Pentecost 23, B – November 8, 2009

Scriptures – 1 Kings 17:8-16; Heb. 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44; Ps. 107 

Oh, no, a sermon about money! It’s interesting that such sermons usually arouse more concern among hearers, and fear in the hearts of preachers, than, for instance, sermons on faith, or forgiveness, or who God is and how He is received and worshiped. How strange, for those sermons deal with eternal matters, whereas money is only for this life, and so is really a very minor thing in comparison. 

Sermons about money should be easy. “You own nothing. Everything you have is God’s, a blessing to you from Him! He lets you keep 90% of what you earn. Just give 10% to the work He does among you through His Church.” Simple! 

Then again, it’s not so simple, for money, wealth and possessions are a very central part of our lives, and for that reason their possession and use can easily have a hold on our lives. This is why Jesus takes note of this poor widow in the temple and commends her offering over all others. We need to learn what she knew. We need to have in our hearts what guided and directed her as she gave her offering to the Lord. 

Every year you are asked to make a pledge of financial support to your church for the next year. This year, along with your regular commitment, you are being asked to make a special three year commitment of support so that we can more quickly pay off the 20 year loan we took for the window renovations and the other work that is yet to be done. Now, from what He has first given to us God expects us to give back to Him for the support of His work among us. What can we learn from this poor woman as we do so? What would Jesus have us keep in mind? Two things. 

I.              GIVE FROM FAITH. 

Giving from faith means beginning by looking upon your God, not your circumstances and what is going on around you. That woman in the temple only gave a penny, but it was all she had. If she had been thinking: “All I have is a penny. What will that do?” Or, “I know it’s just a penny, but it’s all I have.” – do you think she would have given anything? If that poor widow to whom the prophet Elijah was sent had focused upon the drought that was causing famine and economic collapse, or upon her and her son’s need and not the promise God gave her through Elijah, do you think she would have fixed him her last meal and taken him in? 

We all know our economy is bad right now and unemployment is high. Some of you have been personally affected by this. It’s easy to focus upon how little we have, to worry and fret and think only of holding onto it. Instead, see from these two poor widows that it is those with nothing God uses to do great works of faith, works which honor Him and serve as a blessing to His people! God does His best work when He begins with nothing. The works done then are great works of faith, for they are His works. 

Great works of faith. How could these poor widows do such great works? The widow of Zarephath had a promise from God’s prophet: “Thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’ ” She believed it and so gave Elijah the last of her food, and God made sure that it did not run out. The widow in Jerusalem was at God’s temple, where this Word – “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Ps. 107:1) – was constantly proclaimed, and where God’s love and forgiveness was poured out. She believed this word, was sure of God’s goodness and mercy, and so gave what she had to His work.

 

How good and faithful is our God! How freeing is it when we look upon Him in faith! Whatever we in faith give to support His work is pleasing to Him, even if all we have is a penny. Christ Himself honored the gift given in faith. We should never belittle our gifts! God weighs the heart. It is faith that pleases Him. We therefore do not need to give out of obligation, or to try to get something from Him in return. He is a great God who freely supplies our needs, and who above all abundantly pours out upon us what we need most: forgiveness of our sins and His gracious presence to fill us, that we might have eternal life. Surely He who gave His Son to die for us and gain for us eternal life with Him will also take care of our earthly needs! Faith sees this, and frees us to give. Look upon your God, then, and keep His promises in your mind and heart. This will free you to give.

 

II.            GIVE TO HONOR GOD.

 

The second thing we learn from the poor widow’s gift in the temple is that the gift that pleases God is the gift that is given to honor Him.

 

There’s something very interesting about this story of the widow’s offering. Did you know that she gave her offering just a few days before Jesus gave the greatest gift of all: His very life for us? I believe that it is no coincidence it was at this time that our Lord pointed out her offering. His sacrifice is our life and gives rise to our sacrifices. Our offerings should reflect His and be sacrificial, not easily given and hardly missed. We honor our Lord when we focus on His sacrifice, and in thanksgiving and praise offer ourselves and what we have unto Him. Then, even if it is two small coins, it is great!

 

Two lowly coins. What were they? Surely this widow’s need was greater than the need to put them in the temple treasury! Besides, her penny wouldn’t make a dent in the amount needed for the daily upkeep of the temple. Why not keep it for her own use?

 

And then, there was also the fact that the temple was run by the faithless scribes and Sadducees. Jesus had just denounced them, saying: “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” They would probably misuse her gift anyway!

 

Even so, this didn’t deter the widow in giving her gift, for it wasn’t her focus. We can learn from this. You can always find things you disagree with, especially today, as we make our own church budget for the year and choose for ourselves how to use the offerings we contribute. If what you give depends, however, on whether your fellow parishioners agreed with you and budgeted according to your wishes, then your giving is selfish. Your focus is upon yourself, not God, and you are not giving to His glory. Christ has no word of praise for such giving.

 

Give to the Lord, to the honor of His name. Give sacrificially, because He sacrificed His very life to save you from your sins and give you eternal life. Such giving is pleasing to your Savior. It reflects and honors His sacrifice for you!

 

Jesus honored the offering of the widow, even though the two small coins she gave were far less than what others gave. She gave out of love for her Lord, whose love for her was never-ending. The story of her gift will remain as long as His Gospel remains – unto eternity!, along with the life she received from Him. So will it be for all who trust in the Lord, for His faithfulness to His people endures forever!