TITLE: I’M ALL IN
SCRIPTURE: ST. MARK 12:38-44
Jesus has just recently entered Jerusalem, in that triumphal entry that we observe on Palm Sunday. But he has also recently driven out of the temple those who were selling and buying, angrily declaring that this HOUSE OF PRAYER HAS BECOME NOTHING MORE THAN A DEN OF THIEVES. The crowd is spellbound by his teaching, but the chief priests and scribes have begun looking for a way to kill him.
He doesn’t help his cause in today’s Gospel reading when he denounces the scribes who are parading around in long, fancy robes, praying long prayers, but also devouring the widow’s houses.
• This little scene with the poor widow comes along at a time when Jerusalem is very divided over what Jesus is teaching
• And his disciples are understandably anxious
• Jesus has been predicting his suffering and death
• He has led them to the city where it is most likely to happen
• And he is, even now, provoking those in power
• It seems like he is stoking the fire
Just prior to the event of the widow’s offering, Jesus was in the Temple teaching his disciples to BEWARE OF THE SCRIBES, people who were seeking out human approval and putting on a mask of piety and status.
• Their outward lifestyle provided a vivid contrast to what followed
• An anonymous widow quietly offering her whole livelihood
The poor widow walked into the bustling Women’s Court. She quietly offered her whole life -
• Knowing it was not a religious requirement
• Knowing she would receive no praise in return
• Knowing her offering was insignificant in monetary value
• Knowing her limited ability and her poverty
• Yet she offered it all anyway
• Would we?
Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. That’s what Jesus sees in today’s Gospel.
Jesus says those two small coins are more than all the rich people’s large sums combined.
• That’s just not mathematically correct
• You know that, so do I
• I suspect Jesus knows that too
Jesus is not counting the cash or doing the math.
• He’s not talking about a quantity of giving - but a quality of living
• So what is the more, that the widow put in?
• Herself
• She is the more
• You are the more
• I am the more
The widow is ‘all in.’ She holds back nothing, keeps nothing in reserve. What would it be like to live like that? What would it take to live an ‘all in’ life? The temple treasury of Jesus’s time consisted of thirteen chests, or wooden boxes, with metal trumpet-shaped mouths on top.
• These were placed in the Women’s Court
• Seven of the thirteen contribution boxes were for collecting specific offerings to support the needs of the Temple
• The other five chests were mostly for volunteer offerings, which is likely where Jesus sat to watch people dropping their offerings through the bronze trumpet-shaped funnels
While many rich people dropped large offerings that would loudly clink the metal trumpets, the poor widow’s two copper coins were probably too lightweight to be fully audible.
• Nevertheless, Jesus saw and heard her offering
• The woman was under no obligation to offer it
• This was a voluntary offering after all
This widow has only two small copper coins.
• It’s all she has
• What she does not have - is more than what she does have
• She has no WEALTH - POWER - CONTROL - STATUS - REPUTATION - HUSBAND
• And yet, she is ‘ALL IN’
• How did she do that?
• What does she know?
What does she know that so many in our churches today don’t know? I have seen those that have done well in life and just give $10 a month -- month after month after month. What does this poor widow know? I think she knows the power of detachment -- the power of letting go.
• We usually think of detachment in relationship to what we have
• For example in ST. MATTHEW 19:21 Jesus says, “SELL YOUR POSSESSIONS AND GIVE THE MONEY TO THE POOR”
But what if there is also a detachment from what we do not have and what we are not? What if we could detach from the voices - conclusions - judgments that come from what we do not have and what we are not?
• We just might be ALL IN
• Or at least a little more in
I think that’s what this poor widow did.
• She detached and let go of what she did not have
• She detached even from being identified as “a poor widow”
• She was ALL IN
• She didn’t just give to the treasury, she became the treasury
Maybe when we detach from what we do not have and what we are not, maybe only then can we begin to live an all in life.
• But that’s not easy
• Being all in is a daily practice
• Some days - some people - some circumstances - are easier than others to be all in
The Gospel costs nothing. You can’t earn it or buy it. It can only be received as a free gift compliments of God’s Grace.
• It doesn’t cost anything
• But it demands everything
• It demands that we go “ALL IN”
A term that simply means placing all that you have into God’s hands. And that’s where we get stuck ? spiritual no man’s land. We’re afraid that if we go all in that we might miss out on what this life has to offer. It’s not true. The only thing you’ll miss out on is everything God has to offer. And the good news is this - if you don’t hold out on God - God won’t hold out on you.
Truth be told, no one has really ever sacrificed anything for God. You always get back more than you gave up.
• The eternal reward always outweighs the temporal sacrifice
• At the end of the day, our greatest regret will be whatever we didn’t give back to God
• What we didn’t push back across the table to Him
• Eternity will reveal that holding out is losing out
The reality is we don’t get to negotiate over the terms of how we are going to be ‘all in.’
