ADVENT CONSPIRACY: GIVE MORE
MARK 12:38-44
Big Idea: Turning the holiday into a Holy Day requires God’s people to have generous hearts that reflect the heart of God.
INTRO:
Well we will be talking this week about “giving more.” Usually we think about giving gifts when I say that but there is a sense in which being a good receiver is also an important part of the gift giving exchange.
Before my sermon, I thought I would give you a few quick tips on being a good receiver of gifts … well, actually, I thought I might give you a few tips on “Eleven Things You Should Never Say When You are Given a Gift.”
• Thanks for the gift – you never did like me did you?
• What is this?
• Well, well, well …
• I really don’t deserve this
• Not again!
• I think I should just...well...maybe if...um...thanks.
• To think, I got this the year I vowed to give all my gifts to charity
• Well, we all know it’s the thought that counts
• I remember when these were really popular … I think it was 1993.
• I thought they banned these already.
• Is that all?
I’m just trying to be a blessing.
Let’s read Mark 12:38-44.
MARK 12:38-44
38 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, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.”
41 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. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43 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. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
SERMON:
Hmmm. That does not seem to be your typical Christmas text. That seems more suitable for a stewardship campaign than it does celebrating our savior’s birth. But, from a wider perspective, it certainly speaks to our Advent Conspiracy theme of “spending less and giving more.” In fact, it speaks volumes.
If I was to give you a “big idea” (the sermon in a sentence) for this week’s sermon it would read something like: “Turning the Holiday into a Holy day requires God’s people to have generous hearts that reflect the heart of God.” Notice it says nothing about price tags and fat wallets. But if “spending less and giving more” is our trajectory then the story of the widow’s mite is ideal.
The widow and her small but generous gift to the treasury have come to stand on a pedestal in our churches as the model of generosity and selfless giving. The problem with being on a pedestal is that the object is prone to be seen in a one-dimensional way. If we are not careful, we’ll see only part of the widow and we’ll tend to see the same thing every time we look at it.
This need not be the case. For example: have you ever asked yourself why this widow was so poor? That is why I started our reading a few of verses before the story – I think Jesus exposes exactly why she only has two mites to rub together. Listen again: “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. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.”
In Mark’s telling of the widow’s story, Jesus begins by scolding the scribes in the temple—the religious and societal leaders in the widow’s worshipping community.
Jesus says that the scribes “devour widows’ houses.” They abuse their trusted position and take advantage of the disadvantaged—the poor, the orphans, the strangers, the widows. These men are very likely the reason the widow only has two coins.
Simply put, the religious institution—the community to which she gave all she had—failed her.
She only had two coins because she was invisible in society. She had worth only as long as she could serve a purpose to the institution; only as long as she went along with the program.
Never mind that that very program had stripped her of dignity and taken the very roof from over her head. With no husband to hold property for her, and probably no sons to care for her, the widow is alone; alone in her world as a poor, invisible woman.
The woman who has become our traditional model of stewardship is certainly a generous giver, but she is also a victim—a victim of a system that exploited her.
The system in question is specifically the temple but it can (and I suggest does) apply to virtually any system that becomes corrupted and motivated for selfish ends. That certainly applies to the radical consumerism of our day doesn’t it? If there is a word that describes what they do, exploitation fits.
• The local mall could not care less if you cannot afford the cashmere sweater you are buying for your boss.
• Have you ever seen a credit card commercial recommending you spend responsibly or wisely? No. They always imply you can have it all – just go get it!
• As I said last week, this consumer system has successfully made us feel guilty if we do not give extravagantly and universally.
For me, the widow stands as a champion. She chooses not to be beholden to or controlled by the corruption (a few verses later Jesus calls the system and its controllers a “den of robbers”). She is refused the benefits the system possesses; yet she chooses not to allow that very system to determine her responses to God. She chooses to faithfully, and joyfully pay her vows regardless of the evil intent of the end user.
She is ironically revealing the very heart of God in the midst of a system that simply uses God as a means to an end. That sure sounds like secular society’s use of the nativity to me. She stands as a champion and a model of how we must approach this season if we wish to see it transformed from a holiday into a Holy Day.
The pressure and expectation placed on us to bend and perform as consumers is strong but the call of the Gospel transcends that pull. The Gospel says we can conspire to show the heart of God in the midst of all the attractions that do anything but.
By spending differently (giving gifts that are selective, meet needs, are memorable and meaningful) we can turn the season on its head and, once again, place the emphasis on Jesus Christ.
The widow illustrates for us that by giving from the heart we can “give more” even though the price tag may be woefully less that the shopping center expects. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.”(v. 43). By giving, in spite of the corruption that prevails, the widow shows she is not without hope … and that she can do something even greater than what is expected.
The powerless and invisible widow teaches me some important life lessons.
• The value of a gift must not be determined simply by its price tag – but by the posture of the heart.
• Sacrifice and love are – priceless.
• My giving need not conform to imposed standards – rather it should reflect the loving and generous heart of God.
Kim * has been doing some devotional writing this Advent season. Most of it is for her personal spiritual development I know, but she sent me some based upon this week’s Advent theme: “Give More.” I will read only a small portion of it today … actually only the beginning and ending paragraphs.
I want to give more…I love to spend too much time on making a gift to bless another person; to steal moments away throughout several days, to work on a gift for someone. I’ve been told, “You could sell that,” at times. My reply is always the same: There are too many people I love, that I would like to make one for, before I could ever have “extra” to sell. But I wanted to learn from the greatest Giver how to give. So I focused on God the Father, I could see how He gives and learn from Him.
How can we give like One who has given so much…that is… short of living a life of gratitude and humility and love? Yes, that is our charge: to live a life of gratitude and humility and love. To be a giver, be a forgiver, be a friend and peace maker, be one who points others to The Giver, so they may experience His undeserved favor and be lavished in His merciful love as well.
That, my friends, will go far into turning a holiday into a Holy Day.
WRAP-UP:
I mentioned to you last week that you cannot be a stingy sour puss and see this holiday transformed into a Holy Day. You cannot do that and reflect the heart of a generous God. The good news is … there is no conflict between giving more and spending less.
Think about what God’s gift of His son was designed to accomplish. In short God’s gifts met needs, were memorable and meaningful. The Christmas story explicitly says that the birth of Jesus was intended to (among other things):
• Be personal
• Bring peace
• Bring joy
• Offer hope
• Leave people better off than they were without the gift by {1} Providing for human needs and {2}bringing redemption / salvation from sin’s grip.
Can your gift-giving do any of these things? I think it can. And if so … I do not think it would be possible to give any more … regardless of the price tag.
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
