The last speeding ticket my son received was issued completely by automation. A hidden camera hooked up to a radar gizmo snapped a shot of his license plate while he was exceeding the posted speed limit on the streets of Akron. He received a citation in the mail with a photograph of the back of his car, clearly legible license plate and a digital readout of his speed. He also received instructions on how to pay the $100 fine. He was a little more than miffed about this new high def digital technology being put to such a use, but he has also moderated his driving habits on the streets of Akron.

With all due respect for the excesses of an Orwellian Big Brother watching our every move, knowing we are being watched does have a tendency to modify our behavior. The title of our message for today is, "Jesus Is Watching." There may not be speed trap cameras set up on every street just yet, and there may not be surveillance cameras in every store and there are still unmonitored places where we can avoid detection should temptation strike. But our actions, behaviors and even intentions remain exposed for the Lord Almighty to see.

What is more, the Lord Almighty does not always see things the way we see them. Things we view as of utmost importance are of little concern to the Almighty, and some things of little concern to us are seen as of first importance to the Almighty. We find these contrasting ways of seeing things expressed in our text. One part of our text is often used in sermons on stewardship. But it is actually to be understood in light of the other part of our text which comes before it. Once commonality shared by both parts is the notion of watching.

As he taught, Jesus said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets" (Verses 38-39). As one who teaches the law of God, walks around in a flowing robe, has the best seat in the sanctuary, yada, yada, yada, I don’t think I like this text very much.

Oh yes, I also get greeted in the marketplace ad infinitum. This past week the Director of the Ohio Council of Churches stopped by to see me and our church. I took her to lunch over at Barrington Town Square. I saw a convenient parking spot, but couldn’t get to it because Dick Shaw was shuffling with his cane in front of my vehicle. I yelled out the window, "Hurry up you old coot," and he stopped to shake his cane at me. I thought my guest was going to die.

Jesus is no more impressed with pompous religiosity than Dick Shaw. Jesus sees the religious leaders of his day differently than the general public. He sees through their superficial coverings of social respectability and exposes their hidden hypocrisy. "They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers (Verse 40). They kind of remind me of some of the p-r-e-y-i-n-g preachers on TV who prey on the weakened sensibilities of aging widows and other vulnerable souls who make up the bulk of their donor list. Such men, Jesus says, will be punished most severely (Verse 40). Why, because they are secretly and dishonestly taking for themselves what is being given to God.

But if Jesus sees the social elite differently than most, he also sees the socially vulnerable differently as he continues watching them both. Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny (Verses 41-42). So we have a situation where some are putting lots of money in the offering plate and one is putting in a very little—at least that is the way we see it. But it is not the way Jesus sees it.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on" (Verses 43-44). First an observation: just because there are some who will take what others give to God does not mean that Jesus thinks it wrong to give to God. It is clear that Jesus is here lifting up as a good example one who is giving her all to God even though it amounts to very little in the eyes of the world.

In Jesus’ day widows were usually poor and of little social consequence. That is why they are singled out in the Bible, with orphans, for special attention. As James wrote: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27). What the world sees as of little consequence Jesus sees as of the utmost importance.

Jesus is watching. He is watching the high and mighty, signified by teachers of the law, and he is watching the lowly and least, signified by poor widows. He is also watching us. Do we value highly the things Jesus regards as superficial, surface adornment—the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the places we live? Do we neglect the things Jesus regards as of utmost importance—the needs of his most vulnerable children? Do we see the same way Jesus sees?

When we make out a Faith Promise Card or bring our offering to church, it may seem like a private affair, but Jesus is watching. When we cast our ballot in the voting booth there may be a curtain or covering, but Jesus is watching. When we encounter God’s children who may be different than we, Jesus is watching. When we associate with one and not the other, Jesus is watching. When we puff ourselves up at the expense of others, Jesus is watching. When we are religious in word but not in deed, Jesus is watching.

Let us not live as those who are to be punished most severely, but as those who are to be rewarded most graciously. Let us see as Jesus sees. Jesus is watching.