The Twenty Third Sunday After Pentecost - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 

Luke 21:5-19, November 16, 2025

 

I’ve been thinking about our Gospel text for this week, how it relates to our Stewardship Campaign: A Chorus of Generosity, and how it ties into who we are at St. Thomas’. It’s a long Gospel with a lot going on. I want to focus on the first few verses. “When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’” (Luke 21:1-4).

In these verses, Jesus is talking about the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It had been massively expanded and renovated by Herod the Great. It was one of the most breathtaking structures in the world. The entire complex was the size of 20 football fields. The walls and doors were gold-plated. The marble stones were polished to a shine. The temple was the center of the universe to the Jewish people. It was the only place where sacrifices could be offered. It was their social and economic hub. The temple was considered God’s dwelling place on earth. And then Jesus stands before the people and says, 'One day, none of this will be here.' Not one stone will be stacked on top of another. The gold walls, the polished marble, the ornate carvings, all of those things they adored would be gone. Everything. All the things they see and cherish will not last.

Jesus isn’t attacking the beautiful structure they built. What he is attacking is the illusion that impressive things are what matter most to them. The people are so impressed with the size of the stones, the gold-covered decorations, and the dazzling beauty of the temple that they are missing out on something truly remarkable. Jesus tells them that all these things they see won’t last. Jesus is redirecting their attention from what looks important to what is important.

The temple gave the illusion of being permanent. The temple was built to be strong and impressive. But the real strength is not in the building. The real strength was and still is in God’s people. It’s not giant stones that build God’s Kingdom. God’s Kingdom is built on faithful gifts. A meal delivered to a neighbor. A volunteer teaching children. A person who gives sacrificially even when no one sees. A visitor welcomed at the door. A pledge given out of faith, not abundance. These small, faithful acts build something that can never be torn down. It’s the generosity of God’s people that creates the reality of permanence.  

In just under two weeks, it’ll be Thanksgiving. And you know what tha means…….It’s a Wonderful Life will be on nearly every channel for the next 28 days.  What a story of generosity. George Bailey spends his life sacrificing his dream of traveling the world, over and over. He’s made plans, has his brochures, but something always comes up, and time after time, he makes the choice to stay, sacrificing his own dreams.

George is a brilliant man who wants to be an architect. He’s smart enough to go to college. He could run his own business. He gives up his dream of going to school to run his father’s building and loan company. In doing so he is able to provide housing to his community, which keeps the town from falling under the control of the wealthy antagonist, Henry Potter. He uses his skills to help others.

George isn’t a rich man. He didn’t go to college. He doesn’t live in a fancy house. But he gives sacrificially from what he does have. He gives all his honeymoon money to help his neighbors out. He supports his extended family. He gives money to charities. He helps those who are struggling. He doesn’t give from abundance; he gives from compassion.

And then, there is a generosity that we don’t often discuss. George gives the generosity of his presence. George shows up – at the pharmacy as a kid, when neighbors need help, when people are scared. When he shows up, he listens, encourages, advocates, and lifts burdens. George is generous with his heart.

After all of this giving, George wakes up one day and realizes that life doesn’t look like what he had hoped. He wanted to travel the world. He wanted to go to college. He aspired to be a great architect and build large buildings. One sacrifice at a time, George’s dreams slipped away.

The people at the temple were impressed by its size and its beauty. George was measuring his life in the same way. He measured it by his accomplishments, adventures, and success. Thinking he was a failure, he didn’t see the value in the small and holy things he had done. He didn’t see that the stone he admired, what he thought was important, wealth, status, and fame, are the things Jesus said won’t last.

Part of the problem is that generosity often feels invisible, so people think it doesn’t count. Generosity rarely brings applause or awards. That’s because generosity is relational. It’s not measurable. George couldn’t quantify the impact of his generosity, so he decided his life was worthless. George didn’t have any great polished marble stones or gold-covered doors to show for his life, so he didn’t think he had made a difference. But his entire life, he had been building – not a giant temple, but a community.

When George’s life seemed to be falling apart, the community he had been building through his generosity was revealed. Every small act he had given throughout his life returned to him in a chorus of generosity.

We started our stewardship campaign: A Chorus of Generosity, four weeks ago. One of the talking points I’ve been saying is the power of ONE – one dollar, one hour, one event. This is what Jesus is teaching us in the Luke text. It’s not about the big stones. It’s not about the big gifts. It’s not about the impressive walls. It’s about faithful participation. God isn’t asking us to give something enormous. God is asking us to give something real.

At the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, it isn’t one person that saves George. He’s saved because a whole community shows up, each person giving what they can. People bring one dollar, or a few coins, or whatever they’ve saved in a jar. These small gifts of generosity are strong enough to lift a man from despair.

A chorus isn’t one loud soloist. It’s many people offering small voices that harmonize. It’s not one grand gesture that builds God’s Kingdom. It’s hundreds of little gifts, a chorus of generosity.

When we put our gifts in God’s hands, God multiplies them into Kingdom work far beyond what we could ever accomplish alone. Our generosity becomes part of God’s ongoing story of healing, restoration, and renewal of the world in ways we may never fully see.

So let’s offer what we have with trust and gratitude, believing that God will use it. Let us join our voices, our gifts, and our lives in the work of the Kingdom that is already unfolding among us, knowing that God will take what we offer and make it more. Amen