we might eat it and die!”

But Elijah said, “Fear not.”  He might well have said, “Trust me!”  “Or better yet, trust the God who sent me!”  Because the next thing he said was, “For thus says the Lord.”  Now notice, those are the traditional words prophets would say.  I’ve said before that too often people think of prophets simply as those who predict the future.  But in the purest sense, the prophet’s job was to speak on behalf of God.  They often began with those words.  “Thus says the Lord.”

So here, Elijah was giving this woman the word of the Lord.  God was the one who sent him to her.  She didn’t hear God tell him that.  But now she was hearing what God said in the “prophetic voice.”  And it was then, to her, a matter of trust!  And as the story goes, her flour and oil never ran out!  And I think it’s safe to say her hope was restored!

That’s quite a story of faith.  And it’s a great lesson for us, because we too have moments that call for great faith, and even if we have faith, we still can have our reservations and our doubts.  That’s just the human part of us.  It’s hard to have a pure faith that has no doubt at all!  So we can identify with this first widow!

Now, the widow at the temple was a slightly different story.  We don’t have any dialogue from her.  We just see her actions, and then we have Jesus’ comments about her.

This poor widow – and that’s how both Mark and Jesus described her – this poor widow gave her last two coins.  We’re not told why.  But there was a certain expectation that the people coming to the Temple would make such contributions.  It was part of their tradition.  And as Mark describes this, “The multitude was putting money into the Temple treasury.”

Even so, as we think of this woman, it’s hard for us to imagine her giving everything she had.  Was it from guilt, or the guilt she would have felt if she gave nothing?  I’m sure there was a sense of peer pressure going on here.  There were a lot of people at the Temple and everybody would see her give or not give.  These were public contributions people were making.

So was that it?  Or was there a sense of desperation in this woman.  Maybe it was a matter of trust.  Maybe she thought, “I’ll give what I can and see if God will help me.”  Whatever it was, I still can’t imagine her not having the same reservations about it as we saw in the widow of Zarephath.

But that’s her story.  And I love the way Mark leads into it.  For this entire chapter Jesus is at the Temple in Jerusalem.  He’s teaching the people, and he’s being questioned by the religious leaders.  First it’s the Pharisees, and then the Sadducees.  They were asking tough questions, trying to trap him in his words.  Then one of the Scribes came and asked him what was the greatest commandment.  And hat was a more positive encounter.  Read this chapter sometime and see how it flows.  And see how it leads to this story.

Because as Jesus was speaking, he ended it all by giving a rather scathing statement about the Scribes!  Where we began reading today, he said, “Beware of the Scribes, who like to go around in long robes, and have salutations in the market places, and the best seats in the synagogue, and the places of honor at feasts, but who devour widows houses and for a pretense make long prayers.”  I dug out my Thesaurus for that word “pretense.”  Well actually, I clicked on the Thesaurus button on my computer screen.  But “Pretense” came up as “trick,” “con,” and “sham.”

Jesus was not being very nice in referring to these scribes, was he?  He was condemning their system that piled obligations on the people – burdens that fell hardest on widows and orphans.  They were the most vulnerable.  As I said, they had no means of supporting themselves.  It was not good to be a widow in those times!

So Jesus was implying that there was an obligation.  There was an expectation of giving to the temple treasury.  And there was a certain “image” people received for the gifts they gave.  Some put in great sums of money, I’m sure to be praised by others.  Jesus was being critical of all that.  If you remember, his guidance in such matters is that we do things from the heart.  “Don’t pray on the street corners, in order to be seen by men.  Go into your closet.”  “And when you give alms, don’t do that to be seen by others, either.”

Jesus always looked on the heart.  And he still does.  His thoughts would later be echoed in the words of Paul to the Corinthians, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion.”  And he ends that thought with, “For God loves a cheerful giver.” (II Cor. 9:7)  And I think he would agree that “it’s a matter of trust.”

So, this widow – this poor widow – gave of herself.  And when she gave, she gave sacrificially.  She trusted that God would still take care of her!  Mark tells us that she gave was two copper coins.  The coin was called a “lepton.”  That’s a word that meant “thin one.”  We’re told that two of them were barely worth a penny.  And that means our modern penny, by the way.  The Bible translators were attempting to use coins the modern reader would understand.  In fact, we get the word “mite” from earlier translations, like the King James.  That version says she gave “two mites that didn’t make a farthing.”

So, Mark was telling us that she gave two of the smallest coins they had, that barely made one of the smallest coins we have.  And my thanks to Mark, from our congregation, for bringing in his replicas of the widow’s mite!  It was a good visual representation of what we’re talking about here.  Because Mark – the Gospel writer – was telling us that this woman’s gift was literally next to nothing.  Yet, it was everything to her!  To give what she gave was truly a matter of trust!

So this is the second in our series of sermons on Stewardship.  Last week we thought about the tax collector Zacchaeus, and how he was changed through his encounter with Jesus.  And I thought this story was a good follow up to that, as we get closer to the day we dedicate our pledges.  Because here we have this contrast between the obligations put on the people by Scribes, and the sacrifice of this widow, who gave from her heart.

So our giving is a response to Grace, as it was for Zacchaeus.  And it’s a matter of trust like it was for this widow at the Temple.  I believe she gave out of her trust that God would still take care of her – like the widow of Zarephath.  (And I wonder if she even knew her story!)

So, as we think about Stewardship, may we continue to think about this poor widow.  Like her, may we trust God, that he will take care of us.  That’s the heart of true stewardship.  As we give of ourselves – our time, our talent, and our treasure – may we know that stewardship isn’t just much a matter of what we give, it’s a matter of how much we trust!  Stewardship isn’t just about budgets and pledge cards.  It’s about believing that when we give, God still provides!  It’s about trusting that the one who gives us life will also sustain us!

The widow of Zarephath gave and God provided.  The widow at the Temple understood giving perhaps better than anyone there that day!  But both knew that giving is “a matter of trust!”

Prayer

Eternal God, help us to grow in our trust in you.  It isn’t always easy for us.  Sometimes we have reservations, like the widow of Zarephath.  Bless us and prosper us, and help us to have the assurance that you will always provide, as we share in your kingdom here in our midst.  This we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.