November 9, 2003

Twenty Second Sunday of Pentecost

Mark 12:38-44

“Priceless”

     A man walks into a church office and asks, “Hey is the biggest pig at the trough here today?”  “If you mean the Pastor,” the secretary replies, “most people refer to him as the Reverend.”  “Well,” the man said, “I just wanted to make a $10,000 donation to the building fund and wondered if he was here.”  “Oh”, said the secretary, “in that case, let me see if I can find the big pig.”

     I hope Lucille doesn’t refer to me that way (although she might be temped at times)!  This little story does illustrate the fact that when the issue of money comes up we all stop and take notice.  Remember the T.V. commercial about an investment firm years ago that went, “When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen”? Just the mention of the firm’s name would make everyone in a room stop speaking and lean toward the person who said the name of the firm.  Talk about money and people stop and take notice. 

     Imagine Jesus and the disciples hanging out together near the temple one day watching people making donations to the treasury.  An outside donation slot (sort-of the reverse of a drive-up ATM), had a metal chute into a receptacle box so that when a person dropped in their offering, the amount was obvious by the sound of the clanking coins.  Rich people making big donations could make an impressive rattle in the box, but a poor widow with just two small coins to drop in caused only a little clinking sound. 

     But it was the generosity of this particular person that Jesus praised.  He recognized her great personal sacrifice.  Others had given from plenty, but she had given all she had.  

     A few years ago, my son, Matt and I had the opportunity to travel to Haiti.  We hope to go back again soon and more of the Hammett clan may go along next time.  We went because I have this crazy idea about setting up a boat building project in Haiti.  What we found when we got there was poverty unlike anything we had ever seen before. 

     It is said that the slums of Port Au Prince are the worst outside of Calcutta.  You wouldn’t have to prove it to us.  Abject poverty was as far as the eye could see - sewage in the streets, garbage everywhere, people living in shacks, malnourished children.  We couldn’t drink the water.  There was electricity for only a few hours in the middle of the night.  It’s a country where the average annual income is something like $350.  Unemployment is over 80%. 

     We toured around the country, made some contacts and learned about Haitian life.  Mostly we observed and didn’t accomplish much more than that.  On the last day we were there, however, one of our hosts made sure to see us before we returned to the states.  He wanted to give us gifts - Haitian oil paintings.  There, surrounded by some of the poorest people on earth, people trapped in squalor with no way out, there, with our airplane tickets in hand, with money in our pockets, we were given gifts.  It was incredibly humbling.  Poor as they were, they still wanted to show us how much they appreciated our being there.  Jesus would say the Kingdom of Heaven is like this.

     Did you know there is a wonderful organization based in Norwich called the Haitian Health Foundation and that they have been established in Haiti, doing benevolent work there for the past thirty years?  Did you know they have a housing program where, for just $500, a simple home can be built for a needy Haitian family?  Well, now you do.  Between now and Christmas, I will be challenging the church to pull together to raise the funds needed to build a house in Haiti.  I think by Christmas, we can come up with enough to give at least one Haitian family a better life.  What do you think?  Do you think we can do it?

     We can if we allow our hearts to be moved to generosity like the woman we heard about in the Gospel of Mark.  Her gift wasn’t great, but her giving was and God can do great things with a generous spirit.

     I once attended a United Church of Christ conference meeting where a man from the national office spoke about stewardship.  He said that one of the most important things a church can do is separate people from their money.  He got our attention with that comment!  He went on to say that giving is the natural expression of faith.  Church is that place where we help each other walk closer with God and generosity is the natural result of that walk.

     Over the years I have come to appreciate the truth in his words and how the church has helped separate me from my money.  It is a powerful thing and the desire to hang on to it is a serious temptation.  But it is false security.  The contentment it gives is a lie.  It can be lost in a moment.  We cannot take it with us past the grave.  In the end, it has no value whatsoever.  In the end, all we will have is our trust in God and what we’ve done with the things we’ve been given in our mortal life will indicate just how sincere our trust is.

     Thankfully, we have an understanding and loving Lord.  There is forgiveness offered to us, even when we have misplaced our trust.  Jesus gave all he had for our sake, that we might have the hope of salvation.  Jesus gave all he had so we can trust him and be unafraid to give all we have.

     Each of us needs to wrestle with this one in our own way, I guess.  What does it mean for us to give all we have?  Does that mean we empty our bank accounts and give it all away?  Perhaps, if this is what the Good Lord has placed upon our hearts.  Does it mean that we rededicate our time and talent to some new use that better serves the Lord?  Does it mean we use the blessings we have received in ways that can better give hope and healing to the needy?  Does it mean we allow an attitude of generosity to shape every aspect of our lives?  Each of us must seek to walk close with God and answer such questions for ourselves.  Doing so means being honest about our abundance and the power it has over us.  Doing so means letting go of that power, trusting God, letting generosity flow.

     It has been said that to love and be loved is the greatest joy on earth.  Jesus said he came so that our joy might be complete.  And this is what it’s all about - loving others as Christ loves us, living a life that is complete, living a life of joy.