Grace and Peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in
the truth, for His word is truth. Amen
The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost (2009)
Our Offerings are a Matter of Attitude
Mark 12:38-44 (ESV)
And in his
teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long
robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
[39] and
have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, [40] who devour widows' houses and for a
pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation."
[41] And
he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the
offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. [42] And a poor widow came and put in two
small copper coins, which make a penny.
[43] And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I
say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing
to the offering box. [44] For they all
contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in
everything she had, all she had to live on."
Attitude
is an important trait. Whether you’re at home, at work, at play, or in the church,
your attitude reflects on your character and your life. Your attitude can have
numerous attributes, but of all those attributes, Holy Scripture warns against one
attribute in particular; Holy Scripture warns against an attitude of pride.
Pride is to be avoided because of its devastating effect on your character and your
life. Therefore, when we read the first verses of the Gospel text for today,
our Lord leaves no doubt about what He thought of pride. Teaching in the
temple, Our Lord said, “beware of the scribes, who like to walk
around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best
seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense
make long prayers” (vv. 39-40). The Holy Spirit reminds us through the author of Proverbs,
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom”
(Proverbs 11:2 ESV). Again he writes, “One's pride will bring him
low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor” (Proverbs 29:23 ESV).
Our
Lord Jesus warns the scribes against their pride, their avarice, and, above
all, their hypocrisy. When our Lord said to beware of these scribes who are filled
with such pride and avarice, He means to avoid them, to stay clear of them
because their desire is to increase their wealth, their stature, and their
place in society at the expense of others. Moreover, what should be their
highest endeavor, your eternal salvation, is the least of their concern. Our
Lord Jesus warned us against emulating such men as these when He said, “Beware
of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by
them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew
6:1 ESV).
This is what these
scribes would do. Although their calling was to interpret the Torah, they constantly
abused it. Driven by pride and a lust for power and wealth, they would parade
around in expensive, long-flowing robes, symbols of stately stature, hoping to
appear distinguished before men, attracting attention to themselves while
expecting everyone to respect them because of who they were. They thought, “How
honored these mere mortals are to be in our presence and to have the privilege
to address us as honored sirs.” They coveted the best places of honor in the
temple and at feasts. When attending temple or invited to dine at the home of
others, they would take it upon themselves to take the seats of honor; even if
others were more deserving of that honor. Such as these are those who are
driven by a Theology of Glory.
A theologian of glory,
according to Luther, calls evil good and good evil. Fixated on their earned
righteousness, a theologian of glory prefers works to suffering, human pride to
the shame of the cross, and earthly wisdom to the folly of God. Strutting
around like proud peacocks, a theologian of glory says, look at me, look at how
good I am, look at how God has blessed me because of my righteousness, and look
what I can do for you. Such were these scribes who offered long-winded prayers,
creating a façade of holiness while scheming all the while to defraud helpless
widows of their property. Satan finds it so easy to use the weakness of men to accomplish
his diabolical schemes to destroy the
In contrast to these
scribes we need only look to our Lord Jesus as a true example of who we should
emulate. Although cloaked in glory unknown to mankind, our Lord willingly gave up
His divine, glorious, and honored position as the Second person of the Godhead.
He humbled Himself and came to earth as a lowly child, born to poor parent’s to
redeem us poor and condemned sinners so we could live for eternity with Him in
heaven. He grew up as the son of an unassuming carpenter, living in poverty,
with no place to lay His head. Our Lord dressed in the common dress of the
people. Not only did He not seek the seat of honor, but He warned against such
pride when He said, “You know that the rulers of the
Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your
servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the
Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many” (Matthew 20:25-28 ESV). Rather than seek fame and fortune, our Lord
shunned all human pride and glory, giving all credit to His heavenly Father.
Rather than rob widows of
their homes, our Lord restored the home of the widow of Nain. As a widow with
no sons, she would have been at the mercy of the community with no husband or
son to be responsible for her care. Thus, out of great love and sympathy for
this impoverished widow, our Lord Jesus raised her son from the dead, providing
for her continued care. Moreover, instead of living life as a wealthy noble
insisting on being the center of attention, our Lord gave His life as a common
criminal, accused of crimes He did not commit, nailed to the cross, centered
between two thieves.
