November 12, 2006
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The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church The first thing I notice in this chapter of Mark, is a strategic line in the way Jesus acts. First he teaches the crowd, he turns to the masses that are gathered at the temple courts. Then this woman comes, bringing her present. And after that he gathers his disciples, and teaches them, going more deep. Jesus had a wide outreach, aimed to everyone. But he also gave lectures going more deeply to those who choose to follow him and stay close to him. As a church, we ought to learn from Jesus, and I believe in the same strategy. That the gospel is to be proclaimed publicly. Towards everyone. We should try to reach as wide as we can, and in all the situations where we have access. But also, there is a more narrow circle of people who gather around the Lord’s table, and receive the teaching that Paul calls to make the holy ones fit for all good deeds. We wish and pray that more people should choose the blessing this includes. To mature in one’s relationship to God, also includes the responsibility of stewardship. It has been said that "the last thing that is being christened, is the wallet." There is something about that claim. Anyway, I feel that this Sunday has an important message for us: As human beings, we are placed on this earth as stewards. A part of our Sunday service that is not considered enough, is the offering. In the Norwegian service, we call it "takkoffer" that is "offering of thanks". That is a nice explanation of the gospel. Because the gospel is more than words. It is not real until it is re-created into works. A deed where we all are invited as participants. The offering is not only about collecting some dollars. It is more about giving back, as thanks to Him who has given us everything. In the prayer after collecting the offering, and the gifts are placed on the altar, the pastor says: "Lord, yours is the earth, and everything it contains. Everything we own, belongs to you. Bless these gifts, so they can serve your kingdom and our neighbors." Everything we own, belongs to God. In reality, we own nothing by ourselves. Instead, it is loaned to us. In the language that The Old Testament was written, in Hebrew, the verb "to have" does not exist. Isn’t that worth reflecting on a bit? It is the same in modern Hebrew, that is spoken in Israel today. When a Hebrew speaker will tell that he has a book, for example, he says: "Yesh li sefer". Literally that means: "A book exists for me." That is, there is a book that I can use. That is a way of expressing, that is closer to the thought of stewardship than ours "I have a book". For what the Bible wants to teach us, is that everything we own, belongs to God. In Deuteronomy 26 (vs 1-2) the desert-wandering Israelites are instructed that when they come to the Promised Land, they shall take some of the first fruit and put it in a basket and bring it to the temple, and offer it there. The first fruit belongs to the Lord. To give the first things to the Lord, means that the rest is for us to live on. Instead of keeping the first for ourselves, and giving the leftovers to God, if there should be any. In a society that puts strong pressure to buy on all of us, this is a great challenge. According to the first commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me," this is about giving God the first place, and right to rule in our lives. Today we heard the story about the poor widow that according to Jesus gave the biggest gift. Actually we also heard a similar story, from the Old Testament about the poor widow in Zarephath, who gave the prophet Elija the last of the food she had in her house. Because of her willingness to give, the jar never got empty. The expression "Jar of Zarephath" came into the language, picturing something that never ceases. What the two widows had in common, was both their poverty and that they gave away the absolute last thing they owned. Mark tells that the poor widow in Jerusalem put her gift into the treasury. There were altogether 13 treasury chests in the Court of the Women. The Jerusalem temple resembled a Chinese box, with its courts. The outer was the Court of the Gentiles. There both you and I could have access if the temple was there today, but not any further in than that. Israelite women were allowed to enter one more gate, which led to the Women’s Court . There the treasure chest that Mark mentions, was standing. But further in, to the Court of Israel, only the men had access. Further only the priests were allowed to go. But into the Most Holy room only the High Priest was allowed to enter. Each of the treasure chests had their own purpose. The one we hear about today, was the one for voluntary gifts. It was not prescribed how much or how little one could give. Many rich people put in large sums, Mark tells. While the poor widow gave two pieces of the smallest coin that existed, the rich ones gave Denars, Statars or Pounds. I think that Jesus rejoiced, seeing the large sums from the rich people. The money people gave in the treasury were so well needed, both for the caring for the poor, and for expenses running the temple. But the Master must also have smiled now and then, as he sat there watching, and knowing the difference between what some people gave, and the capital they owned. Some of them took out just a tiny bit, and kept a huge "life insurance" for themselves. But the poor widow put in everything she had, all she had to live on, we read. "All her life," the Greek text also could have been translated. The widow went home from the house of God as a rich person that day. How can I claim that? Because she surrendered her poverty. For that reason she went home as a rich person. She was rich in God. She acted in faith. She surrendered everything to him, and therefore she felt quite safe. We easily think: Because I have got all that I need, I can feel safe. No, as Christians we should rather think: God has got all that I need, so therefore I can feel safe. Under his reign we have nothing to fear. Then finally, just one more thing on this Stewardship Sunday. The Greek word for "steward" is oikonomos. Our word "economist" and "economi" derives from that origin. Which means that to be a good steward is the same as to be a good economist, who first of all thinks and acts according to what can be to the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the one true God now and forever. |
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |