November 6, 2021

Dear Road Church Friends,

We have come to that time of year when we are especially cognizant of the needs of the poor. The approaching seasonal holidays are grateful celebrations of our abundance and the joy that comes from giving. It is natural that our hearts turn toward those who are struggling to make ends meet. But the plight of the poor is not seasonal. Throughout the year some folks manage to climb out of poverty while others descend into it. The needs of the poor for bread is constant. The promise of Jesus to the poor was, “blessed are you who hunger now for you shall be filled,” and he taught us to pray, “give us this day our daily bread.” We are not to pray, “give me my share of my daily bread,” but, “give all of us our daily supply of bread.” The Lord’s Prayer is not about me and my needs. It is about the basic needs we have in common. It is a daily reminder that the church is a community that cares about the needs of others. The “Our Father” is a prayer for our common good, which begins by ministering to the basic needs of the poor and the least among us.

The message for this Sunday (Daily Bread for Widows and the World) is a reflection on what, “Give us this day our daily bread,” would summon us to do if a destitute, frail, and homeless widow attended our church service and put her last twenty-dollar bill into the collection plate.

SCRIPTURES

Luke 6:21

Happy are you who are hungry now; you will be filled!

Matthew 6:11

Give us this day our daily bread.

Mark 12:38-44

As Jesus taught the crowd, he warned, “Beware of the religious leaders you see walking around in expensive robes, and being greeted with respect in the marketplaces. They have the best seats in the synagogues and sit in places of honor at banquets. They also like to say eloquent prayers in public to appear devout. But they are the very ones who take widows to court to evict them from their houses. They deserve to be punished more than the “sinners” they are constantly condemning from their pulpits.”

A little later Jesus sat down opposite a Donation Box in the Temple court, and watched the crowd dropping money into it. Many rich people put in large sums. When he saw a poor widow drop in two copper pennies, he pointed her out to his disciples and said, “this poor widow has given more than all the others put together. Everyone else has donated a small amount out of their abundance; but this impoverished widow has given everything she had to live on.”

THE NEW TRINITY

Three things must a person possess if her soul would live,

And know life’s perfect good—

Three things would the all-supplying Father give—

Bread, Beauty, and Brotherhood.

—by Edwin Markham

Our worship service from today can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PXzcqXTHayc