As the Second Person of
the Godhead, our Lord Jesus is true God. As such He has all the attributes of
God, including the attribute of omniscients, the ability to know all things. Therefore,
He has the ability to see into the hearts of all men. He knows who true
believer’s are and who hypocrites are.
Shortly after teaching in
the
Giving out of a desire to
impress others is driven by the wisdom of this world. Such wisdom sees the
invisible things of God in the works of men and is therefore completely puffed
up, blinded and hardened. Giving prompted by a desire to receive even greater
gifts in return from a grateful God, is giving motivated by the selfish desire
of worldly riches and giving prompted by compulsion is an offering which lacks
love and is often an offering which is less than ones ability to give. God
pleasing giving is explained by St. Paul who said, “Each one must
give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God
loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7 ESV). Thus,
offerings prompted by motives other than love for God lack the attitude
our Lord desires. The proper attitude for giving is giving motivated by a true
love for God and a sincere desire to build up His church, supporting the proclamation
of His Gospel.
As our Lord observes each
worshipper placing their offerings in the treasury chest, He sees both rich and
poor alike bringing their offerings to God and He is touched by the unselfish
offering of a poor widow. Her offering of two small copper coins was a mere
pittance compared to others, but she had given all she had out of love for God.
Thus, our Lord knows her offering had exceeded all the others. Immediately, our
Lord summons His disciples to tell them of the widow’s great love for God manifested
in her unselfish offering. He says to them, “Truly, I say
to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to
the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out
of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (v. 43-44).
Unlike
the scribes mentioned in the first half of our Gospel text, the poor widow is
not driven by pride or avarice or a need of recognition. She does not seek
glory or power or authority, her motive is pure, driven only by her love for
God. She is a wonderful example of one who lives her life motivated by giving
all glory to God.
This
is the right motivation for giving. It flows from the recognition that God is
the owner of all things; He is the Supplier of all our strength, health and
wisdom. Thus, as His creatures we honor our Creator when we seek to give Him
all credit for our ability to give from what He has blessed us. Therefore, giving
is an act of worship; it is a way of showing God how much we thank Him for all
our blessings. Our offerings show God what we think of Him and therefore the
attitude from which we give will shine the light of truth upon the depth of our
love for God. The poor widow in our text was moved by her desire to show her
love for God; thus her offering was an act of great worship. Her attitude was
one motivated by love and she gave all she had.
Upon
viewing His wonderful Creation, He saw man and all He had made, and He said it
was very good. However, the crown of God’s Creation turned against their
Creator and sought to steal His glory by placing themselves above the law of
God. Driven by the passion of pride, this act of selfishness opened the door
for sin to enter the world and set into motion the corruption of God’s perfect Creation.
God could have destroyed everything and began again, but He chose not to.
Instead, His attitude toward His Creation and especially the crown of that
Creation; man, was unchangeable. God is love and out of that love He put
forward His perfect gift, giving His most precious offering, His Son, to defeat
Satan and return His Creation to its former perfection.
The
evangelist Mark shows us this poor widow who gave all her wealth, her last penny,
willingly and lovingly to the God of Creation whom she feared, loved, and
trusted above all things. Her motive to give was driven by an attitude of love,
an attitude of gratitude, an attitude of giving glory and honor to God. Her
actions were in stark contrast to the scribes who were motivated solely by
their self-interest.
In
the actions of this poor widow we are reminded of our heavenly Father who, from
His divine attitude of love, sent His only begotten Son willingly and lovingly
into this corrupt, sin-filled world, to live and die as one of us, rescuing a
condemned creation from the clutches of Satan and the wages of sin, eternal
death.
Moreover,
in the actions of this poor widow we see our Lord, Jesus Christ who gave His
most precious possession; His life, willingly and lovingly out of obedience to
His heavenly Father and His love for all mankind to redeem us from our
corruption. Our Lord’s attitude and His offering were perfection and ours
should emulate His.
Holy
Scripture does not identify this poor widow who gave all she had as a love
offering to God, but she is known forever wherever men read Holy Scripture. Her
offering may have not amounted to much in terms of monetary value, but it is
clear, she gave from her whole heart and soul. She gave all she had to honor
and praise her heavenly Father who gave her life. We may not know her name, but
our Lord Jesus does and moreover, her faith, love, and trust are recorded in
the annuals of heaven forever. Amen.
May the peace
of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Amen.