Sermon
25 Pentecost/Proper 27B
Mark 12:38-44
Mark is a Passion narrative with an
extended prologue. Two weeks ago we heard the story of the healing
of blind Bartimaeus. Does anybody remember what I said about that
story – not necessarily the content of the sermon (which would be
nice), but about the story?
I said that this was the last healing
story in Mark's gospel, and that this is the final ministry story
before Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem on what we call Palm
Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. In Mark, the Passion
narrative begins with Chapter 11. It's hard to tell exactly where we
are in that week, but today's story might be taking place on Tuesday.
Today we have two stories that revolve
around worship and discipleship. Jesus is hanging out at the temple
teaching the people and watching the goings on, and two episodes crop
up. The first is his teaching and warning against the scribes.
In the temple Jesus sees the scribes
decked out in all their finery and he knows what motivates them. And
what motivates them is personal prestige.
We've all known or seen people like
this: people who care more for what the position can bring them than
what the role of their position actually is. Career politicians come
to mind. But it's not just politicians. It's cops who feel entitled
because they wear a badge. It's doctors and lawyers. It's clergy
and televangelists. It's people who want to be photographed coming
out of church. It's anyone who demands respect without giving
respect in return. It's everywhere egos get in the way or take over.
When our ego takes over, when we become
more focused on ourselves, then it's easy to ignore those whom we
devour because we deserve what they have. And we make excuses for
why they deserve to be devoured: they're lazy; they're moochers;
they're on drugs; they're foreigner; etc.
Why do we do what we do, and what is
our motivation? This applies not only to our lives in general, but
it also applies to our worship. Are we more concerned with what we
can get out of it, or are we more concerned with what we put into it?
The scribes of Jesus' day, and many people today, were and are more
concerned with what they got out of it.
After calling attention to the scribes
and giving a lesson on proper behavior, Jesus sits down across from
the treasury and does some people watching. I don't know if this was
Ingathering Day at the temple or what, but Jesus is watching people
make their offering.
We know the story – the wealthy are
making large donations while the poor widow puts in two pennies. She
is commended because, percentage-wise, she has given much more than
any of the wealthy people have or ever will. She has given 100
percent of what she has while those around her are only giving two
percent. It is a physical representation of the reversal that Jesus
has been preaching.
And on this Ingathering Sunday it would
be easy for me to question whether you were pledging in the two
percent range or whether you were pledging a more significant
percentage. It would be easy for me to ask if your pledge was really
enough, or if you thought Jesus would be proud of your level of
giving.
It would be easy; but I don't do guilt
very well, nor am I the chair of the pledge campaign. So I'll leave
it to you to ask and answer those questions for yourselves.
Aside from the money thing, remember
that Mark is a Passion narrative and almost everything points us to
the cross. The story of the widow also does this, even though it
might not seem obvious.
This poor widow, who one can assume was
one of the victims of abuse at the hands of the scribes and other
temple officials (“They devour widows' houses”), gave up
everything she had, including her last two cents. With nothing left,
she probably expected to go home to die – much like the widow in
our first lesson who, even though she was expecting to die, did not
withhold from God.
But besides connecting this gospel
story with the first lesson, today's gospel also connects to Jesus
and the Passion. In this story the widow becomes a precursor, or a
foreshadowing, of Jesus and the Passion.
The widow has been abused by those in
power – like Jesus will be abused by those in power. She gives up
her last two cents; in a very real way, she gives up her life to
follow God. In a few days, Jesus will also give up everything, his
very last and his very life, to follow God.
So yes, today is Ingathering Sunday.
Yes, we are asking about financial commitments. I will never ask
anyone to put themselves at financial or personal peril in order to
pledge to the church. But what I will do is ask you to seriously and
honestly examine your commitment to the church and to God.
Are we giving, from the abundant gifts
we have been given, only a small percentage to God? Or are we giving
in thankful proportion to what we have been given?
We give our best to our spouses, our
families, our jobs, and our hobbies. The widow in the treasury
challenges us to evaluate what we give to God. In his Passion, Jesus
challenges us to evaluate what we give to God.
The question today's gospel asks us to
consider is this: are we willing to put God first in our lives?
Amen.
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