Dear Friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

When I was growing up in southern Minnesota, I never knew the political leanings of my parents’ friends or whether they even had any. We knew who was Lutheran and Catholic in town, but no one made a distinction between who was liberal and who was conservative. Our neighbors were Roman Catholic and went to the parochial school. That didn’t make them any less our neighbors. Surprisingly, they learned more verses to Beautiful Savior in their school than I had learned in Sunday School. Of course, in my hometown, we knew who worked at the Hormel plant and worked in the corporate office, but we made no distinction. My father, who was a meat-cutter for 42 years, led our Shaw Elementary School Cub  Pack, together with the future CEO of the Hormel Foods Corporation, Dick Knowlton.  They were partners and equals. When the votes were cast at election time, we trusted that the winner would represent all constituents fairly and with impartiality, whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent or any other leaning    That was their task and honor for which our trust had been given to them in their victory.  As for those who lost, we would often repeat the fabled and customary words of our high school football coach “Well, there’s always baseball season.”

Tragically, that spirit of mutual respect and harmony that I knew in my youth ended in 1985 with the brutal Hormel Union Strike. Larger than life characters chose to defy the recommendations of the national union and fight the company. Quickly brother turned against brother, and neighbor against neighbor.  Sides found refuge in restaurants and cafes of their own patronage.  This is all documented in the 1990 academy award winning movie American Dream. Within two years, many workers were forced by economic hardship to leave Austin and to find new employment elsewhere. Decades later, those experiences continue to color the way men and women look at life.

There are many today whose vision of the present is colored by their own experience of the past, and they cannot make peace with their neighbor’s political leanings and the outcome of this week’s election, Others have detached themselves from the community and the whole political process. As a former social studies teacher, let me assure you, I believe in the great American experiment of democracy of bringing together people from a variety of religious tradition, ethnic backgrounds and races. It is messy at times. But one conviction I have grown to recognize is this:  As a nation we will not be judged by our ideals and principles, or even who wins the election. No, we will be measured by the details of how we live our lives. That is Christ’s message for you and me.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus has positioned himself, in Jerusalem’s ancient Temple in the Courtyard of the Women. There were several courtyards surrounding the Holy of Holies, and the Courtyard of the Women, was a place where all pilgrims regardless of their faith were allowed to enter. Thirteen collecting boxes known as the trumpets stood there each assigned to an offering for a designated purpose – for the wood that was used for the burnt sacrifices, for the incense, for the maintenance of the Temple.   As Jesus stood watching the crowd, he saw many wealthy people flinging their offerings into the trumpets; and then came the poor widow. All she had in the world were two thin copper coins, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I tell you, this woman has put in more than all of them.”

Of course, Jesus’ words had nothing to do with the copper coins’ actual, financial worth.  But his words had everything to do with the most cherished of human virtues -courageous faith.  Truthfully, the two coins weren’t going to change the bottom line of the Temple’s economy, nor would they change the widow’s life.   She lived in a patriarchal society, and she would always be dependent upon the benevolence of family members, or the charity of the Temple itself.  The poor knew this well.  A coin or two wasn’t going to move her from welfare to prosperity. And yet, the woman gave away everything she had to live on.

Now, you may be wondering: Was the poor widow’s generosity, mere foolishness or was it truly an act of courageous faith?  For Jesus, it was clear.  The poor widow so loved God and her fellow man that she was willing to forfeit everything she had to live on in the service of others. Yes, she trusted that all things would work for good in God’s hands, and that she would ultimately be measured by the details of how she lived her life. That is our challenge and call as well.  Yes, even in a political transition to a new presidency.

President Biden captured the spirit of elections that I knew from my youth. “Campaigns” he said, “are contests of competing visions.  The country chooses one or the other.  We accept the choice the country made.” He then added, “I’ve said many times you can’t love your country only when you win.  You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.”  The President concluded his remarks for national unity with this, “The American experiment endures, and we’re going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged.  We need to keep going.  And above all, we need to keep the faith.”

My friends, we will all be measured by the details of how we live our lives, and not by our victories. So what does a courageous faith look like?  Turn again to the widow and her two coins. Remember that people with a courageous and trusting faith in God do not need to feel anxious about the future- as uncertain, or bleak, as it may seem. They trust that God alone is always in control.  For that reason, they do not need a figure to blame or an enemy to criticize and attack.  Instead, they understand that things happen, and not always for good reasons, but God is still there.

Remarkably, there are devout Christian followers who believe that without their personal energy and commitment God will fail.  For them, God is not ultimately in control, but will only eventually be in control. That is how Jesus portrayed the rich who contributed to the treasury.  They contributed out of their abundance, but the widow, all in, gave out of her poverty.  People like the widow who know and trust that everything in life is a gift from God, do not worry about scarcity, or tomorrow, they know that with God, it will be enough.

Perhaps the greatest challenge of this week, however, is knowing and practicing how to speak with those with whom we disagree politically. We will be measured by the details of our life, so study again the courageous faith of the widow. Even though, Jesus commended her sacrifice as the greatest offering, she did not gloat or boast over Jesus’ words or compare herself to others.  She unassumingly moved on through the Temple.  That was a noble, courageous faith. Do not let your actions, attitude and words undermine the good news of God’s kingdom placed within you.  Choose to be humble and gracious instead.

My friends, as a nation there are far more things that bind us together than separate us. We must focus on these things. Today, Remembrance Sunday and this Veterans Day weekend is an occasion when we are called to remember the men and women, who willing stood and fought on a common ground for the sake of this nation.  For many, their commitment, courage and witness can only be seen in the details of their lives.  Let us honor and remember them this day, and let us set for ourselves a standard, that we will not be judged by our victories alone, but let us be measured by the details of our lives. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.