Argument

We had a rather heated discussion at ministerial today. I never knew the widdow's mite could bring out such contention.

I guess it should have been expected. It really is a challenging thing. It was then and it is now. The giving up of everything is never comforatable. A cross isn't made to be.

The widdow's actions challenge us to our core. What is our responsibility, our duty, our responce to God's grace? What do we have to do? anything?

Fr. John said that commentators he read stressed that Jesus was pointing out the injustice of a system that failed widows. The widdow gave everything to a temple system that was supposed to take care of her. The fact that her everything was less than a penny shows how that system had been failing. (Some sources I've read say that was 1/100th of a day's wage.) Jesus was then pointing out a sad state of affairs rather than showing the widdow as an example.

Some of the guys were adamate that the widdow gave out of her faith, her love, her gratitude, her devotion, or what have you, not because she was expecting back.

I pointed out that the fact of a sad state of affairs in the temple system made all the more poigniant the widdows faith in God. And just like the widdow of Zaraphath in the Kings reading, God would take care of her with or with out the religious establishment.

But this idea of giving all was still hard to swollow. If it was so hard for us as pastors, how hard will it be for anyone else. Fred warned us about laying false guilt on good people who are honestly trying to make ends meet and be faithful to God.

I agreed, but also wanted to combat a scarcity mentality that our people sometimes get, where they trust in themselves and not God. I have found with a very meager salary that faithfulness in giving, even extravagant giving, always helps ends meet. God will take care of us.

But some of the guys took Fred's thoughts even further, how can God desire something so impossible as to give him everything. We would be perfect then.
I brought up Brother Lawrence and the Practice of the Presence. He says that is doesn't require changing what we do, but doing what we already do for the sake of God. My take, God doesn't want to be the biggest part of our lives, he wants to be all of our lives - integrated into the whole.

Glenn had a hard time with my thought, thinking I was putting the children I taught that to in Spiritual bondage of a works legalism. Ray too, thought Brother Lawrence didn't once mention Jesus, meaning Where is grace in this practice?

So often in the last few weeks in Mark we have been challenged by the cost of discipleship and the giving up of everything, be it status, riches, or begger's coat. This is hard for us, and rightly so. Admitedly the themes of Grace and our own actions in giving up all to follow are in tention. But it shouldn't surprise us that if we were to give up all, it could only happen by God's grace. We could not bring ourselves to do it on our own, or survive on our own after we did.

Monopoly Illustration

1) Widow And The Banker land on income tax.

Out of love: Who is playing

Grandmother and grandson

2) Flash back: The Widow Lost Her Property To The Banker

the grandson has hotels on everything and the grandmother has just lost her last property, Mediterranean ave.

Previous moves

Landed on Marvin gardens paid $1200 had to mortgage Mediterranean to pay rent.

Rolls 4 lands on community chest

Explain: Community chest advance to Go.

They play with the rule that the tax money goes in the middle like the Community chest - it is gained by those who recieve the mercy of free parking.

Advance to Go $200

Roll 4 and land on income tax

Out of her poverty

3) The Choice 10% Or $200

Assess your blessings

Thanks from the Heart or mouth

4) Who Wins?

Spare change or all of you?

Mercy doesn’t make sense

It doesn’t win the game, but it does win

If we give in proportion to the mercy shown to us by Jesus we are overwhelmed and no amount will do.

What will you give? What will you do with mercy? How will you show your thanks to Christ who is merciful? Now that you have landed on this space, your opportunity to give, what will you choose?

Lord of the law of love and the widow’s offering

A. Law of Love

‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?

The voice came strong and with force over the buzz of the crowd as a teacher of the law should speak. The crowd had just played witness to a debate between some Sadducees and Jesus. They were loving it. The teacher of the law watched Jesus soundly trounce the men in the debate.’ He was pleased, and moved through the crowd to pose a question himself.

The temple was packed. The Passover was only two days away and visitors from all round were preparing to sacrifice and worship.

Jesus was on the steps of the Temple teaching. When he heard the question and saw the man coming towards him. His eyes narrowed and a slight smile started to force its way
across his face.

‘"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' <sup>31</sup> The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."

