Sermon Tone Analysis

TITLE:   Radical Faith \\ \\ SERMON IN A SENTENCE:   Each of us must choose whether we shall be like the corrupt scribe, someone whose life misses the mark -- or like the widow, a person of radical faith.

\\ \\ SCRIPTURE:    Mark 12:38-44 \\ EXEGESIS:      \\ \\ VERSES  38-44:   AN OVERVIEW \\ \\ Note where this story fits in Mark's Gospel.

Jesus has entered Jerusalem \\ to the acclaim of the crowds (11:1-11).

He has cleansed the temple \\ (11:15-19) and concluded a series of disputes with Pharisees, Herodians, \\ and scribes (11:27 -- 12:37).

He is teaching in the temple (12:35).

Holy \\ Week has begun.

All that remains is this last opportunity to teach the \\ disciples (chap.

13), the passion narrative (chap.

14-15), and the \\ resurrection (chap.

16).

\\ \\ Our Gospel lesson consists of two complementary stories tied together by \\ the mention of widows.

The stories contrast the pride and greed of the \\ scribes with the humility and generosity of a widow.

\\ \\ \\ VERSES  38-40:   BEWARE OF THE SCRIBES \\ \\ 38As he taught, he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around \\ in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39and \\ to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets!

\\ 40They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long \\ prayers.

They will receive the greater condemnation."

\\ \\ \\ "Beware of the scribes" (v.

38).

Jesus points to men entrusted with \\ religious leadership who have turned their positions of trust into selfish \\ sinecures.

They focus on what they can get rather than what they can \\ give.

Their long robes, impractical for manual labor, identify them as \\ professionals.

They relish the public honors that accompany their \\ positions.

In the marketplace, people rise respectfully when they \\ approach.

In the synagogue, scribes sit in seats of honor on the dais -- \\ seeing, but more importantly, being seen.

\\ \\ These are temptations for every age.

Who does not like red carpet \\ treatment?

Who does not enjoy wearing finely tailored clothes?

Who does \\ not enjoy finding a mint on one's pillow?

Who does not enjoy being \\ addressed by honorific title?

All of these can be innocent or corrosive, \\ depending on how they affect our relationships.

\\ \\ We should not assume that all scribes are guilty.

Jesus just had a \\ conversation with a scribe whom he pronounced to be not far from the \\ kingdom (12:34).

People who hold honored positions often serve honorably.

\\  "But places of honor tend to attract persons who are not honorable, and \\ regrettably, this applies also to the field of religion" (Craddock, 465) \\ \\ Jesus taught the disciples, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all \\ and servant of all" (9:35; see also 10:31, 43-44).

He taught, "the Son of \\ Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for \\ many."

His life contrasts dramatically with the scribes whom he is \\ criticizing.

Unlike them, he dresses modestly and serves the needs of   \\ humble people along the way.

He warned a would-be follower, "Foxes have \\ holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to \\ lay his head" (Matt 8:20).

Luccock asks, "What would an edition of Who's \\ Who be like if it were published, not in Chicago or London, but in \\ heaven?"

He answers, "It would be a servants' directory" (Luccock, 852) \\ \\ "They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long \\ prayers."

Widows are especially vulnerable in a patriarchal society.

\\ Scribes act both as lawyers and theologians, assisting people with \\ financial as well as spiritual affairs.

In some cases, they actually \\ manage people's money for them (Lane, 441).

While scribes are not \\ permitted to charge for their services, nothing prohibits them from \\ soliciting contributions for their personal support.

Their long prayers \\ give them a reputation for piety, which makes it easy for them to take \\ advantage of unsophisticated people.

\\ \\ Josephus reports shocking behavior on the part of some religious leaders, \\ some of whom used henchmen to extort funds from subordinate priests.

He \\ also reports that, in 66 A.D., rebels burned the high priest's house, in \\ part, to destroy records of debt (Evans, 284).

\\ \\ "They will receive the greater condemnation."

Their guilt is multiplied \\ by their position of trust.

When they fail as stewards, God will hold \\ them accountable.

In another context, Jesus says, "From everyone to whom \\ much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much \\ has been entrusted, even more will be demanded" (Luke 12:48).

\\ \\ These same sins were probably beginning to emerge in the church of Mark's \\ time.

Some church leaders are always more concerned with personal \\ privilege than with faithful service.

\\ \\ Christians are always caught on the horns of a dilemma.

When do beautiful \\ buildings and expensive vestments stop glorifying God and start glorifying \\ clergy and congregation?

That is not a matter that can be judged by the \\ cost of the buildings or vestments, but is a secret hidden within our \\ hearts -- but God knows our hearts!

