INTRODUCTION

During a Sunday worship service last summer at Chautauqua, I noticed a little boy, just five or six years old, who was sitting with his parents and sister a few rows below us. It was difficult for him to pay attention to what was being said from the pulpit, but when the offering was taken, something happened that drew attention to him.

As the collection plate was passed from person to person along the pew, the boy took hold of it and began to sort through the coins and bills and envelopes. He was obviously enamored with the sudden windfall of wealth which he held in his hands, and he didn’t want to let it go.

The usher, who had a job to do, whispered out loud so that most of us could hear, “Pass the plate! Pass the plate!” And at that moment, his mother took a dollar bill out of her pocketbook, gave it to her son, encouraged him to put it into the plate and then together, they passed it on down the row. From the smile I saw on the boy’s face, it appeared that he was happy about what had happened. And I think he learned a lesson from his mother that day about Christian stewardship, which is described in the words of an old and familiar hymn:

“We give Thee but Thine own,

Whate’er the gift may be;

All that we have is Thine alone,

A trust, O Lord, from Thee.”

A long time ago, Jesus taught that same lesson to the people who gathered for worship at the temple in Jerusalem. The 12^th chapter of the gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus…watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums, but a poor widow came and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all the rest. For they contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living” (Mark 12:41-44).

Notice, please, that Jesus did not negate the large gifts that had been made. He knew that the contributions of the more affluent persons were essential to the daily operations of the temple and to their ability to distribute the wealth of that community to the poor.

That’s the way things worked back then, and so it still is in the church today. There are members of this congregation who pledge large amounts to our Annual Giving Campaign because they believe that what Jesus said is true: To whom much is given, of them will much be required (Luke 12:48). Without their financial support, we would be hard pressed to meet and exceed our goals, and might even be forced to cut back on what we hope to share with the poor and struggling people of this city and with others throughout our world who are suffering, starving, and crying out for help. Half the people on this planet are barely surviving on $2 a day or less (From an article in Christianity Today entitled “Think Globally, Love Globally,” October 22, 2001, Page 15), and those of us who have been blessed with abundance have the opportunity and responsibility to reach out and touch them in the name of Jesus Christ.

So make no mistake about it – Jesus did not negate the contributions of the affluent people in the temple that day, nor did He take their gifts for granted. Neither do we. And on behalf of the Annual Giving Committee, I want to thank those of you who are willing to lead the way as we raise the resources required for the worship, work and witness of this church in the coming year.

II.

Yet with all of that said, let us also acknowledge in this gospel lesson that Jesus recognized and lifted up one person in particular who was not a major giver in the congregation. Mark tells us that she was a poor widow, and that is all we know, except for what she did – something so remarkable and unforgettable that we still remember her today.

Jesus and all the others watched as she came forward and put two copper coins in the plate. The sum total amounted to a penny and few if any of the people there in the temple would have paid much attention to her. But Jesus spoke up to His disciples so that everyone else could hear: This poor woman has put in more than all the rest, for they gave out of their abundance, but she in her poverty has put in everything she owns.

Now I can’t say this for certain, but I’d be willing to wager you a dollar – the same dollar that little boy put into the collection plate last summer – that the poor widow, whose name we don’t even know, began to smile with a sense of gratitude just like that boy, for she had been able to participate in offering her gift to God. And my guess is, if the ushers had passed the plates around one more time in the temple that day, they would have received a record-setting collection. Why? Because that kind of sacrificial giving is not only inspiring – it is contagious!

That’s the way they do it in Kenya, you know. When some of the leaders of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa celebrated World Communion Sunday with us here last month, I told you about how they take the offering over there. The plates are passed among the congregation, and if they fall short of what is needed the first time around, the elders close the doors, the people sing a hymn and then they pass the plates again…and again…and again…until the total amount required for that week is raised.

Now according to American standards, they are not wealthy Christians. But if we are willing to learn from them and from our gospel lesson about the widow’s penny, then I hope and pray that such examples of sacrificial giving can be an inspiration to us to do the same.

CONCLUSION

You say, “Preacher, I know we’re in the midst of the stewardship season, and whether we like it or not, you and the Annual Giving Committee have got the responsibility to ask us to make our pledges to this campaign. But is that all there is to giving? Write a check, transfer some stock, put money in the envelope and try to go over the top? Is that all there is to Christian stewardship?”

Well, if you really want to know the answer, there is something more that God wants from us, and it is the most important gift that we can offer to Him.

A young woman who belonged to a church outside of Nairobi came to worship one morning, seeking help and hope for herself and her five children. Her husband had died in an automobile accident and in the midst of her grief and sorrow, she was ready to give up on God.

But that Sunday morning, sitting in the sanctuary, she heard the sermon about Jesus’ death on the cross, about His suffering and pain and sacrificial love and how much He cared for anyone who felt lost and alone.

When the time came for the offering to be received, they passed the plates from row to row, and when the usher handed the plate to her, she looked at him with tears in her eyes because she had no money to give. But at that moment, something deep in her broken heart told her that God wanted and was waiting for something else, something more, something greater than she had ever given before. So she took the plate, put it down on the floor, stood in it and gave her life to God.

My friends: that is what the Lord wants most of all, more than our money or our work or anything else we can give. And when we offer ourselves to Him, it is at that moment that we truly begin to live our lives according to His will and way. Are you ready, are you willing to do that today?

“We give Thee but Thine own,

Whate’er the gift may be;

All that we have is Thine alone,

A trust, O Lord, from Thee.”

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.