Pennies for Heaven

In Nomine Iesu
St. Mark 12:38-44
November 8, 2009
Pentecost 23/Proper 27B

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~

From a practical standpoint, the widow’s offering did not matter. The two copper coins she tossed into the temple treasury would have amounted to less than a penny. It was an offering so small that it almost wasn’t worth the trouble of counting. The widow’s offering would do nothing to help pay down the temple debt. It would do nothing to impact work on the mission field. It would feed no hungry and clothe no poor. It would do nothing to help meet the temple working plan. It wouldn’t buy music for the choir or help improve the acoustics. To the eyes of the world, that widow’s offering was probably the least significant thing that transpired at the temple that day.

But to the eyes of Jesus—to Him who sees deep into the heart—that poor widow’s penny-sized offering meant more than all the gold in King Herod’s treasury. It is a little-known truth of the Scriptures that God measures the gifts of His people not based upon the amount that is given, but based upon how much remains, after the offering is given. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” The rich put in big amounts; but even bigger amounts remained in their pockets. The widow put in a microscopic amount; but the amount that remained in her purse was zero. It was a gift that totaled one hundred percent.

Most people—even most believers—would have said that the widow’s offering was foolish and foolhardy. From an investor’s perspective, you’re never supposed to put all of your eggs into one basket. But she put all she had into the offering basket. And what return would she ever get for that investment? She would never see those two copper coins again. What would she live on? How would she eat? I hate to say it, but there must have been some dementia setting in for this dear old widow. How could she do something so impractical, unwise and foolish?

But Jesus saw things differently. Jesus praised her gift. Jesus memorialized her gift. Her gift mattered to the Master. It’s because of Jesus that we’re talking about her offering today, two thousand years after it was given. Open up the pages of the Journal-Sentinel and you will regularly read about the generous gifts of local philanthropists—millionaires who give big bucks to revitalize neighborhoods and build arenas and libraries on university campuses. But the legacies of the Pettits and the Bradleys and the Zilbers and the Cudahays will not last. The brick and mortar that bear those names will disappear. But the sound of that widow’s two copper coins will echo on and on, for the Words of Jesus will never pass away.

But what, exactly, does the widow’s offering mean for us and for the gifts that we bring to this temple? Well, I would like to be able to tell you that since the widow put into the offering all the money she had, that you should put all the money that you have into the offering. She gave one hundred percent; and so should you. Be like the widow! Amen! But that’s not exactly what Jesus is teaching in this passage. And what’s more, my confirmation students doing sermon reports would be quick to remind me, “Pastor, I couldn’t find any gospel in that sermon you preached on Sunday.” And they would be correct on that. So let’s find a different angle.

Perhaps the widow’s offering leads to more questions than answers. Questions like, what percentage of my income should I return to the Lord? Because remember, it’s not the amount of the offering that matters in Jesus’ eyes; it’s the amount that remains. In other words, it’s the percentage that matters. Are we giving to the Lord out of our abundance, or are we giving out of our poverty? Or to rephrase the question, are we giving to the Lord a reasonable amount? A logical, sensible, practical, rational amount that we can spare? Or is what we’re giving unreasonable, illogical, impractical and irrational? Is our giving based on faith in the living Lord Jesus who has destroyed the power of death and the grave for us? Or is our giving based on the church budget, or worse, based upon the need to give something because that’s what’s expected? Do we give to “keep up appearances” or “for show?” Do we announce it with trumpets, or are we so discreet that our right hand doesn’t know what our left hand is doing? All of these are questions—questions that flow from the widow’s offering.

But there’s also a warning that flows from today’s text. “Watch out,” Jesus said. “Watch out for the teachers of the law.” The teachers of the law are the polar opposite of the widow who quietly gave one hundred percent. The trouble with the teachers of the law was that they did everything “for show.” Their prayers, their preaching, their piety—it was all done for popular consumption. It was all done so that other people would see it, and praise them and pay them and honor them and reward them. Watch out for them, Jesus says.

Watch out that, as you live out your faith in Jesus Christ in works of love and mercy, that you aren’t doing those things “for a show,” for other people to see and admire. The trouble is that we’re all teachers of the law in that respect. We each have an Old Adam who is a first-rate exhibitionist—saying good words and doing good deeds and giving good offerings, but only doing it for the love of the limelight—full of fake and phony humility.

The poor widow in today’s text teaches us to test our motives. She went to the temple and gave everything she had. She would get no receipt for her gift. She would get no tax deduction the following April. Nobody would praise her. Nobody would applaud her. Nobody in the world would see or recognize the incredible sacrifice she was making that day. Nobody, that is . . . except Jesus. For Jesus notices what we do not notice. Jesus always recognizes faith in action. What you and I might call irrational, illogical and unreasonable behavior—Jesus calls faithfulness.

When you stop and think about it, it really shouldn’t surprise us that the widow’s offering caught the eye of Jesus. The widow gave everything—all she had. It was an act of total devotion, motivated only for reasons of love. Do you see where this is heading? Do you see where this poor widow is pointing us? With her pennies for heaven she preaches a sermon more powerful than any preacher or teacher of the law ever could. For she is pointing us to Jesus—to the offering He Himself would give on Calvary’s cross. In the end it was Jesus who was punished most severely, for despite all the positive associations that we have for the cross, the cross was nothing but a Roman tool of torture and execution. There Jesus gave Himself for you, for your sins, in an act of total devotion, motivated only for reasons of love. Like the poor widow, Jesus gave one hundred percent. He held nothing back, but gave Himself up for your salvation.

No one can hear of what happened to the sinless Son of God on that dark Friday and not conclude that the love Jesus displayed that day was irrational, illogical and unreasonable. Nothing could justify the spillage of that innocent man’s blood. Unless of course you see that blood as an offering—an offering to God made on your behalf—for your forgiveness. In that offering is your redemption, paid out not with gold or silver or even copper coins, but with every drop of His holy, precious blood—every drop shed for you. Jesus poured into His passion ALL He owned, ALL He had to live on, ALL that He might make you rich.

Do you believe that? Do you believe that you are rich through faith in Jesus? I’m here to tell you, you are. Your every debt has been paid by Jesus. You have a pension plan to which you didn’t contribute, which will pay you eternal dividends. You are at least as rich as the poor widow whose offering was noticed by Jesus as the greatest gift given that day. If you do believe that, then watch out. That kind of faith has been known to cause irrational, illogical, unreasonable expressions of love and mercy and generosity. And each of those expressions is an offering—an offering done not for show, but out of love for Jesus who by His poverty makes us rich. Amen.