\\ \\ In considering the preaching possibilities of this text, we need to \\ remember that stewardship over the lives of vulnerable people is an issue, \\ not only for synagogues and churches, but for everyone: \\ \\ -- Business executives are tempted to treat customers and employees as \\ cogs in the moneymaking machine.

\\ \\ -- Government officials are tempted to sell policy and privilege for \\ campaign contributions.

\\ \\ -- Military leaders are tempted to put personal promotions above the \\ welfare of subordinates.

\\ \\ -- Teachers are tempted to put salaries above students.

\\ \\ -- Mechanics are tempted to recommend unneeded repairs.

\\ \\ -- And it is not necessary to be rich or powerful to victimize vulnerable \\ people, and it is not only people at the bottom who are vulnerable.

An \\ embezzler victimizes his~/her employer.

A person who falsely accuses a \\ supervisor of discrimination or sexual harassment becomes the harasser.

\\ In those situations, the employer or supervisor can be vulnerable -- \\ ruinously vulnerable -- just like a widow is vulnerable.

\\ \\ It is possible for nearly any of us to injure vulnerable people.

Of those \\ who do so, Jesus says, "They will receive the greater condemnation" (v.

\\ 40).

\\ \\ \\ VERSES  41-44:    SHE PUT IN EVERYTHING SHE HAD \\ \\ 41He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money \\ into the treasury.

Many rich people put in large sums.

42A poor widow came \\ and put in two small copper coins (Greek: lepta), which are worth a penny \\ (Greek: kodrantes).

43Then he called his disciples and said to them, \\ "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are \\ contributing to the treasury.

44For all of them have contributed out of \\ their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, \\ all she had to live on."

\\ \\ \\ In the Women's Court, along the wall, there are thirteen large, metal, \\ trumpet-shaped receptacles to receive offerings for various purposes.

\\ People who might not donate out of a spirit of generosity are tempted to \\ do so to be noticed by other people.

\\ \\ "Many rich people put in large sums."

The receptacles sit in plain view, \\ and their clinking and clanking advertise the size of individual \\ offerings.

The donor is tempted to consider the clink~/clank value of \\ his~/her offerings.

Would a few loud clanks be most impressive -- or a \\ prolonged shower of smaller clinks?

Perhaps, like a fireworks display, \\ the best show would be a number of small clinks followed by a rousing \\ finale of several great clanks.

\\ \\ The use of checks, paper money, and offering envelopes has removed this \\ particular temptation from church offerings today, but temptation remains \\ in other venues.

Many substantial donations are given, at least in part, \\ for their public relations value.

Jesus says that such donors have already \\ received their reward (Matt.

6:1-2).

\\ \\ "A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins (Greek: lepta), which \\ are worth a penny" (kodrantes -- a word borrowed from the Latin for the \\ sake of Mark's Roman readership).

Lepta are small coins, but not so \\ worthless as a present-day penny.

Each lepta would be worth about ten \\ percent of a worker's hourly wage -- perhaps the equivalent of a dollar or \\ two in today's currency (if you live outside the U.S., use prevailing \\ wages to calculate the value in local currency).

They are too small to \\ sustain the woman for long, but large enough to matter -- two lepta would \\ buy a modest meal.

Small coins, they hardly make a sound as she drops \\ them into the metal receptacles.

Only Jesus notices the two small clinks \\ and understands their significance.

\\ \\ "Then he called his disciples and said to them" -- this familiar Marcan \\ formula announces an important teaching.

"Truly I tell you, this poor \\ widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.

\\ For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of \\ her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."

Jesus \\ does not condemn the large gifts of wealthy people, but says that this \\ woman's offering is even larger.

He bases his calculation, not on what \\ she gives, but on what she has left.

He knows how tempting it would be \\ for her to think, "This little bit won't matter, so I will let the rich \\ people fill the coffers."

He knows how much easier it would be for her to \\ give one coin rather than two.

\\ \\ The gifts of the rich people "were probably calculated gifts, guided by \\ the law of the tithe and a long tradition of how it was to be figured" -- \\ thus contrasting dramatically with the widow's gift which "surely was not: \\  She might have kept one of the two coins but did not.

Instead, 'she out \\ of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living'" \\ (Williamson 234).

\\ \\ In recent years, several scholars have proposed that Jesus is lamenting \\ this woman's contribution rather than praising it.

They note that Jesus \\ puts human need above religiosity, condemns the scribes for their avarice \\ (vv.

38-40), and foretells the destruction of the temple (13:1-8).

They \\ conclude that Jesus is distressed at this poor woman's sacrifice in behalf \\ of undeserving religious leaders and a doomed temple.

\\ \\ However, Jesus' words in vv.

43-44 are clearly words of praise rather than \\ lament.