Date: November 10, 2024
Scripture: Mark 12:38-44
Sermon Title: “Radical Gratitude”
Preacher: Rev. Dr. Bob Jon
Some years ago, radio commentator Paul Harvey shared a story about a woman and her frozen Thanksgiving turkey. The Butterball Turkey Company set up a telephone hotline to answer consumer questions about how to prepare holiday turkeys. One woman called to ask about cooking a turkey that had been in the bottom of her freezer for 23 years. The Butterball representative told her the turkey would probably be safe to eat if the freezer had been kept below zero for the whole time. But the representative recommended her not to eat it because the flavor would have deteriorated. The woman answered, “That’s what I thought. Well. We will just give the turkey to our church.”[1]
It is November. Many churches are going through the season of stewardship. While some say stewardship should be encouraged throughout the year, not just in the fall, many churches tend to emphasize the importance of stewardship during the month of October or November. It is close to Thanksgiving, so the season naturally coincides with a time of joy, gratitude, and giving. It is also the fall when many farmers rejoice in harvesting and grow excited about their reward after all their labors. I remember the smiles and joy of my neighbors who were working in the field and harvesting the crops. Our eyes are turned to God, whom we praise as the source of our life and blessing.
So, many clergies and leaders encourage their congregations to increase their giving. After all, we need to compensate the pastor and staff members. We need to pay for the bills for electricity, gas, phone, and internet. We need to pay for the snow plowing service in the winter. We need to repair the building as the needs arise. I will be honest with you. The stewardship season is supposed to be a time of delight and gratitude. For many pastors, it is one of the most stressful times of the year, and they worry about whether their income is significantly below the projected expense. With many churches aging and declining in attendance, I am sure stewardship season is an anxious and uncertain time.
So, we encourage people to bring their best with their grateful hearts, not the frozen turkey that has been sitting in their freezer for 23 years. Sometimes, some churches say that our giving is bound to bring about immediate blessing from God. A megachurch pastor in Houston, Texas, was recently criticized for saying in his sermon, “There is no blessing connected to blessing the poor other than getting back what you gave to them. If you want to multiply your giving, you have to give in tithes and offerings. Charity does not bring wealth, only the tithe does that.”[2] Many people complain the tithing of his congregants is probably not going toward the mission and outreach of their church but rather to help this pastor maintain luxurious lifestyles and buy expensive cars.
These pastors are probably the modern scribes who love to wear fancy clothes, exploit the poor and needy, and love to be recognized for their piety and prestige. Sometimes, some good pastors are tempted as well. We pastors act as experts in the scripture and Book of Discipline, ready to throw words of “You shall do” “You shall not do.” We love to be greeted being called, “The Reverend.” Some of us love to add three velvet bars on the sleeves of our heavy gowns to boast our doctoral degrees, or they wear the doctoral gown to preach. Well, sometimes I am tempted to buy and wear such a gown but shake my head upon learning that the stole I hang around my neck symbolizes the towel Jesus hung around his waist in humbly washing the feet of his disciples.
Some churches forget their mission and purpose and do not refresh in their response to the redemptive call of God in the world. They are still filled with nostalgia for when their churches used to be full of children in their Sunday school rooms, and placing extra chairs for those who could find their pews on Sunday mornings. They often forget the call of Christ, who sends them out to the world on a mission and lives out the kingdom of God, who proclaims mercy, love, forgiveness, and peace. Instead, their primary mission succumbs to “Our hope is to keep the doors of our church open in 20 years and 30 years from now, or at least until I close my eyes.” They keep telling people they need to increase their giving so they can maintain their history and name for the next generation.
And imagine with me that Jesus is walking through the door of such a church today and sitting across the offering box, watching the crowd walking by and putting in their money. Some people come and give out of their excess. They can afford to give generously because their remaining budget allows them to live comfortably. They often drop their big offerings so they can be appreciated and acknowledged by others. They often show off their big contribution so that they can influence the vision and direction of their churches. “I don’t agree with where this church is going. So, I will just make them suffer the consequences by not giving my offering anymore.”
I once saw a suggestion from a book about church finance that the pastor needs to identify the top 10 givers in their church and throw a special banquet to show appreciation for their generous hearts. We are a Methodist Church, so we are not going to have some wine or other alcohol. But we can order some lobsters and other expensive food like sushi and fine steak, and please the top donors, saying how much their giving means to us. I understand that is how our financial institution, non-profit organizations, hospitals, or universities express their gratitude to their top donors. But we read when Jesus sat at the banquet, he was surrounded by the poor, sinners, and those who were forgotten and marginalized in their society.
Then, Jesus sees a widow coming in slowly and putting in a small sum of money. Money that would not make much difference in their building project, not much addition to the salary for their pastor or other maintenance of the church. It is the money that came out of her meager budget, as she counts her days to receive the next check from her welfare. And Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering plate.” Some say that they hear Jesus praising the faith of this widow, therefore encouraging us to give more sacrificially and generously. But some say they hear Jesus lamenting with a deep sigh, “This poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering plate.”
Maybe we hear both the complement and lamentation of Jesus, as Mark puts the story about the scribe and widow together. Jesus is saying, “Look at this widow and how little she is left to survive her hardship. Where is the society to reform its broken economic system to help those who are in need? Where is the religion when, “God demands us to “do justice, to love kindness and walk humbly with our God?” (Micah 6:8) Here is the warning from God. God who listened to the cries of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt is a compassionate God who certainly advocates the poor and misery. When God gave God’s law to the Israelites, God commanded them not to mistreat aliens or abuse any widows or orphans among them because when they cry out to God, God will surely listen to them (Exodus 22:21).
Back in 2013, I was brokenhearted. My wife Sungha and I were expecting our first child Daniel in two months. But I was told to move to another church because I was not a good pastor. The committee meetings turned to hell. Church finance was doing poorly. My health was not good. I felt like I was a failure. My life was failure. Since our Stewardship Sunday in the fall turned to be such a failure, our finance chair decided to have one more Stewardship Sunday in April. That Sunday, we had a visitor named Jason. Jason was in his 40s, just released from prison for some crime. His family felt shameful about him so they disavowed him, never visiting him while he was locked up for 5 years. After he came out of the prison, he set up a tent near Walmart and happened to be with us that morning.
During the offering time, our financial chair invited people to come forward with their pledge cards and their offerings. One by one, people came forward. Some delightfully and some hesitantly. And I saw Jason walking up to the offering plate and emptying his pockets. “Clang! Clang!” The sounds of coins hitting the offering plate were loud enough to turn people’s heads. I was worried he would feel embarrassed for making some noises. After the worship service, I sat with him and told him, “Jason. Today is your first Sunday here. I did not think it was necessary for you to empty your pockets and give all you have.” He said with a smile, “No, no. I am just glad to be here with good people like you. I am sorry that was a small amount but all I had. But I give them to God gladly.”
While everyone gave a little out of their excess, this widow gave all she had out of poverty. Maybe her giving symbolizes the giving of Jesus himself as he bears witness to the radical love of God and dies on the cross for us. And this Jesus who gave his life for us demands us to love God and our neighbors lavishly, generously, and extravagantly, even to the point of our death and cross.
Amen.
[1] Paul Harvey, Daily Radio Broadcast on 11/22/1995
[2] Leonardo Blair, Pastor Keion Henderson Criticized for Saying Congregants Won’t be Blessed by Giving to Poor. https://www.christianpost.com/news/keion-henderson-criticized-for-comments-on-giving-to-the-poor.html (accessed on November 7, 2024)
RAIN OF GRACE 