CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH
The Rev. Fred
Weimert November 8, 2009
“On Giving”
I
was back up in
to my seminary for homecoming celebration,
and I saw some old friends
and heard lectures from
three former professors…
One of which
was from my ethics professor
Dr.
Doug Miller, whose beard and
were gone,
but
he is as radical as ever.
Dr. Miller talked about spirituality
how is not just a matter
of self improvement,
but a true
transformation of consciousness…
a deep
understanding of our relationship to God
and
the implications of that
as
it relates to culture.
At one point
he discussed the “patron society”
a
societal structure relying on
hierarchy, honor
and status…
And he quoted the story of Jesus
being questioned by a lawyer
about the greatest
commandment…
When Jesus
gave his answer the scribe responded
“You answered well…”
According to Doug Miller,
All that interaction…
the
questioning…
the
patronizing approval…
was part of that “Patron
Society” structure…
It was intended
to catch Jesus
or make Jesus
appear like a simple student of theirs.
All
of this interaction between Jesus and the Scribes took place
right before today’s gospel reading…
In Mark 12: 28…
And
the questions didn’t stop there…
The scribes continued with questions
for Jesus
the next was about
the Messiah
in Verses 35-37.
But
if you look at this text you will see
the questions really extend from the
11th chapter verse 27
all the way to the 12th
chapter verse 37…
The chief priest, scribes, elders,
Pharisees and Sadducees
all take a shot at
tripping Jesus up…
all attempting
to demonstrate their status
above
Jesus
in this “Patron
Society” of theirs
Maybe
going back to my seminary
and listening to lectures by my
former professors
could also be construed
as a form of “Patron Society”
And in some schools it might have
been that,
but not at Eastern, or
now Palmer Seminary…
and not with these
professors…
Tom
McDaniel, Manfred Brauch, and Doug Miller…
back
when I was in school
they were much more mentors
I
even played basketball with Doug…
and
over the ensuing years
they have become
more
colleagues in ministry to me.
But
this situation with Jesus wasn’t like mine…
As soon as the questions had ended
and apparently the
Scribes and others had left…
Jesus began to teach the crowd
that stayed with
him these things:
Mark
12: 38 – 44
As he taught, he said,
"Beware of the scribes,
who like to
walk around in long robes,
and to be
greeted with respect
in the
marketplaces,
and to have
the best seats in the synagogues
and places of honor at banquets!
They devour widows' houses
and for the
sake of appearance
say long
prayers.
They will receive the greater condemnation."
He sat down opposite the treasury,
and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury.
Many rich
people put in large sums.
A poor widow
came
and put in two
small copper coins,
which are
worth a penny.
Then he called his disciples and said to them,
"Truly I tell you, this poor widow
has put in
more than all those
who are
contributing to the treasury.
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."
Here
ends the reading.
Obviously
when I wrote my sermon title
I thought I was going to be talking
to you
about giving…
and I do
appreciate your generosity to this congregation.
I thought I might talk
to you about
the “Widow’s
Mite”
Lots of congregations will hear
sermons on giving
from this passage…
It is
November…
Stewardship
month…
And the readings we have are perfect
We have two poor widow
women in the Hebrew Bible
Ruth and Naomi
barely eking
out an existence.
Boaz
is incredibly generous in giving to them…
and
in return Obed
David’s
grandfather is God’s gift
to them and
and then there is this
great story in the Gospel
of another
widow
who
gives everything she has to the temple treasury.
This is the perfect set up for stewardship
Sunday.
But I am not sure that
this widow
is really a great
example of stewardship.
She gives everything
that she has…
her last two
cents.
What’s
going to happen to her?
She’s
got nothing now?
Is
God going to take care of her
the
way the widow of Zarephath
was
taken care of
in
II Kings 17.
That
widow of Zarephath shared
the
last of her oil and meal with Elijah…
But
she was promised, by the prophet
that
God would never let her run out
of
oil or meal again…
and
she never did.