His eyes never left the man who asked the question. He was searching his face for something. The man gazed back in thought almost trying to avoid Jesus’ eyes but incapable of it. Almost imperceptibly, the man’s face changed. Lit up with recognition.
The ah-ha moment.

‘"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Jesus’ face could not restrain it any more; the smile broke free and beamed at the man. The worn lines in his face gave away that he had become frustrated with teachers of the
law. They were so concerned with the way things look, with the sacrifices, the little things that the law demanded. But those worn lines danced in the presence of this teacher. He was one of the few that got it.

With almost a chuckle of pure joy Jesus said to the man, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. So Jesus helped them out. If they had finally caught on that he actually counted them as lawbreakers, that his teaching was more strict than theirs because he demanded the whole heart, then perhaps they were ready for this riddle

1. Jesus is Lord-Love the Lord your God

‘‘How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

The Lord said to my Lord:

Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

under your feet.’’

David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son

The crowd was tickled by the riddle but the even more they enjoyed the look on the scribes faces.

You’ve probably been there too. I know I have. These teachers of the law have been doing it for so long they could do it with out thinking. How ‘bout you, do you ever realize, maybe getting ready for church when everything is rushed and pressured realize
that the Lord your God isn’t real.

The teachers of the law knew all about the scriptures.’ The Lord would be in the line of David—a king. The missed that it was so much more than just a descendant to the throne,
it was David’s Lord, and Jesus had just claimed to be him, standing in front of
them, real, in the flesh, and greater than David.

That might get my attention. But so often I find myself living with the crust of reality. Just the outside, doing the right things, and I find that for a while any way I wasn’t
even thinking that God was real. I may have known it but my heart didn’t
realize it.’ Have you been there?

All of this shock and amazement was all over their faces. They started puffing them selves up and going about their business, getting ready to go into the temple.

2. Not loving the Lord-Scribes’ Pretence

Jesus sighed, and sat down on a stoop along the stairway. Watching the group of scribes making their way into the temple he said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most
severely."

2’. Not loving neighbor-scribes devouring the widows

Jesus’ eyes fixed again on the young teacher of the law who earlier had declared that the
intensity of Love in a mans heart toward God and neighbor was more important than the sacrifices going on in the temple.’ The man’s was standing on the second step looking out into the courtyard. His face had a tortured look.

Jesus followed the man’s gaze. Down in the courtyard there was an older teacher harassing an elderly woman.

‘‘I handled your husbands estate well, madam, the scribe said with feigned courtesy and a gruff voice. ‘Please give me what I am due!’

The younger man’s face twisted as he watched. He glanced at Jesus, with despair in his eyes. The law of Love did not rule in Jerusalem, not toward God, and certainly not toward fellow man. He quickly looked away and walked away quickly and sadly. Brushing between the teacher and the poor widow as he went.

The interruption caught the older teacher off guard and he soon turned, embarrassed, and walked into the temple.

He came to the trumpet shaped treasury box and put in a large satchel of coins and a few bags of carefully measured mint, dill and cumin. A perfect tithe.

1’. The widow’s mite-Love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.

The old teacher of the law watched her and was about to approach her.’ Not only because she owed him money, but because two copper coins couldn’t be a tithe. A man could make 100 times that in a day. She should be ashamed.’ This ornate temple couldn’t be
supported, and all the priests in side by just a couple coppers.

But just then Jesus spoke up

‘"I tell you the truth, 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."

Where is your heart today? I have to ask that question myself. This poor widow had a heart brimming with love.’ It poured out of her, a kind of devout abandon. She gladly
gave everything she had.

The Old Teacher of the law’s eyes narrowed and searched Jesus’ face. What a radical teacher this was.’ He didn’t even acknowledge all the tithe of wealthy, he didn’t get
excited about a tithe he was excited about a woman who loved God enough to give
everything.

Jesus followed the woman into the temple with his eyes. His smile brimmed with pride. He--the king of everything, Lord of all the riches in the universe was most pleased by a
gift of change. A gift of complete surrender.

Is he your lord today?’ Does your heart overflow with love for people around the word? How bout for God? Is he even real in your heart today?

This is how we live the life of love.

A’. Life of Love