FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Sermon by Dr. George Bryant
Wirth
November 2, 2003
WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FOR A
DOLLAR?
Scripture: Psalm 103; Mark 12:41-44
We
don’t know her name, we can’t say for certain where she came from or who her
people were, and Mark doesn’t elaborate on the circumstances that brought her
to the temple that day. But Mark does
say that as Jesus watched those people dropping their money into the collection
plates, A poor widow came and put in two copper coins, which makes a
penny. And Jesus said to his disciples,
“This poor widow has put in more than all the others. For they gave out of their abundance, but she gave out of her poverty,
everything she had” (Mark 12:41-44, paraphrase).
That’s
an inspiring story about one of the best-known stewards in all of the
Bible. And I want to lay it alongside
another story which is liable to raise some questions for us today.
In
Lancaster Country, Pennsylvania, a minister who supplied vacant pulpits around
the countryside was invited to preach at a small rural church. As he arrived with his son, the minister
noticed a box in the narthex which said “For the Poor.” Not being blessed with an abundance of this
world’s good, the minister took a dollar from his wallet and slipped it into
the box.
When
the worship service was over, the chairman of the church board escorted the
minister and his son to the front door and said that it was the custom of the
congregation to give their supply preachers the entire contents of the poor
box. When he unlocked the receptacle,
there was the dollar, which the minister accepted with a wry smile of
gratitude. As they walked toward the
car, the boy, who had observed the entire scenario from beginning to end,
looked up at his father and said, “Dad, you would have gotten more out if you
had put more in. What did you expect
for a dollar?” (From “Speakers
Illustrations for Special Days,” Charles L. Wallace, Editor, Baker Book House,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1975).
I.
Now the first question that story might raise, in juxtaposition with the praise which Jesus gave to the poor widow, the first question is this: Are the gifts of the rich, who have more, inferior to the gifts of those who are poor and have next to nothing?
According
to Jesus, the answer would be “No,” with the proviso that those who have been
blessed with abundance are willing to give freely and sacrificially as did that
widow. In fact, I believe that our Lord
lifted her up as an example to all the others and to the rest of us ever since
then, with the hope and prayer that we would do what she had done – giving her
best and then leaving the rest in the hands of God.
That’s
difficult, even painful for some people you know – people who actually believe
that what they have is theirs alone.
The late Presbyterian elder Dr. Karl Menninger, father of modern day
psychiatry here in America, was talking with a patient who had inherited a
large estate, but was suffering anxiety attacks. Menninger asked her, “What on earth are you going to do with all
of that money?” She replied, “Just
worry about it, I suppose.” Menninger
inquired, “Well, do you get that much pleasure out of worrying about it?” The patient answered, “No, but I do fear
giving some of it away.”
And
that can happen to members of congregations as well. An Anglican church in London received the offering on a Sunday
morning and the priest noticed as the collections plates were brought forward
that amongst the bank notes and pounds there were three one penny coins. The priest said out loud with tongue in
cheek “There must be a Scotsman in
worship this morning.” A loud voice
boomed out from the last row of the sanctuary, “Aye sir, not just one – there
are three of us back here today!”
Somehow,
it all seems to come down to the principle of scarcity or abundance – either we
believe that what we have received belongs to us and there isn’t enough to go
around – that’s scarcity. Or we affirm
that all we are and all we have is a gift from God and is supposed to be shared
with others – that’s abundance.
Jesus
looked at that widow in the temple and recognized that although she was poor,
her cup was overflowing with an attitude of gratitude which caused her to give
her best. And that ought to inspire all
of us who have been blessed with abundance to rise above the rest and share
what we have received with those who are in need. Jesus made it crystal clear to you and to me and to anyone who
desires to give their all for Christ and the Kingdom of God: To those whom much is given, of them will
much be required (Luke 12:48).
II.
Now there’s another question which gave birth to this sermon and, I hope and pray that you will face it and embrace it with me today. As I read Mark’s story about the poor widow and laid it alongside the story about that box in the narthex, and the boy who watched and said to his father: “You would have gotten more out if you had put more in,” I realized as he went on to inquire “What did you expect for a dollar?” that you and I need to ask ourselves that question in this Annual Giving Campaign.
Because,
what we give does make a difference in the way that other people are able to
live. Some of them are hungry, right
here in this city and in places like Haiti and Honduras, and your gifts will
help to feed them and to keep them alive.
Others are homeless, and your pledges will sustain our shelter for women
here at the corner of 16th and Peachtree, together with Sunday
morning breakfasts and weekday care, clothing, food and counseling for hundreds
of men, women and children who are struggling to survive.
Moreover,
there are children waiting for medical care and attention which we offer to
them through Children’s Cross Connection and the Tygerberg Hospital in
Capetown, South Africa. There are older
folks who are waiting for meals on wheels to arrive, delivered by volunteers
from this church and community through the resources that you provide. There are families in this congregation and
across our city who are receiving help through our Rainbows intervention ministry. And there is a refugee family from the Sudan
who are getting settled into their home in Atlanta through the gifts that you
have given with open hearts and open hands.
So
the question is – What do you expect for a dollar? What do you expect will happen through the hundreds and thousands
of dollars that you give to this Annual Giving Campaign, all of which support
and sustain the ministry and mission that we carry on here in the name of Jesus
Christ?
Well,
let me tell you what I think you can expect.
Lives will be changed, hope will be restored, help will be offered and
people in this church, across our city and nation and throughout the world will
be led to the Lord. Our worship and
music ministry will be enriched, our TV and radio broadcast programs reaching
thousands of viewers and listeners will grow, our focus on children, youth,
young adults and families will increase and our partnership with Hillside
Presbyterian Church will continue to go from strength to strength.
What
can you expect for the dollars that you share?
Our pastoral staff and volunteers will be able to reach out with care
for those who are in hospitals and nursing homes, and our counseling center
will welcome those who are hurting and need to know that they do not walk through
the valley of the shadow alone.
And
living as we do in a world that is fractured by war, fear and despair, the
dollars that you give will continue to expand our mission partnerships in
Kenya, Brazil, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, South Africa and the Sudan as we
support schools, hospitals, agricultural projects, evangelistic outreach and
local churches that are offering healing and hope and reconciliation to all of
God’s children in those struggling nations.
And
that leads us to the last question that I share with you today: How much?
How much should you and I give?
My friends, that’s a bottom line question and ultimately it is between
the Lord and you. The psalmist has
reminded us that all that we are and everything that we have received has come
from God. Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits
(Psalm 103:1). And today we have
remembered a poor widow who gave her best and left the rest in the hands of
God.
As
you consider the amount that you will pledge, let me tell you what Rev. Charles
Black told me just the other day. A
family in this city came to us for help to pay their utility bills some time
ago, and our Community Ministries provided the financial support that they
needed to keep the lights and the heat on to get them through the winter. The father of that family called us again
last month. But this time, instead of
asking for more support, he said that things were going better and they were
watching our worship services on TV.
And then he said, “I have just come into some money, and I want to give
10% to Community Ministries to help others the same way that you helped me and
my family.” A check for $2,000 came in
the mail last week.
How
much should you and I give? That’s a
very personal question and it is a decision between the Lord and you. And as you decide what He is calling you to
do, let me tell you what you can expect for your dollars – blessings beyond
anything we can count, blessings far greater than anything we can imagine. And that is a promise from our Lord in
heaven.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.
(Psalm 103:1)
In
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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