Sermon

Mark 12:38-44

 

The Joy of Giving

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Mark 12:38-44

 

The Joy of Giving

The Rev. Dr. James D. Kegel

GRACE TO YOU AND PEACE FROM GOD OUR FATHER AND THE LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, AMEN.

Let me tell you a story told by a preacher’s son:

My father’s church was in terrible shape. The paint was peeling; the lawn was bad—there wasn’t enough money to plant grass seed. The hymn books were torn and tattered. Plaster had fallen from the ceiling. So my father called a meeting to raise money to do something about it and he invited, among others, the richest man in town.

He worked on the rich man and others too, but couldn’t get any response. Finally he said, “Let us pray.” And my father fervently prayed to God to give them a sign that would melt the hearts of these stony people, especially the rich man. Well, the Lord accommodated him. Just then an enormous piece of plaster fell off the wall directly onto the head of the wealthy man. He leapt to his feet and said, “I’ll give $2000.” My father said, “Hit him again, Lord, hit him again!”

Jesus speaks often of the temptation of riches. He tells us that we cannot serve two masters—the Lord God and Mammon. Jesus tell us that “those who are given much, of them much is expected,” and again, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” St. Augustine expanded this last verse from Luke to the following, “Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is your happiness.”

One of those attending our pastors’ text study this week, a young man, talked about how our actions speak louder than our words and how people would know our commitments by how we spend our time and money. He said that if people looked at him they would know that his passion was hockey and a certain brand of soda pop. He had watched every University of Minnesota hockey game out here in Oregon and his refrigerator is filled with this soft drink. People may not so readily recognize that he loved young people—he was a youth minister, he said. It was convicting to me, what he had to say: how we spend our money and our time tells us what is most important in our lives.

 

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Now I venture to say you are all thinking, “I know where this sermon is going. Pastor is up there in the pulpit going to tell us to dig deeper. I saw the bulletin announcement that the church is short of money and so my minister is going to make me feel guilty and suggest that I should give more to the church.”

Well, folks that will not work. We do not give because we feel guilty. I don’t know about you, but the Old Adam in me is quick to find an excuse not to give. It’s easy to blame something aired on public radio or leadership in the Red Cross or the church council or pastor and that gives me a reason for not supporting them. The Bible says, “The Lord loveth a cheerful giver.”   Our goal is to give because we have a God who has given us so much. We are blessed to be a blessing. We should not use shame or guilt to raise money for the church.

On the other hand…I would like to tell you about my father-in-law, The Reverend Kenneth Jacobson. He is retired now but served as a Lutheran pastor in North Dakota and Nebraska for his long ministry. He always held stewardship to be a key to church attendance and participation. If people gave to the work of the church, they would care about the program and what goes on in worship. If they gave little or nothing, then their activity, attendance and study would reflect that. But if they gave, they would care. If the people’s treasure is in their church, so will be their heart and their happiness. Most congregations seek to make their worship and Sunday School and youth program and study hour and fellowship so inviting and attractive and interesting, even entertaining, that folks will come and then perhaps they will give. My father-in-law had the opposite idea: get folks to give and they will come and worship and study and grow in faith.

His last congregation was American Lutheran Church in Fairbury, Nebraska. When Pastor Jacobson was called there, they were worshipping in a country church which had been moved into town many years before. They had squabbled for decades and never seemed to be able to build an adequate building. Well, under my father-in-law, they did. They built an impressive brick building, added a bell tower and then put in a pipe organ–and they paid off the mortgage in ten years. Southeastern Nebraska is not a wealthy area and has declined in population, but the people were committed and their congregation thrived. The people of American Lutheran Church give well and attend well.

One of the keys to their successful stewardship is recognizing that giving is not a secret; the congregation publishes what each family gives in the annual report. The first time of I saw this I was surprised, even shocked. Everyone in the church could see what everyone else was giving. It was explained to me that the purpose was not to shame the poor widow who had very little to give or the wealthier person of whom much was expected and who gave much. What it did do was to reveal very clearly those who had much but gave little. And I suppose just the thought of publishing the giving caused quite a number of people to put their money where their mouth was.

I am not advocating this for Central Lutheran—please don’t get me wrong on this–but I do know that other charitable groups, the hospital, the symphony, colleges, publish giving by category. It is clear that some people give $100 a year, $500 a year or $1000 or more. There is no secret. I also know that St. Paul lists giving with liberality among the spiritual gifts. If we thank our Sunday School teachers and musicians and council members—and we don’t thank them enough, I recognize that–then we should also thank those who give generously and sacrificially.

Our text for this Sunday speaks of those who parade their piety, who wear long robes and expect places of honor in the synagogues, who pray long prayers and yet prey upon widows. Jesus contrasts these Scribes—leaders of religion—with the widow who gave her mite—two coins worth ¾ of a penny. Even though she gave very little and the Scribes and Pharisees tossed greater sums in the money boxes in the Temple, Jesus says that the religious leaders gave of their superfluity and she of her all—“For all of them have contributed out of their abundance but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” The Scribes gave what they had left over after they bought their robes and best seats and places of honor at banquets. They gave from their abundance while the widow gave all she had—the word in the Greek is BIOS, like our word for biology—she gave her very life.

This text is really not about how generous this woman was—that is how we usually interpret it. It is rather a lament for the poor widow. She gave her all when those who should be giving more were giving leftovers. Our text is a cry against those who parade their religion and make a show of their faith. It is a warning to those who expect to carry weight in the congregation without doing their fair share. It is a judgment upon us who are often willing to let the next person do what we should be doing. It is an indictment against those who would devour the houses of widows and take from those who have nothing to give.

I wonder if we at Central Lutheran could take a lesson from Pastor Jacobson, my father-in-law. We might grow spiritually if we gave more. Even if we can’t yet arrive at being cheerful givers, if we gave more, we might care more. We might be better attenders if we were better givers; it could be that if we gave more, we would be blessed much, much more. The prophet Malachi records God’s word: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse…and thus put me to the test says the LORD of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.”

We give because, really, we need to give. There is joy in giving that comes from knowing that we are doing our part, our fair share and more besides.   There is joy in giving—the poor widow knew that when she gave her two small coins to the Lord. Many of you know that at Central. It is amazes me the generosity of this congregation. We just helped build a Habitat for Humanity house in Springfield —it’s being dedicated this afternoon and people came forward with money and willingness to work. People from this congregation have come forward and provided the funds for a new sound system. The kitchen project is moving forward. When there is a need and it is explained, you are generous in your support. Thank you for your generous support of the mission and ministry of this congregation.

Marian Wright Edelman used wise words when she said, “Doing for others is the rent you’ve got to pay for living on this earth.” And DeWitt Wallace who with his wife, Lila Atchison Wallace founder the Reader’s Digest magazine, made one of America’s largest fortunes and gave it all away said, “The dead carry with them to the grave only that which they have given away.” Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, who have the largest fortunes in the world, have given the bulk of their resources to foundations to heal the sick and provide aid to the poor. Many of you have been richly blessed and you have been blessings to so many. Some of you who have lesser resources are giving sacrificially like the widow in our text. You are an example of sacrificial giving and beloved of God.

Give and you will receive. Give and you will find great joy. Amen.

Copyright 2006, James D. Kegel. Used by permission.