THE WIDOW’S MIGHT

THE WIDOW’S MIGHT Mark 12:41-44 March 20, 2008 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction Betty Lyon has an interesting career. She is an “odor judge.” Yes, it’s just what it sounds like: She works in the research wing of Hilltop Labs in Cincinnati. It is her job to sniff all kinds of things, from dirty diapers to trash bags to kitty litter. To help her company concoct the perfect deodorant, she even had to smell people’s armpits. Betty has a “nose” for this kind of work—a well-developed olfactory system, and a strong stomach. When it comes to body odor, she says, “You are what you eat.” Alcohol, fried chicken, garlic, cigarette smoke—it all comes out when you perspire. So we spend millions trying to hide it, mask it or cover it over, but the essence of who we are eventually seeps out. The Old Testament says repeatedly that offerings to the Lord are like a sweet-smelling aroma to Him. He says that our sacrifices and offerings are pleasing to Him when given from a pure heart, loving motives and in a worshipful manner. The apostle Paul broadens that concept to say that …we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. [webmasters note: 2 Corinthians 2:15] This morning let’s consider a short passage from the gospel of Mark and see what we can learn about the art of sacrificial giving. While we do, ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight about how pleasing an aroma are your sacrificial living and giving. Mark 12:41-44 – 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 ad put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 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.” We don’t know much about this faith heroine, only that she is a widow (a seriously difficult financial condition in that day), she is poor, and she is a worshiper. We also know this: she has about her the aroma of generosity, sacrifice and deep faith. Lesson 1 – The Lord takes interest in people’s giving Jesus is not here by accident; it is clear He went out of His way to be in this place to witness what He witnessed. There is a definite sense of purpose involved when verse 41 says He sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. The location of this event is inside the temple area in a place called the Court of Women, also known as the Treasury. Thirteen brass receptacles shaped like trumpets line the walls. They are known as jhophars (trumpets) because they are shaped with a wide mouth at the top. Worshipers put coins into these trumpets. It’s the way the temple received offerings. When coins were dropped into the jhophars there was a characteristic rattle and clang. Those who wanted to brag about the amount they were giving would often throw the coins, making a louder noise. Some believe this is how the expression began, that a person was “trumpeting” his cause or his generosity. As a people-watcher, Jesus observes “how the people put money into the treasury” (v. 41). All the rich folks, who contributed a lot and were quite appreciated for their donations, dropped in their huge offerings. And then this peasant brought a tiny offering of two copper coins. The coins, called lepta, were thin, almost worthless, just about the size of a finger nail. The English translations help us but saying they were worth only a fraction of a penny. (If you want to buy one online today it’ll set you back forty bucks!) A small gift by most standards, but Jesus says it was the greatest gift of the afternoon. The Lord is interested in the people’s giving. He was not so much watching their monetary offerings as He was studying their hearts, their motives. What do you suppose He saw? Maybe the expressions of pain when the rich gave in order to keep up a reputation of generosity? Do you think the widow might have looked embarrassed when her lepta sounded two small pings as they hit the bottom of the trumpet? Jesus knew. And He was so excited by it that He called His disciples over and rehearses a teaching they’ve heard before—that God is pleased when we give our all, even though it may not be much, because it translates into great things in His Kingdom. Years ago, Mother Teresa of Calcutta had a dream. She told her superiors, "I have three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage." "Mother Teresa," her superiors chided gently, "you cannot build an orphanage with three pennies. With three pennies, you can't do anything." "I know," she said, smiling, "but with God and three pennies I can do anything!" Ernie Jupenlaz was a quiet man who lived a productive life, at the end of which he made a statement that has rippled widely through his home community. He owned a small leather shop in Mansfield, Pa. (population 3,000), for half a century. A longtime elder at First Presbyterian Church, he still mowed the church lawn in his 80s. He was the kind of rock-solid citizen