Heart Over Hype – November 10, 2024
I Kings 17:8-16, Mark 12:38-44
November 10, 2024
I titled this sermon “Heart over Hype.” And I’ve been wondering what people driving by our sign have thought about that – especially after the events of this week! But I promise you, I didn’t have the slightest intention for this title even to appear to have any political implications!
I actually got those words by asking the Artificial Intelligence chat on my computer to give me 10 sermon titles for this scripture – Mark 12:38-44! And one of the suggestions had those words as part of a much longer title. But I liked the turn of that phrase when I saw it. “Heart over Hype.” (Oh, and in case you were wondering, I have never asked my computer to write a sermon for me – yet!
So, think about that phrase, “Heart over Hype.” And first, take the second part, the word “Hype.” I think you know what that is. I found this as a good, simple definition. Hype is “the intense promotion or excitement about something.”
We hear hype all the time, don’t we? And I’m not just talking about the recent political campaigns, although there’s a huge amount of hype in those! Hype is at the heart of the advertising industry! Advertisers promote things all the time, and often it is very intense. Or, at the very least, it’s relentless! And I know TV is primarily an advertising media, and I know we have to have commercials, so we can’t realistically expect them to do away with them, or even allow technology that will block them. But can we at least have some kind of moratorium on playing the same ad twice in the same commercial break??? (Yeah I know, sometimes I expect too much!)
Sports are hyped a lot in this country! And I’m pretty sure the sport with the biggest hype is Football. And if you know me, you know my favorite sport is Baseball. And yes, sometimes I get frustrated with sports stations that play mostly football programming when it’s baseball playoff time! (Now sadly that clash didn’t happen much this year.) But just think about how much hype there is around sports in this country! If only the church had as much!
So, my sermon title contrasts “Hype” with “Heart.” And I believe our story from Mark does that, too. The focus here is the story we call “The Widow’s Mite,” with “Mite” being the small coin, the small amount of money, the widow gave to the Temple treasury. Jesus pointed out the contrast between that and what the wealthy people gave.
It’s interesting that he prefaced that story with teaching in verses 38-40, which I think is related. He said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places, and the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at feasts, but who devour widows houses, and for a pretense, make long prayers! They will receive the greater condemnation.” Yikes! That’s pretty intense stuff, isn’t it? And you have to know that there were probably scribes there that day, listening to this, and maybe looking down at their long robes!
Jesus was describing hype, wasn’t he? He was pointing out people like that who promote themselves, who enjoyed their positions of power, and their standing in the community. He was saying how they love the admiration they’re given by the people. And I have to wonder, as he said that, if he knew what he was about to see, when he ended his teaching and sat down near the Temple treasury. Because this was a perfect “object lesson” about his very words!
He sat down and watched the people go by, putting their money in the Treasury. And, as Mark tells us, he saw the rich putting in “large sums.” And then, after just mentioning widows in his condemnation of the Scribes, here comes this poor widow. And she put in her two copper coins, that made up a “penny.”
Now remember, they didn’t have any kind of “Social Security” in those days. They had no system to help the poor. What they had was their religious teachings and the obligations they were taught. They were instructed in the giving of “alms.” They were taught not to harvest their fields all the way to the edges, but to leave some there for the poor to take. They had no social systems to help those who couldn’t provide for themselves. And because of that, when the poor were mentioned in the Bible, it was often the widows and the orphans and the infirmed. They had no means of sustenance.
So here, Jesus had a perfect example of the contrast between Hype and Heart. Because, whatever the motivation the others had in giving – and don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to imply that they were giving for self-promotion – but whatever their motivation, here was a woman who was giving from the heart! Not, as one author suggested, from surplus. Although that’s how Jesus describes this contrast. He saw her gift as “Heart over Hype.”
So, we’ve been thinking about Stewardship in recent weeks. We dedicated our pledges together last week. (And it’s still a good time for you to get yours in if you haven’t already!) But along the way, we talked about the attitude of Stewardship – “God loves a cheerful giver.” In other words, someone who knows the value of God’s kingdom, and gives from a sense of joy in being part of that kingdom. And we talked about what we value in this world, and how the kingdom of God fits into that.
Well, I like this story as sort of a follow-up to Stewardship. Because it talks about the heart. And Jesus was always concerned about the heart. As one book I read years ago pointed out, “Jesus’ detractors were always trying to pin him down to discussions and questions about doctrine and beliefs, but he always brought things back to the heart.”
This widow gave from the heart. And I think I’m pretty safe in saying that her gift was a sacrifice, at a level that we may never experience ourselves. But maybe we can take her example of sacrifice “to heart.” Remember that Paul said we don’t give out of compulsion or obligation, but that “God loves a cheerful giver.” And I think this tells us that, in our giving, God looks on the heart.
Maybe you’ve heard the story of the pig and the hen. (Anybody?) Well, the pig and the hen loved the farmer, and they wanted to do something nice for him. So the hen suggested they give him a nice bacon and egg breakfast. But the pig said, “Wait a minute! For you, that’s a gift! But for me, it’s a bit more of a sacrifice!” I was thinking this week that that might be a modern equivalent of “The Widow’s Mite.”
I thought of making this sermon “A Tale of Two Widows.” Because the suggested reading in the Old Testament is the story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath. That’s the story in which the prophet Elijah asks the widow for some bread, and she tells him, “I only have a little flour and oil.” And then she says, “It’s enough to make my son and I some bread so that we may eat it and die.” That sounds like she was in a dire situation, doesn’t it? But Elijah says, “Do this for me and your oil and flour will never run out.” And that’s what happened.
That widow trusted Elijah that God would provide. And so did the widow in the Temple. But I’m sure it wasn’t easy for either of them! And that kind of thing is not easy for us, is it? Sometimes we face the harsh realities of needs and budgets and bank accounts. And it’s hard to have faith when the numbers don’t add up!
That’s when we are really challenged to give from the heart. And we have to know that giving from the heart is honored by God. Not only that, but it changes us! And I’m not going to promise you that God will always miraculously fill your pantry or send you unexpected checks in the mail. But he will give you peace as you draw ever closer to him. And that’s what he wants for you!
Maybe we need to remember Jesus’ words in “The Sermon on the Mount. He said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” God wants us to have “all these things.” He wants us to have abundance. We just need to remember that it may not always be the abundance we think of in terms of this world – “Where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal.” It’s the same with our health. God never promises us perfect physical health. But he does promise us perfect spiritual health! Well, God also never promises us earthly riches. But he does promise us heavenly riches!
And so in our giving, it’s not to promote ourselves. It’s not about personal “Hype.” When we give, we give from the “Heart.” It’s part of our faith. That’s why I like to say that the people of God have always given of themselves as an act of worship. And so we praise God, and we honor and worship him, as we give of ourselves, “Heart over Hype.”
Prayer
Eternal God, we thank you that you have drawn us into your kingdom, the kingdom of your abundance. And we ask that, as you look on our hearts, you can help us be sure we are giving of ourselves, in every way, from the heart. Help us always to know of the joy of being your people. For we pray in our Savior’s name, Amen.