25th Sunday after Pentecost
November 11, 2018
Ruth 1:8-18; Mark 12:38-44
(Or watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMPbvhHyV4U
)
We’re going to begin with a little word association. What
do you think of when you hear the word ‘offering’? I imagine it might depend on
your context. If you’re heavily involved in the world of finance, your first
association might be an “IPO,” or initial public offering, when a private
company decides to offer its stock to the public for the first time. Or, you
might be a bargain hunter or someone who likes to make a deal and so it depends
on what the other person is offering as to whether you’ll accept it or not. Two
railroad properties in exchange for Boardwalk when you’re playing Monopoly?
Mmm, probably depends on whether it gives either player a monopoly as to
whether that’s an offer to accept. Here in church, we know offering has to do
with putting money in the plate when it’s passed around. In first century
Jerusalem at the temple, Jews didn’t take up an offering during the service.
Instead, in the courtyard outside the temple were a series of collection
boxes. Each box was for a particular
purpose, such as to buy wine or oil for the sacrifices, or to contribute to the
regular operating expenses of the temple.[1]
You could make your offering any time you passed by the temple, not just one
day a week.
In our Gospel reading this morning, Jesus and the disciples
have not only made it to Jerusalem, they are in this courtyard area around the
temple. Jesus is teaching, like he does, and then then he goes and sits down in
a spot where he can watch people put money into those collection boxes, into
the temple treasury. Some people put in significant contributions. Then comes a
widow who puts in two small coins that together were worth one-eighth of a
penny.[2]
Jesus comments to the disciples, “That poor widow put in more than all of the
rest. They contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put
in everything she had, all she had to live on.” There is a difference between
giving your leftovers and giving sacrificially. There is a difference between
giving as opportunity arises and planned giving. Some gave out of their
abundance, which means it didn’t really cost them anything to give their
offering. They wouldn’t notice it when they balanced their checkbook. The widow
gave a small offering financially-speaking, but a huge offering in terms of her
personal finances. She gave her life.
What’s interesting is what comes just before this example
of giving. Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard before he sat down to
observe, and he issues warnings against the teachers of Judaic law. First, he
says they walk around in long flowing
robes, which is because that’s all you can do in long flowing robes. You can’t
work in them. You can’t hurry in them. These are clothes for people of leisure;
they are not practical everyday clothes. Second, the legal experts like to be
greeted with respect in the marketplaces. Again, this doesn’t seem like a big
problem, everyone wants to be greeted with respect. Except they’re not just
after respect, like Mr. and Mrs., they want to be greeted deferentially and
with honor. They like fancy greetings that appeal to their vanity, you know, “Good
morning O most holy and exceptional teacher,” or something like that. These
teachers also wanted the most important seats in the synagogues, which then
were in the front row, in full view of the congregation so that everyone knew
they were there. “See how religious and righteous I am? I’m up here in the
front seat hanging on to the minister’s every word.” We seem to have overcome
that problem in churches these days! The fourth criticism Jesus levies on the
law experts is how they want the places of honor at banquets. He’s already
addressed that in Luke 14, with the instructions that “When someone invites you
to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more
distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both
of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then,
humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are
invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to
you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the
presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be
humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”[3]
In case you hadn’t noticed, these legal experts are all about some
self-promotion and exalting themselves. The next problem is the curious phrase
that “they devour widows’ houses.” Law experts were supposed to teach for free
and earn a living with a trade and using their hands. The problem was that these
legal experts had managed to talk people into believing that there was no
higher duty and privilege than to support them in comfort.[4]
It reminds me of the criticism leveled against the new cathedral in Managua,
Nicaragua. There was a major earthquake in Managua in 1972 that leveled 90% of
the city.[5]
Among the ruins is the old cathedral, which was deemed unrestoreable. Nicaragua
is the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere. The new cathedral cost
around $4.5 million. I met many Nicaraguans, both Catholics and non-Catholics,
who thought that money could have been better spent. Finally, these teachers of
the law make notoriously long prayers so everyone can hear how tight they are
with God. These legal experts make it all about themselves, draw attention to
themselves, and want special privileges and honors. It’s all about what they
can get, not about what they can give.
