All We Have
Mark 12:38-44[1]
It’s not hard to see how much we as a people are preoccupied with
our possessions. Especially at this time of the year. We’re already being
bombarded by advertisements that seek to convince us that we don’t already have
enough to be content. We need that newer TV, or that nicer car, or the latest
and best electronic gadget. It’s the way our economy functions. It thrives when
we go out and do our “due diligence” as consumers. That means spending money on
more “stuff” at a rate that keeps the economy humming along nicely. We even
have an index to measure this behavior: we call it “consumer confidence.” If we
are “confident” consumers, we’re going to go out and spend our money on more
things.
It seems to me that may be one of obvious ways in which our
society fails to understand prosperity. Spending money becomes the measure of
how well we’re doing. That we’re spending money on things we very likely don’t
need doesn’t come into the picture. Nor does anyone stop to wonder whether all that
spending is really a measure of our “confidence,” or a measure of our personal
dissatisfaction with our lives. It seems to me that when we’re truly
“confident,” we’re content with what we have, and we don’t need to go out and
spend a lot of money on things we don’t need and may not even really want!
Our Gospel lesson for today throws the issue of wealth into the
spotlight in a way that might seem rather uncomfortable. Jesus criticized some
of the religious leaders who were so driven by their own conceit that they made
an effort to look impressive with their beautiful robes and their “presence” in
worship. He made it clear that it was all for show. He said that their “long
prayers” were simply “for the sake of appearance” (Mk.12:40). In other words,
they wanted to look like they were spiritual. But the fact that their real
agenda was about themselves was revealed by the indictment Jesus made that they
were defrauding some of the most vulnerable people in their society. It seems
clear where their hearts really were—wrapped up in their own self-interest,
their own image, and their own greed.
Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of the prominent people in the
community as well. When he was at the Temple, watching the crowd making their
contributions to that vast institution, it was apparent that there were “many
rich people” who “put in large sums” (Mk. 12:41). He then contrasted the paltry
contribution of a poor widow: she “put in two small copper coins, which are
worth a penny” (Mk. 12:42). But Jesus made the point clear: “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” (Mk. 12:44).
What may not be obvious on the surface of things is that the Greek
phrase that is translated “all she had to live on” could also be rendered as
“her whole life.” Perhaps she had reached the place where she had exhausted her
own resources, and she was offering herself completely to God, trusting him to
care for her needs. The irony is that, from Jesus’ perspective, her gift was
more substantial than all the “large sums” the others gave. More than that, she
embodied the kind of attitude that Jesus sought from all those who would follow
him: that we surrender all that we are and all that we have to God.
The Scriptures and the Christian tradition are consistent on this
matter: there is something about wealth that has a way of taking over your
heart and life. Jesus said it this way: “you cannot serve God and wealth”
(Matt. 6:24). Jesus knew what escapes us so easily: our possessions have a powerful way of “possessing”
us. Throughout the ages the antidote to this problem has been to place all we
have at the service of God’s kingdom. The traditional term for that attitude
toward possessions is “hospitality.” It speaks of a level of generosity that is
ready and willing to share all we have with those around us, especially those
in need.
While there are lots of practical reasons for giving, I don’t
think that’s what Jesus was most concerned about in this setting. It seems to
me that he was more concerned with what wealth does to us. From that
perspective, giving is a spiritual discipline that enables us to remain fully human in the midst of this world
and its goods. Practicing generosity may be the only way for us manage to keep
from losing ourselves in our possessions while we live in a world where we have
so much wealth. If you wonder whether this may be a problem for you, Richard
Foster offers a fairly simple test: select your most cherished possession, and
then begin to look for an opportunity to give it away. If that’s doesn’t come
easily, I think you’re in good company.
In our society, wealth is not only something we desire, it’s a
necessity for retirement! If that’s not difficult enough, our consumer-driven
economy makes it almost impossible to avoid the pitfalls of our affluence. If
we’re honest I think we all have to admit that we can get quite attached to our
“stuff.” And all of this can leave us quite blind to what our wealth does to us
and our humanity. The discipline of giving is a means of reminding ourselves
that that we are all dependent on God for all of life, just like the widow in
our lesson. More than that, we practice the discipline of giving so that we can
free ourselves from the fetters of our possessions. And we do that by
surrendering all that we have to God.
[1]
©2018 Alan Brehm. A sermon
delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 11/11/2018 at Hickman Presbyterian Church,
Hickman, NE.
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