• You don’t get to say, “Jesus, I will follow you, but my family comes first”
• Or, “I will gather to worship, but only if I feel like it”
• Jesus, “I will follow you, but don’t expect me to give a sacrificial offering; that money is mine and I worked hard for it”
• “I will follow you Jesus, but I will not love my enemy or forgive the person that wronged me”
• Jesus is teaching that you do not get to negotiate the terms of being ‘ALL IN’
You do not get to reserve parts of your life from Jesus’ Lordship and control. You don’t get to say --
• I’ll follow you Jesus, but don’t think that means you have a say over my sex life, or how I run my business, or my lying, or my selfishness, or my drunkenness
• We do not get to come to Jesus and negotiate the terms of what it means to be ‘ALL IN’
• We are either ‘ALL IN’ or we are not
If we are ‘All In’ with our education - marriage - physical training – job - friendships, we are going to have strong relationships in these areas.
• Every coach demands commitment. The coach says, “If you want to play for me, you’ve got to be all-in”
• Every commander of every army demands commitment from his/her troops
• The sergeant says, “If you want to defeat the enemy, you’ve got to be all-in”
• Every trip taken into space, the astronauts have to be all-in if the mission is to be successful
• Every time a fireman pulls a hose off a truck and rushes toward a building, he has to be all-in to his mission, with a desire to save lives and property, sacrificing his own if necessary
• Whenever a bride and a groom says wedding vows, they need to ask, “Are we all in?”
• How about when we become someone’s friend or bring a child into this world?
• We have to be all-in when we bring an aging parent into our home, fight a disease like cancer
• We have to be all-in to forgive someone of an injustice they have done to us or to some member of our family
• We have to be ‘all-in’ to volunteer our time
There is a great temptation, though, when it comes to serving God, to hold back. Because everything else in life demands so much of us, it’s easy for us not to be all in with our commitment to God. This widow woman found in our text dropped two small copper coins in the treasury, worth only a fraction of a penny. This woman was “All-In.” She had cast her lot entirely with God, depending totally and completely upon God to take care of her and supply her needs.
By shining a light on the unnamed widow’s generosity, Jesus reminds us that what is most important to God is not the quantity of the gift, but the generosity of the one doing the giving. II CORINTHIANS 9:7 “SO LET EACH ONE GIVE AS HE PURPOSES IN HIS HEART, NOT GRUDGINGLY OR OF NECESSITY; FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.”
• This powerful woman of God gave an offering that resounded louder than the heaps of coins dropped into the treasury by others
• In the same way, we are encouraged to give of ourselves in a way that makes an impact, even if others never see us give
The scarcity mindset is not limited to money or material possessions. A heart of poverty looks at what we hold in our hands right now and wonders how much we will have left after giving it away.
• If I give my time to attend the Bible study group - I will lose two hours of time to work on my project or sleep
• If I close my business on Sunday - I will lose customers
• If I give out my love - will I receive any in return?
• If I give out my help or energy - will I be appreciated in return?
• If I respond to God’s call - will I lose myself?
In contrast, a heart of abundance looks at the One who provides what we have in our hands. As we recognize our God as the one who provides everything — possessions - time - energy - love - and all of who we are — we will grow in our trust of Almighty God’s abundance.
We can often wonder what our small acts will accomplish in this world.
• A meager offering that isn’t going to help us meet our budget
• A simple act of kindness to a stranger that won’t even be remembered
• A prayer offered for those in need during our weekly prayer service
• What good will any of this do, really?
• Will anyone even notice or care?
But Jesus notices our every gift, our every act of kindness. And Jesus cares very much.
• And that should be all that matters
• The promise from Jesus that no act of love or faithfulness is ever wasted
--I don’t know about you this morning but, “I’M ALL IN”
--Go all in for Jesus because Jesus goes all in for you
--He washes you clean and gives you His perfection
--He gives you His holiness
--He gives you the Holy Spirit
--He gives you the gift of faith
--You don’t have to rely on your own faith; you rely on the Holy Spirit
--Jesus goes all in for you
--Jesus, who is eternal God, gives up the throne of heaven to humble Himself and be born a lowly human infant
--He has no golden cradle but instead is laid in an animal feed trough
--Jesus is fully committed to you when He is born under the law and fulfills the law for you
--He gives Himself completely to the task of saving you from your sins
--Jesus gives up everything for you as He offers Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of the world on the Cross at Calvary
--Jesus doesn’t just bet what He could afford to lose - He gives up everything
--Everything is stripped away from Him, and He hangs in agony on the cross, shedding His blood and giving His very life for you, to pay the price for you
--Jesus holds nothing back
--He fully commits to paying the price for your sins
--He dies for you and He rises from the dead to conquer death forever
--And because Jesus went all in for you and rose from the dead for you, you will rise from the dead on the last day
--Death does not have the victory
--Oh, Yes, ‘I’M ALL IN’
--I don’t care who is in the White House – ‘I’M ALL IN’
--I NO LONGER CONCERN MYSELF WITH WHO LIKES ME OR NOT – ‘I’M ALL IN’
--I don’t focus on the Aches and Pains – ‘I’M ALL IN’
--‘I’M ALL IN’ until He says WELL DONE!
