Sermon

October 6 and 7, 2007

Sermon

October 6-7, 2007

1 Chronicles 29:10b-14; Mark 12:41-44

Put In Everything

Hillary T. West

 

Will you help me in this message for just a little bit?  Take a moment if you will, and list 5 things for which you are thankful.  Five reasons that you would like to say thank you to God.  You don’t have to share them.  This is your list between you and God.  Thank you.  Now, hold onto your list if you will.

 

This week, and this weekend, we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis.  Now, most of us know St. Francis as the lover of all God’s creatures.  So, we remember him best as that devout soul who cared for dogs and cats and snakes and birds and spiders and all animals.  And tomorrow/this afternoon we will honor St. Francis with the Blessing of the Animals at 4:00 p.m. on the lawn outside.  Please, come and bring your favorite fury ones to be prayed over and blessed.

 

Now, what most of us don’t know about St. Francis is, at a young age, he renounced his party going, wealthy lifestyle and took a vow of poverty.  He chose to spend his life dependent on God and saying thank you through his devotion to the meek, the tiniest, and the most insignificant of God’s creation. 

 

Today in our readings we meet two other devoted souls who choose to spend their lives offering thanks to God.  In our first reading from Chronicles which we read together, King David is near the end of his life.  But, not without first gathering all of Israel and instructing them in how best to give with grateful hearts.

 

You see, they’re going to build a great temple, a magnificent church.  Something will be required from each and every one of them to make this happen.  David now stands in front of the thousands, all of Israel.  He tells them that his son Solomon will be king and they will build the temple.  A temple, not for the people.  But, a house for Yahweh, for God.   And the people respond wholeheartedly and generously.   With his heart filled with joy, David offers up a prayer of thanksgiving to God:  Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the splendour, everything in heaven and on earth is yours…we give thanks to you and praise your name…for everything has come from you, and we have given you only what you bestowed in the first place….(1 Chronicles 29:10b-14). 

 

David’s prayer is eloquent.  Just the prayer that should be offered up by a mighty king who rules God’s people for 40 years and who is filled with a grateful heart.

 

Now, our other grateful soul is not so eloquent.  In fact, we never hear her utter a word.  We learn only of her faithful actions. 

 

Jesus refers to her as the poor widow.  Now, we remember that a woman’s identity is through her male counterpart, whether it be her father, her husband or her son.   Ancient law tells us that a when a woman marries she becomes full property of her husband’s family.  She has no specific rights of her own.  If the husband dies, and has a surviving brother, a brother can marry the widow and raise the children.  Should the widow be the daughter of a priest, she can return home to her father’s family.   

 

But, if there are no brothers available to marry, the widow is then dependent on society to care for her.  Or, if there is some wealth, her estate has oversight by the local scribes who are considered experts in the combined civil and religious Law.

 

There is a possibility that the widow is a disgrace as well.  If her husband has died at too young an age, the death may be viewed as God’s judgment, for some sin he, and perhaps, she has committed. 

 

So, this is how we meet the widow today.  A person of questionable reputation and status, but who finds solace in coming to the house of the Lord.

 

Jesus has been teaching and preaching in the temple.  And, his audience is tough:  lawyers, theologians, rabbis, chief priests and teachers scrutinizing his every word.  There is some disagreement among them as to Jesus’ authority.  They don’t necessarily like what they hear.  Especially when he criticizes those scribes who make displays of themselves wearing fancy clothes and attracting attention.  In fact, as trustees and overseers to estates, they’re known to carve out their share of the deal.  So, Jesus chastises those scribes who take advantage of a widow’s very livelihood.

 

Situated throughout the temple are thirteen vessels in the shape of upside down trumpets.  Each vessel is designated for a certain collection.  One to buy wine; one to purchase oil; one for taxes to be paid; one to take care of whatever expenses are necessary in running the temple, and so on. 

 

Jesus is sitting, observing the comings and goings of the temple.  Folks of some means, are throwing money into the vessels.  He notices that these are rich folks.  Making this financial contribution is by no means sacrificial to them.  They are most likely skimming off the top what is convenient. 

