“Involved or Committed?”

(Mark 12:38-44) 

As Jesus 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.”

I admit that I pulled out an old sermon for today, not because I’m tired or lazy (well, maybe??) but because I really liked this sermon when I preached it.  Do know, though, that when I use an old sermon, it always sounds different and may even take a little different direction, depending on what is happening in our lives.  But if some of you remember this one, I won’t be sorry.

            A long time ago when I preached this text I illustrated it with a story I’d heard on the radio (back when we still listened to the radio).  Now I don’t know if the person I’m going to talk about was the first to come up with the excellent line that is today’s sermon title, but I think it is a good analogy as we discuss the Markan story about what we call the “widow’s offering.”

            Martina Navratilova was a world class tennis player when she was in her prime.  She’s 68 years old now.  This week I have been catching up with her life on Wikipedia.  But back in the 1980’s, in one of her interviews she said that she had really been working hard, that she was in great shape and that her confidence level was very high.  But that’s not all—she said she was thoroughly committed to tennis.

            “Now”—she said, “there’s a difference between being involved and committed.  Think of ham and eggs.  The chicken is involved.  The pig, on the other hand, is committed.”

            And, so it is in our story.  The religious leaders and the rich folks were involved—like the chicken.

            The widow, on the other hand, was committed—like the pig.  She gave of her substance, of her very being.  She laid her existence on the line.

            Now, folks, this passage has been used in many a stewardship sermon, and I’m certainly not above allowing you to hear the economic ramifications of the story.  We all need to think about how we give of our resources to God’s work. 

            But—this story holds much more for us than a guidebook or a program about how much money to give to the church.  Actually (though it may be hard to believe) the financial part of the commitment demonstrated by the widow is the easier one.

            This wasn’t just a decision about how she would tithe her income, about how she would make a pledge this year, this person gave of her very substance—of her very being.  She put in everything she had—her whole living—her whole life.  Now, THAT is commitment.

            We toss around the word commitment a lot.  We might say, “I have committed to selling 20 raffle tickets for a good cause.”  Or I commit myself to baking 3 dozen cookies for the cookie swap.  I commit myself to roasting a turkey for Election Day dinner.

            Or we committed to knocking on doors for weeks before the election.  We are committed to coming to worship each Sunday or committed to reproductive rights or committed to our jobs.

            But I think all of these examples pale before the commitment shown by the widow.

            This model of commitment that she showed us is exactly what we’ve been prepped for as we’ve made our way through the Gospel of Mark.  It’s what Jesus has led us to.  These verses are, amazingly, a climactic moment in Mark’s Gospel.

            Earlier we’ve heard about the rich, young ruler who came close to “following” Jesus, had he been willing to give up his wealth.  We’ve heard about James and John, the Zebedee Boys, who really didn’t understand power and greatness, who couldn’t really see what Jesus was asking of them.  We’ve heard about Bartimaeus who KNEW that he was blind and in need of sight.  That’s what he asked Jesus for, and that’s the very thing he received.  He was given his sight, and he followed Jesus. 

And then there was the religious leader from last week who recognized the “truth” in Jesus’ answer to the question, “Which commandment is greatest?”  His answer was: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.  And the second is, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  As you recall, Jesus declared that guy not far from the kingdom once he made the proper confession of faith.

            NOW, Jesus is sitting by the treasury with his disciples watching the rich folks give out of their abundance while the old widow gave her whole living.

            There is no interchange between Jesus and the widow.  Jesus was simply observing her.  She didn’t make a confession, didn’t even recognize Jesus.  Jesus didn’t call out to her.  We only watch as she gives away her whole living.

            We can only assume that her giving to the temple treasury is the way she gave of herself to God, her way of loving God with her whole heart, soul and mind and the way she had been taught to love her neighbor as herself.

            She gave of herself in an astonishing way.  Yet, she didn’t call attention to herself.  She was a poor, humble person who was able to give very little, relatively speaking.  And yet…it was all she had.  She gave everything.

            It’s not what she said or how she said anything.  It’s not how intelligent and articulate she was.  It’s not how powerful she was, how respected she was, how well-thought of she was.  It’s not how noisy and boisterous she was.  It’s what she did; it was about the quiet sacrifice that she made.

            So, of course, what does all this mean for us?  How can we possibly embody Jesus’ teaching from this story?

Well, first and foremost, it’s really hard.  It’s actually easier to talk about what REAL commitment, real sacrifice, is not.  It is not giving of ourselves in a grandstanding style like the religious leaders who went about (and go about) in long robes and have a fuss made over them in public places.

It does mean that for God and for neighbor we’re willing to put ourselves on the line because WE know that the REAL power and greatness are not that of the world and that there is something higher to which we are called.

True power is not defined by what position we hold, by how much money we have, by the fancy clothes we wear, by the accolades we receive from those around us, or by how skillful we are in manipulating others.

True power has everything to do with the way we respond in love to God and to our fellow human beings.

The beautiful thing in this story is that our model of faith, our model of discipleship, is this poor, poverty-stricken, invisible, lowly old woman who no longer has a husband to give her any status at all.  In the Jesus House she is our role model.  She is our hero.  She totally trusted God as she dropped all she had into the temple box.  She didn’t wonder how it was going to be used….

Now folks, the truth is we cannot even imagine being in the widow’s position, nor should we.  The story is simply demanding our attention when it comes to how we set our own priorities, what kind of goals we set for ourselves, and how we structure our lives. 

Way back at the beginning of the Gospels, Jesus had asked the disciples to drop everything and follow him.  He asked for a complete transformation, a complete commitment.  He asks that of us today.  Not a casual involvement like the chicken but a commitment, like the pig, like Jesus who gave it all.