In contrast, Jesus comments to the disciples on this poor
widow, who gives all she can to the temple. There are a few interesting things
here. First of which is that she gives to a flawed and doomed institution. Only
two verses later, Jesus says, “Do you see all these great temple buildings? Not
one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”[6]
The widow didn’t stop and evaluate whether she was giving to a worthy cause,
whether her contribution would be used wisely or whether it’ll be used to build
a multimillion dollar facility in the midst of poverty. The temple was not
worthy of her gift. She gave “her whole life to something that is condemned and
corrupt.”[7]
This is the last scene in Jesus’ public ministry in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus is on
his way to give his whole life for something that is corrupt and condemned –
all of humanity, the whole world,” us.[8] And isn’t that a good thing? Jesus gives his
whole life for something not worthy of the gift. He gave his life for a broken
and fallen world, one lately filled with gun violence, and acts of hatred. In
Romans 5, Paul wrote, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a
righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.”[9]
We didn’t deserve the gift of Christ’s life laid down for us. The temple didn’t
deserve the widow’s gift of her life. The “call of Christ to the church is to
give the whole of its life for the sake of those who do not deserve such a
gift.”[10]
The worthiness of the recipient isn’t the point. It’s the offering that counts.
The second international mission trip I went on was in
college and we went to Mexico. After a couple days there, I started to have
some doubts about why we were there and was it worth it. My first international
mission trip had been to Honduras, to a much poorer area than where we were in
Mexico. I talked with a classmate who had done a trip to the Dominican Republic,
also a much poorer country than Mexico. We agreed that what we saw in Mexico
was not as destitute as what we’d each experienced on our first mission trips.
However, we decided that it was still worth it, because this community needed
help, too. Who were we to determine who needed the most help? We helped where
we were needed, where we were called, whether as “bad” as other places or not.
The worthiness of the recipient wasn’t the point. Serving Jesus was the point.
The
second aspect of the widow’s gift that I want to comment on was the costliness
of it. The widow, like Jesus, laid down her life, giving all she had. We tend
to get uncomfortable talking about laying down our lives, or questioning
whether we could really do that. Yet it’s not any different than what those who
serve in our armed forces do, or members of our law enforcement. They are
prepared to lay down their lives, to make the ultimate sacrifice. This is
giving your all, like Jesus. It’s giving that is costly. We read the beginning
of Ruth this morning. Ruth gave up her home, her family, her people, her
country, to go with her mother-in-law to her mother-in-law’s home country. It
was costly for Ruth to make that decision that “where you go I will go, and
where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”[11]
Ruth gave her life to stay with Naomi.
At
least a few of us went to more than one funeral this past week. In addition to
officiating here at Ms. Mary’s, I also went to the one held for our organist’s
father. Many people spoke about the impact he had had on their faith. And in
the eulogy, the family wrote that “He was very generous with his love, time,
and finances, not offering to the Lord that which cost him nothing.” Did you
catch that? He didn’t offer to the Lord that which cost him nothing. In other
words, his offerings were personally costly. He didn’t give out of his
abundance, off the top, leftovers. He gave generously and sacrificially; he
gave gifts that cost him. Have you ever done that? Do you do that regularly?
When finances get tight, do you cut back on your offering to the church? Or do
you not go out to eat as much and forego buying a new coat until next year? Do
you really want to help or do you just want to make a good impression? Do you
really believe your gift can make a difference?
It’s
not exciting to give to the church operating expenses. It’s never guaranteed
that your gift will be used well and the church is not worthy of your gift. By
the same token, I hate wondering whether everyone who comes asking for help is
really telling the truth about why they need help. But that doesn’t mean they
don’t need help. Everyone has a story, whether they’re telling me all of it or
not. Their worthiness of receiving help isn’t the point. They need help, and
Jesus tells us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and welcome the
stranger. Your gift does make a difference. And I encourage you not to give out
of your abundance, not give a gift that you won’t notice missing, but to give that
which costs you something, to give sacrificially, to give your life. Don’t be
the legal experts who are about what they can get and receive and attention on
them. We’re not part of the church for what we get out of it but for what we
can put into it. We’re not here for ourselves; we’re here for the next
generation, we’re for those who don’t yet know Jesus and his love. We’re one of
the few groups that don’t exist for themselves. We exist so that others can
meet Jesus. The mission of the church is to reach the world. That’s why we give
to the church. Because it is God’s chosen instrument to reach the world God so
dearly loves. Imperfect, and yet so are we all. God sent his Son, anyway. God
gave his best, anyway. My Grandma had a saying that went something to the
effect of, “God does his best for you; you can do your best for God.” God gives
his for you. Let us give our best for God.
[1] The Gospel of Mark, William Barclay, p.
316
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Luke 14:8-11
[4] The Gospel of Mark, William Barclay, p.
314
[6]
Mark 13:2
[7] Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 4,
p. 287
[8]
Ibid., p. 289
[9]
Romans 5:6-8
[10] Feasting on the Word, Year B, Volume 4,
p. 289
[11]
Ruth 1:16
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