 

We don’t know how it is that Jesus knows these folks are rich.  Except that vessels are made of tin.  And as big handfuls of coins are thrown into the vessels the noise is audible.  Not unlike the noise the machine makes at the Ukrops when we dump our jars of coins in to be sorted and counted.

 

Jesus keeps watching.  Now, a poor widow comes.  How does he know she’s a poor widow?  She’s alone, there’s no man accompanying her.  Plus, Jesus notices that she has just two coins.  Two coins of the lowest denomination – equivalent to one penny.  And, when thrown into the vessel, they make little or no noise.  So, she’s most likely poor as well.

 

More so, though, is that Jesus knows her vulnerability.  He knows that she’s come to the temple, seeking God for strength and renewal and to give thanks for how God holds her up when life is challenging.    

 

So, Jesus’ respect for this widow is not just for how she manages in a society that has little tolerance for her.  His respect for the widow is in her giving.  She gives all that she has to God. 

 

We don’t know the widow.  But, through Jesus, we come to understand her quickly.  She trusts.  She trusts God’s sustaining power in her life.  Totally dependent on God, with full knowledge that he is the greatest giver of all, she gives with a truly grateful heart, with deep thanksgiving, she offers up to God, all that she is, all that she has.

 

So, she throws all that she has into the container.  She’s not looking for the return.  She knows that her coins won’t make any kind of sound clanging and tinkling down the shoot of the collection vessel, like the rich folks offering. 

 

She gives because she lives in poverty.  She lives in need.  The poverty of a deepest need to be in complete relationship with God and respond with all that she has and all that she is to  God’s love. 

 

Her generosity is not measured by her wealth.  Her generosity is measured by her willingness to reach to the deepest desire in her heart to give back to God. 

 

Now, often in conversations with people, I like to ask them how they spend their days and how they measure success.   One gentleman told me once that he understands his role at work to be the person who eliminates barriers for people.  He breaks down walls so that people can accomplish what they need to do. 

 

Another man I spoke with, who has a great deal of responsibility, told me that he finds success in respecting and preserving the dignity of every person he encounters, especially when he has to do the hard stuff. 

 

Another shared with me that communicating a clear and concise message is essential, and reporting back with a 360 degree method of communication will get the job done and honor everyone in the process.

 

John W. Maxwell, world acclaimed speaker, leadership expert and the author of The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader 

promises that in developing a habit of giving, our success is marked by our generosity.    

 

It’s interesting that all of these people find success in their  desire to give abundantly; to give of themselves; to use their gifts as an offering of thanksgiving for what they have been given, and to give beyond the limits they thought they possessed.  Because, the more they give, the more they find they have to give and the more they receive.

 

And so it is with the widow we meet today.  Not the poor widow, but the generous widow.  The one who knows that all that she is and all that she has comes from God and belongs to God.  So, she comes to the temple, and boldly gives with a grateful heart; depending solely on God, she gives willingly, and gladly, everything.  And Jesus names her gift as greater than all the others.

 

Now, if you will, go back to the 5 things for which you’ve offered up with great thanksgiving.   My guess is that for most of us, these are the real things, the things we measure to be truly important, the things that are precious, sacred and holy to us.   They come from God.  They are those blessings from God that give us great joy.  How, with grateful hearts, do we want to give thanks to God for what has been so lovingly and graciously given to us?

 

Over these next weeks, you’ll be hearing more about giving with grateful hearts.  And on October 20-21, you’ll be asked to make your financial commitment to God through

Christ Church.   A commitment that equips the Church, you, to be those people in the world for whom we give God thanks. 

 

Pray about how you want to return to God, what God has given you.  Grateful giving is about trusting in how the faithful giver, God, gives to us, over and over again.  Grateful giving is about being passionate about giving back to God.  Grateful giving is about giving first to God, not skimming of the top what is surplus.  But, with great trust, and love, giving, knowing that this giving is the grateful return for how God has chosen to fill us with love and hope that we know from his greatest gift, Jesus Christ.   

 

Our friend the generous widow, she put in everything for God, because she knows that she is everything for God.   We too, are everything for God.  What will our everything back to God be?