Sincere Offerings to God

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44

One of the favorite things Paul and I do is go to the movies. When we were back in Iowa and Heather and Nathan were small we would take them to the movies with us. We would see Disney movies, adventure movies, sometimes scarey movies, like "The Ghost Busters," and afterwards we would talk about them. There seemed to be a ritual about going to the movies. We would hop in the car and go. Paul would pay for the tickets. But before we could go in and sit down, there was the beeline run to the food center. There, along one side of the theater wall was the candy and popcorn/pop place. There were the shelves of the typical "movie candies." 75% of the display was devoted to all the various sizes, shapes and packaging forms of gooey, glow-in- the-dark candy and the various flavors of bubble gum.

The types of candy changed as you moved further on down the counter, appealing, finally, to the "older generation" with particular standards that, of course, motivate candy companies to have various standards and varieties. There you find the "old favorites": the Snickers, Milky Way, a Hershey Bar, Buns. Of course, further down were the dark chocolate and milk chocolate covered cherries. Finally, came the popcorn – plain, then buttered, followed by the various kinds of pop.

For children such as Heather and Nathan, at that time, the standard of taste was emphasized by the fun shapes, fun colors, and fun things you could do with the package when it was empty.

Mom and Dad bring out the Snickers, Milk Duds, chocolate covered peanuts and the Bun bars. Everyone of us wanted buttered popcorn and pop.

The four of us, as well as all of us here and society at large, have different standards, different ways of weighing out and determining what is good and what is bad. Standards of taste and tastefulness are as varied as there are individuals to establish them. Yet there are certain standards we can all recognize as high or denounce as low. A few years ago, thanks to Aaron Spelling, we all learned to recognize what the numbers "90210" meant. It was not just a zip code, but is a symbol for money, power, prestige, and privilege. Beverly Hills, California was not just an address, but a lifestyle.

Although we try not to admit it to ourselves, the truth is that today, more than ever, we are a society that judges everything and everyone according to monetary value. We assume that if something costs a lot, it must be good; if another version costs even more, it must be better. That is why when some colleges raised their tuition, their enrollment swelled. Costs more – it must be better!

Whatever happened to the beauty of simple gifts, the dignity of small gestures, the grace to appreciate good will and good wishes? What is with this demand for the grand and gaudy? Our standards have become superabundance, supersize it and superfluous.

The challenge that greeted the disciple of Jesus back then, and us now, is whether we can buck the big show of bucks and glamour and gaudiness of our system. Jesus' declaration that the pittance poured down that the treasury trumpet spout by the faithful widow was more generous than all the spilling-over of riches of the gifts that had gone before her, calls us to sit up and take note. To make any sense of Jesus' pronouncement, we need to adjust our value system set forth by society. Christ's challenge to us in the Gospel lesson for today is literally to let the "scales" fall from our eyes. Can we judge life according to a different set of values than worldly weights and measures?

Let's take a look at the Gospel lesson closer. According to the Mishnah, there were 13 trumpet shaped receptacles that stood up against the wall of the Court of Women that functioned to gather the gifts of the faithful for the temple treasury. The setting of verses 41-44 is apparently within easy sight of this temple depository. As Jesus and his disciples sit and watch the comings and goings of those offering their gifts of support, they observe many wealthy worshipers placing significant sums into the temple treasury. But it is not until Jesus observes the tiny gift of two leptons given by a poor widow that he is moved to comment on the proceedings he is witnessing.

The worth of a lepton , according to Mark in the text, is minuscule – as tiny a pittance as can be gotten. As tiny as this pittance was, it is significant that the woman had two of them. And that when she contributed to the treasury, she did not give one and hold the other back for herself. She gave both.

The poor woman models for us the Christian pattern of stewardship of possessions. She shows us the manner in which we are to regard our belongings in relation to God. She gave all that she had to God, she held nothing back, but trusted in God and believed with all her being in God. She knew that her relationship to God was and that nothing is hers, alone. To be a Christian is to wear the name of Christ. All that we have is not ours to hoard, but is to be given to God. I don't mean just money but our prayers, our presence, our gifts and our service.

What is interesting to the account of the widow who "put in everything she had, all she had to live on" immediately precedes the final dramatic episode of Mark's story of Jesus. In his coming passion Jesus "put in everything," not only "all he had to live on," but even his very life.

This woman was not afraid to be dependent upon God, to be in full relationship with God and acknowledge that all she had belonged to God.

I am reminded of the stewardship customs that were kept on the Islands that Paul and I served while in seminary. Everyone made a commitment who was tied to the church, either by membership or as a constituent. Many could not get to church, so Miss Irene and Miss Josie went out for the church to collect.

They would spend days going out on the backways in Irene's car, a car that she was very proud of it. In fact, it was a nice, new white car on one particular day when they both went out for the church to call –

– Now if Miss Irene and Miss Josie can go out and work for the church and if this gentleman can give two chickens, all he could, what does that say for us? Miss Irene and Miss Josie were willing to risk and go out for the church. Can we risk and give our all to the church, as well?

In our Epistle lesson from Hegrews we learn that Jesus sacrificed his all for us when he died on the cross.

In our society issues of salvation, issues of faith, practices of self-sacrifice are no longer popular or public concerns. Commitments to God and genuine devotion to an unmarkatable product are becoming strange and suspect behaviors. Our soceity would look at the amount she gave, but we would not see the real truth – that she gave all she had.

Jesus saw that she gave her all; Jesus gave his all for us.

Today is Stewardship Sunday. You will be receiving a commitment card this week and a letter from the chair of the finance committee. Will you make a commitment, give God your all – your prayers, your presence, you gifts and your service?

How do you measure your life? What would happen if you, like the widow and Jesus, gave sincere offerings to God? What would happen if you filled your life with acts of love to God and others? Can we, like the poor widow, find the courage to share the wealth we hold?

Amen.