It is truly amazing how many special interests and concerns crowd in on every Sunday to tear us away from full and complete devotion to God in Jesus Christ. As we honor and give thanks for veterans, we do it in a context of prayer and in the concerns and prayers. Last Sunday we gave honor to all our dead and especially to the blessed saints who have gone on before us. Today is not only Veterans Day Sunday. It is Stewardship Sunday for many churches. This is a beautiful way to make sure that our national concerns do not overshadow our local church mission in this community. When President Wilson inaugurated Veterans Day to "show sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nation," then he reminded disciples of Jesus Christ further honor the service of armed service veterans by carrying out our duty as soldiers of the cross to the glory of God. Today’s lesson even suggests that the mighty and powerful, the rich and talented veterans of successful battles in war or peace times do not give as much as the poor who have little to give or protect from others taking it away from them. Jesus indictment of the stewards and veterans of the worlds is: “this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.”
Mark gives us at least four different groups of people in this story: (1) Jesus and those He is teaching (and this is only one of His lessons), (2) The scribes who call attention to themselves through special celebrations and honors. They present themselves with special clothes, positions of honor and license to observe how others give their service to the community, (3) The rich people seemingly oblivious to an evaluation from the scribes or the followers of Jesus. They merely give a great deal out of their abundance, and (4) The poor people who give relatively small amounts but out of their very limited resources.
Maybe you tend to hear this story the way I like to understanding it: Jesus and his students are like the poor people who give out of whatever they have and the scribes are either like the rich people or even worse – they don’t give anything and just watch and criticize how others give or don’t give.
In that traditional reading the scribes are like self appointed economists who rationalize how others make wise or unwise decisions about spending time, talent, or money. They would scientifically observe how some use all their time, talent and money in selected strategic ways like stock market investors. Those wise investors will not myopically put all their eggs in one basket. They strategically spread their wealth and influence where it will give them the most return – the most bang for their buck. They know how to hedge their bet in this fearful risk taking business of economic survival.
Displays of gain and special honors are like the way we dress, where we sit in public gathering. They are warning signs of decadence, because they reflect greedy behavior like devouring widow’s houses and making pretentiously long prayers that do not agree with the righteous and just God to whom they are praying.
Like the scribes we can be so obsessed with how much we or others pay taxes, serve in the armed forces, give in community service, give to their church and community charities or other noble activities – that we forget that we can’t out-give God, we can only be truly thankful and gracious in our giving and service to God and to others.
The other take on this gospel lesson is based on a story a friend gave me last night:
When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that her child was missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out “Twinkle, twinkle Little Star.” At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit.” “Keep playing.” Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child, and he added a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed what could have been a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized that they couldn’t recall what else the great master played. Only the classic, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Perhaps that’s the way it is with God. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We may try our best. We may give our “all”, but the results aren’t always graceful flowing music. However, with the hand of the Master, our life’s work can truly be beautiful. The next time you set out to accomplish great feats and give your “all”, listen carefully. You may hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit.” “Keep playing.” May you feel His arms around you and know that His hands are there, helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces. Then – your all will become the sum of God’s total will and intent in your life. Remember, God doesn’t seem to call the equipped, rather, He equips the ‘called.’ Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than by the things you acquire.
The overriding question here is, “Are you give from the heart.” Let’s take the giving of the veteran who served his or her nation. Was that service given from the heart or just a matter of convenience and a way to get out of obligations at home? What about our gifts and service to the church or community? Are we ignoring the basic obligation of service to God with a pure and contrite spirit of thankfulness? Jesus said at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:2), “When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets.”
Nancy Shelton’s mother was in a bookstore several years ago looking at new Bibles. She admired one that was leather bound but knew she could not afford it. As she was leaving, the clerk handed her the Bible. Someone had seen her looking at it and had purchased it for her. The benefactor did not wait to be thanked.
This kind act to Nancy’s led Nancy to evaluate her reasons for giving. She thought, “Do I give from the heart, or do I give to receive recognition from others?” And became more aware of meeting the needs of others and less concerned with whether she received recognition for doing so.
For instance, Nancy gave extra money to buy groceries when a mother with two young children did not have enough and started trying to decide what to return.
I frequently miss opportunities to give from the heart, don’t you? Do you try to look for those opportunities? Genuine heartfelt responses don’t have to be limited to meek and lowly widows who give all that they have. Veterans of peace time and war time service, survivors of broken families and economic depression, loyal servants of masters who continue to neglect and abuse them – all these and more.
Won’t you give even more so as to identify with the poor ones of the world? Won’t you step out in faith and give of your time, your talent, your resources, your prayers, your money – and give where it counts from the heart? All to Jesus I surrender . . . I surrender all.
Dear Heavenly Father, help us to see those in need and to give generously. You want us to give from the heart when we see a need. Help us to be sensitive to helping someone struggling to provide food for the family or someone just barely getting by. In the blessed name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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