This temple widow
doesn’t get any promises
no money
back guarantee…
She
might be better off with a power ball ticket.
Here she has no hope of hitting a
jack pot…
Nothing…
And sadly we don’t find out what
happened to her.
I
think if this had been a stewardship story
we
would have found out
that
she was rewarded
for
being a wise steward.
All we know about her
is that she
took all that she had…
her
last two pennies…
and
she put it into the temple treasury.
Into
an institution which was controlled by
the
High Priests
Scribes
and
Sadducees’
who
have just been
showing their
superiority
by grilling Jesus?
Is that an
example of good stewardship?
Take the very last that you have and give it
to
these charlatans…
Do
you think they will care for her
now that she is
penniless?
Do
you even think they even noticed
or
cared that she gave them
everything
she had?
No,
I don’t think this is a stewardship lesson
rather I think it is one of those
“Stark Comparisons”
Like those laundry
detergent commercials…
where one of
those TV announcers
holds
up a pair of bright white soccer shorts…
right
next to a pair
just washed by some
poor soccer mom,
in some inferior product.
And everyone in the
laundramat gasps
what kind of
mother are you…
How
can you send your child out to play
in
such a dingy uniform.
But
this is much more serious than that.
What’s being held up here for
comparison
are these scribes
and this poor widow.
This woman
who gives her last two cents
to
further the work of God…
And these
scribes
who
don’t give two cents for the work of God.
In
a very real way
this story is told more for me than
you…
And maybe that’s why I
don’t read it to you often…
because it bothers
me so much.
You may not have noticed
But I am the one who
walks around here
in the long robe.
I am the one who writes
sermons and prayers
so I guess I
am a scribe.
I get greeted in
the market place
with
respect…
Reverend Weimert
nice to see you…
you look well.
I have the best seat
here in the
sanctuary…
I
have three of them
and they have the most padding.
And I frequently get to
sit at head tables
when I go
out to a dinner.
This
passage has always caused me concern…
It is one of the reasons that I
remain
and plan to always be a
Baptist…
because I
believe in the priesthood of all of us…
and
of everyone in every church.
It is why I discourage people from
calling me Reverend…
which as Mr.
Higginbotham told me years ago…
is not to be
a title,
rather
it is a description,
and
it is a description
which should be able
to be
equally applied
to the laity…
to all of you.
But If I were to call
you reverend
Rev.
Schuster… Rev. Amos… Rev. Ray…
you would
laugh and insist no I’m not…
In
probably much the same way
that
Jesus protested when someone called him
good teacher…
“No
one is good but God.”
I try not to sit in
seats of honor,
but often
people insist
or
you insist…
“How would it look to my friends
if
my pastor
didn’t
get to sit in the seat of honor?”
It is interesting
the young
guys down at
are
much more intentional
about
not dressing up…
They
wear
T
shirts to ministerial meetings.
Someone in the
Chaplain’s office at a hospital
said she
didn’t want them to serve communion there,
because
they didn’t wear a collar,
or tie and sports coat.
And I
understand,
most
of the patients would be expecting
a
clergy person to have a collar
or
at least to be dressed up.
And I think
that it is not a bad thing
to
dress up at times…
one
can dress down and still be arrogant,
But when follows
the conventions of society
it
frequently lead us toward becoming
a
participant in this “Patron Society.”
with
all of its trappings…
and
status seeking.
When does my/our desire
and concern for
for this
sacred space…
for my/our social status…
begin
to override
or
blind us
to the situation of
this poor widow.
who
just gave everything she had
not
so much
to curry God’s
favor…
as
much as
to
further the work
of
God’s rule.
If this passage is intended to do
anything
it is to wake me/us up
to our
stewardship of my/our life
and to how we use the
gifts which are given here.
It is a wake-up call to me/and all
of us
to seek to serve God
humbly
and with our
whole hearts.
May
we be faithful in doing this…
in
all of our days.
Amen.