Being Givers Like God

Title:  Being Givers Like God By Pastor Lohn Johnson

Text:  Mark 12: 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.  43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

INTRODUCTION: My dear friends in Christ, One lady relates this story: I used to work as a waitress throughout high school. We had one lone man come in in the afternoon who was particularly difficult. He complained that there was nothing on the menu that he wanted to eat and our prices were too expensive. After patiently trying to give him suggestions of popular dishes or specials, he tried to negotiate the prices on things – offering to pay half of the price listed on the menu. I told him that I wasn’t authorized to make changes to the prices on the menu, but that I would get my manager to come over and speak with him. After him trying to negotiate with my manager (who is also extremely patient), she told him simply that the prices listed were the prices that they charge for the food and if he wasn’t happy with the selection or pricing there were plenty of other restaurants in town he could eat at. He ended up ordering something off the menu, I served him (pleasantly and promptly) and brought him his bill. When I came back to get payment from him he left the exact change for his bill on the table. He then took a nickel, spit on it, told me that was my tip and threw it on the ground under the table. I told my manager and she escorted him out of the restaurant told him he wasn’t welcome at her restaurant anymore.  That was a nasty man and a rude tip.

I. What is considered proper etiquette for tipping today?  It’s certainly not what that man did – spitting on the nickel.  But etiquette I suppose depends on how good or how poor the waitress or waiter was. Twenty-percent for prompt, courteous service; ten percent or less for poor service.

A. In a way this restaurant scene reminds me of the events of our text.

1. At the entrance to the temple’s “court of women” there were thirteen metal boxes shaped like long horns standing on their ends. They were the money boxes for the temple.

a. As the coins clanged their way into the coffers, they made a sound that could be heard throughout the courtyard. b. Clang, clang, clang, clang. You can only imagine the noise. And everyone stopped and looked to see who it was that made such a glorious contribution.

2. But all the wealthy who put in their gold coins worth thousands were, in reality, only tipping.

a. They were just giving Him a tip--something they wouldn't miss.  Their contributions were out of their abundance. A tipper gives leftovers.  b. And the leftovers show a lack of consideration for God who does way more than serve the tables.  He is the source of all we receive.

B. Isn't it true that all too often we are only tippers?

1. And we tip the waiter at Applebee's more than we tip our loving God.

a. We give him ten, fifteen, or twenty percent, but we often give God only a fraction of that.  b. And as tippers we give out of a sense of duty, because others are watching, or because we're supposed to.  Tippers seldom give out of love.

2. And tippers feel they have the right to complain.  And they often complain that they have to give.

a. And tippers can often find reasons to give less...something the pastor said, something a member did.  b. If they have a gripe, their giving goes down.  If they're angry, they may give little to nothing—like the man with the nickel.

3. And again this tipper attitude reflects what we think of God.  It implies He is to serve us and when He doesn’t meet our expectations we feel we can complain.  We can show our distain by spitting on the nickel.

II. And then comes our dear widow lady with her two copper coins.

A. Plink, plink. They were the smallest coins in circulation. You and I would likely have missed the noise.

1. But sitting across the way, opposite the treasury box, Jesus is watching as people put their money into the treasury, listening to the clang, clang, clanging of the coins. And then He hears the plink, plink of the widows two copper coins, and His ears perk up. He hears something different that he didn’t hear in all the other coins that clanged into the coffer. He hears love and faith. 2. This widow’s faith showed she trusted that God would send a great Champion through the bloodline of Abraham and David - to deliver a world full of people lost in sin.

a. Every time she saw a blood sacrifice on that big seven foot altar in the middle of the temple - she knew that God would some day send a Substitute to be slaughtered for HER sins! b. When Jesus saw her heart, He could tell that she loved Him for making her a part of His family - for promising her a Savior - for assuring her that she was a forgiven child of God. She was thankful for what God had done for her - and so out of love - she gave her offering.  c. She showed that God meant everything to her.  She went far beyond leftovers, she put her whole life in God’s hands.

B. So what is Jesus' point here?  He surely does not expect us to be like that widow and give all that we have to the Lord? Was He criticizing those who gave a lot?  Neither!