who makes small-town America tick. But nobody suspected that when he finally died he would leave an estate worth more than $3 million, or that he would leave over 90% of it to charity. Churches and charities far and wide are still being blessed through those trusts, and hundreds of Christians are stirred to greater faith and generosity. Why? One unpretentious old man dared to give a gift like our widow gave, one that smelled good to God. The widow in Jerusalem looked poor, but Jesus says she was rich. The Lord is the Odor Judge, sniffing out the hypocrisy of well-to-do stingies and the spiritual integrity of the generous. This widow’s faith was expressed not by her pride, but by her purse, not by how much she gave, but by how little she held back, not by the richness of the garments she wore, but by the texture of humility she bore. In His economy, giving is measured: Not by its count, but by its cost; Not by its amount but its portion; Not by what is given, but by what is kept; not be money, but by spirit. During the great Depression in America, a government agency had the task of traveling through backward mountain areas, in search of poor farmers, to whom they gave some grant money for the purchase of seed, or repairing their homes. One agent came upon an old woman living in a shack. It had no floor. Several windows were broken and covered over with tar paper. The old woman had but the basic essentials, and was just barely scratching out a living on a miserable plot of land. The agent said to her, “If the government gave you $200, what would you do with it?” Her answer was immediate: “I’d give it to the poor.” ‘You know what? That smells pretty good to me. And I believe it smells good to the Lord. Lesson 2 – Giving is a barometer of our trust in God Bottom line, what is the difference between the giving of the widow who receives commendation from Jesus and the giving of the others whom the Lord doesn’t exactly condemn, but uses only as a contrast to the widow’s sterling example? Yes, she gave all that she had, and they gave, perhaps large amounts, but out of their abundance. They had plenty left; she had virtually nothing. I think the difference is: she trusted God and the others didn’t. The pig and the chicken were walking down the sidewalk when they passed a church sign that read: “Bacon and Egg Breakfast”. The chicken said, “It’s nice to contribute to something, isn’t it?” The pig replied, “Oh sure, for YOU it’s a contribution; for me it’s a total sacrifice!” What’s behind the difference? Certainly the rich folks could also have given everything they had, couldn’t they? Or could they? The pages of the New Testament are alive with the judgment that it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom. We could argue in their behalf: Oh, sure, the poor have so little to lose! Let them be the sacrificial ones! If they had more, they, too, would be more hesitant to be as generous! It’s really a matter of trust. There is a measure of truth here, isn’t there? Maybe that’s why the scriptures teach that the rich should busy themselves with giving away their riches, lest holding on to them become such a snare. (1 Timothy 6) Essentially, when one has “a lot to lose” or has sizable riches, his trust so easily shifts from God to the riches. No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” What is this about? Jesus is saying, point blank, if you cannot be trusted with money which is not yours, the insights and light and truth of God’s kingdom will not be revealed to you. And the little tag at the end: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Either God comes first, and you see yourself as a steward entrusted to handle God’s money, or money comes first and you fool yourself, believing “a little God on the side” is all you need for life to make sense. Put God first, and life makes sense. Patricia Heaton, double Emmy-Award-winning actress of Everybody Loves Raymond, the long-running television sitcom, was asked a couple years ago about the impending end of her career as the show came to an end. She, of course, made $6 million a year on the show, but I thought you might appreciate hearing what she said. “An issue I’m dealing with lately is, ‘Do I have too much money? And am I being a good steward of it?’ In fact, I was talking to a friend about tithing—you know, just giving 10% as opposed to giving until it actually starts costing you something…” Listen, here is the secret: when you give to the point that you simply have to trust God, you learn things about the kingdom you would not otherwise have learned. You grow in ways that you never experience if you trust your riches. Mother Teresa visited Australia once and a young Franciscan was assigned to be her guide and “gofer” during her stay. Thrilled to be this close to his spiritual hero, he was looking forward to all he could learn from her. But there were always people around her and he became frustrated because she never had time for conversation with him. There were always others for her to meet. Finally her tour was over and she was due to fly to New Guinea. In desperation, the young friar spoke to Mother Teresa: “If I pay my own fare to New Guinea, can I sit next to you on the plane, just so I can talk to you and learn from you?” She looked at him. “You have enough money to buy round trip airfare to New Guinea?” she asked. “Oh, yes,” he answered. “Then give that money to the poor,” she said. “You’ll learn more from that than anything I can tell you.” Lesson 3 – Giving is a barometer of our love for God The measure, motive and manner in which we give is inextricably tied to how much we trust God to take care of us. The Word says we should regularly consider the flowers of the field and the birds of the air. They totally depend on God, and He cares for them. Ours is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all that we need, and more, will be added to us. There are three kinds of givers: the flint, the sponge and the honeycomb. To get anything out of a flint you must hammer it. And then you only get chips and sparks. To get water out of a sponge you must squeeze it, and the more you use pressure, the more you will get. But the honeycomb just overflows with its own sweetness. Believers who’ve learned to be sacrificial and generous with consistency are those who give just because they love God. And anything that has to do with blessing Him and His program on earth—well, it’s just a privilege for them to give to it. Pastor Bob Russell loved to tell the story about a woman in his church named Jackie Nelson. She shared a moving testimony in connection to a special building fund drive their congregation was going through. Jackie said, "I am a single mother of three teenagers. My ex-husband does not help. I barely get by. We really want to do our part in this three-year campaign so our new building can be built. But when we discussed it as a family, we realized that we can't give any more than a tithe. So we decided that our gift would be to pray every day for the success of this program. But in the middle of our discussion my oldest son said, 'Mom, we've got cable television. We don't have to have that.' So we've decided to give up our cable TV for three years so we can do our part." When you love God, and when you trust Him, you don’t mind at all stretching your faith and stretching your giving. It’s an honor, a blessing, a thrill, and the Bible says it’s a sweet aroma to God. Loving God, having faith in Him will make you generous, even courageously generous; it might even make you a “Crazy Dog.” Crazy Dogs are people who believe the first are last, the greatest are the least, the strong are really the weak, and the meek win it all. Jesus spent His entire earthly ministry recruiting Crazy Dogs. Brian Bowne Walker wrote a book The Crazy Dog Guide to Lifetime Happiness. In that book he tells about the Crow Indians who used to rescue their lives from ruts by doing radically different things: wearing their clothes inside out for a month, beating out a symphony on pots and pans from midnight to six in the morning—anything that would be foolish or strange, just in order to break out of boredom. The belief was that the “Crazy Dog” would gain a fresh new perspective on life and be healthier. In his more serious moments in the book Walker suggests that the best Crazy Dog routine is to do some radically right things you had never gotten around to before. Actually sit and listen to the gripes and groans of fellow workers, invite the most unlovable character you know to dinner and ask him to air all his grievances to you. For an entire day practice extreme courtesy to everyone you encounter. Take a day of vacation, go to a secluded place, and talk to God all day long, and listen to what He says to you. Empty your wallet and your spare savings account to help the neediest person you know. Boldly share your faith with the most intimidating person you know. Crazy Dogs. There’s a few of them in the Bible. Abraham and Sarah left their home on a dare from God, and His promise that he would bless them. Moses confronted the most powerful person on earth and demanded that he release his whole working class because God told him to. Joshua told his soldiers to march around Jericho’s city walls and sing and shout. Why? God told him to. Jesus the Rabbi ate with tax collectors, whores and lepers; He confronted hypocritical leaders and obeyed God all the way to the cross. Maybe what being a Crazy Dog really means is to be radically obedient to God’s will, risking everything and trusting kingdom verities like, those who agree to die will live, those who will serve will rule, those who give will receive. Crazy Dogs. Sweet Aroma.     [Back to Top]