1. Jesus noticed this woman because she was doing the very thing He was about to do. In other words she was a picture of Christ.

a. Already a widow living in poverty, this woman made the final sacrifice--she gave the only thing of value she still had. She did not cling to it.  She freely, cheerfully, without hesitation sacrificed all she had left.  That is what Jesus did for you.  He came to our world leaving His glory on high.  He lived here in poverty, and He did this for you.  "He became poor," the Bible says, "that you might become rich."  b. And then He made the final sacrifice.  All He had left to give--His life's blood, His dying breath--He gave for you on the cross.  c. To the world it seems like nothing.  The world that ridicules the poor widow's penny is the same world which scorns the death of the Son of God.  It means nothing to them.  “What good is the death of Jesus on a cross!” they sneer.  Like the widow's mite, the offering of Christ, and His Word and Sacraments, are seen by the world, to be worth but a penny or less.

2. But as Jesus took notice of what the widow gave, so God took notice of what His Son gave on the cross. And God, in response, declares you forgiven.

a.  Jesus' blood, worth but a penny in the eyes of the world, has purchased for you forgiveness, life, salvation and the gift of heaven.  Jesus did not hold back just as the widow did not.  He did not give only partially.  Like the widow, He gave for you all He had left to give. b. And this was no tip.  The thorns, the nails, the splintery cross, the punishment of God--it pierced His very soul with agony to give His life for you.  But He did not complain.  He opened not His mouth.  As the widow walked up to the offering box, gave, and then walked away, so Jesus was led up to Calvary and death carried Him away, and no complaint was on His lips.

III. This poor widow gave her offering and she held nothing back. She gave all that she had. This is how God gives to you. His love for you moved Him to give up His only Son. He gave all He had. Jesus gave all he had so you don’t have to.

A. But God still doesn’t want us to be tippers.  Being a tipper implies a wrong conception about God, as if we were above God and He were our server.  But God is the owner of all, who graciously gives us all things.

1. Yes, God created us. God provides for all of our needs. Not our wants and desires, but our daily needs. The talents we have are given to us by God. We use and build upon those God given talents and abilities in order to earn a living for our families. 2. We may buy stuff with the money we earn but even those things can be attributed to God because we used our God given talents to earn the money to buy the things. There is nothing which we have which does not come from God.

B. And this God serves us and makes us His children and as His children we are brought to dimly reflect our Father.  And we then become a little like that widow and place our whole lives in God’s hands.

1. Our Father is a giver and He brings us to be givers too.  That’s what He worked in that widow.  That’s what He works in us too.

a. Not that we give our last two pennies, but that we give with the same attitude of love that that widow showed.  b. And He gives birth in us an attitude that acknowledges that we are totally dependent on Him.  We place our lives in His hands.

2. He works to make us to be givers a bit like this story one pastor tells: I saw the widows attitude one Sunday in the form of a five year old little boy who ran up and threw his arms around my leg and hugged the stuffing out of me. He leapt out of nowhere in the busy crowd in the entry way of the church I was serving at the time. He nearly tripped me. But it was his hug of love that kept me from falling, just as it has been Christ's very own hug of love that has kept me from falling so many other times. When those little arms unwrapped themselves from my leg the little boy they belonged to yelled, "Hey pastor, look what I've got for Jesus this morning." I looked down and he proudly showed me his quarter for the Children's Offering. His Mom and Dad had already started him on an allowance. They gave him 10 quarters a week. One of them (the first one) was for Jesus. The second one was for savings. And the other eight he could spend almost any way he wanted. I wish you could have seen the look of joy on that little boy's face when he gave his quarter to Jesus.

CONCLUSION: Yes, Tipping etiquette may vary in our society and we may intentionally or inadvertently apply the practice to our offerings to God.  But God’s not looking for tippers. That widow is a picture of what God has in mind.  She pictures Christ, who gave all He had.  Jesus went without complaining to a cross for us.  God gives us all He did in Word and Sacrament.  He makes us His.  He makes us givers in a small way like He is.  Now we are people who know we are totally in His hands.  We are people who gladly return a portion of what He gives for His work.  Amen.