Cyber Gleanings, February, 2006:

Dear People of St. John’s,

     A well-to-do businessman and active church member, who knew just enough theology to be dangerous, was approached about giving to the capital funds campaign to build an addition to physical plant of the church.  He listened to the presentation on the need for the new facility and finally said, “Well, you can count on me to give the ‘widow’s mite.’”  He reached for his checkbook and handed the caller a check for $1,000.  The caller, having done some theology of his own, handed the check back to the man and said, “I cannot accept this.”

     The giver was taken back and asked, “Why not?”

     “You told me you would give the widow’s mite,” the caller said, “and yet you have given only $1,000.  I must remind you that the widow gave all she had, her whole living.”

     Mark 12:38-44 gives the details of the Lord of this life and the life that is to come, watching as people put their offering into the temple treasury.  People came to present their gifts.  Many rich people put in large amounts.  A poor widow came and put in two copper coins.  Jesus then said, “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.”

     The widow’s gift was sacrificial and sacramental.  Genuine giving is always like that.  Giving that is both sacrificial and sacramental has certain characteristics to it.  One, it is never the amount of the gift that matters, but the cost of the gift to the giver.  Ultra-wealthy people, to whom God has entrusted great sums of money, sometimes impress us with enormous gifts for various humanitarian causes.  Such gifts are without a doubt greatly appreciated and assist in relieving suffering and need for those who have undergone great tragedies.  I would not belittle or scorn such givers.  The great question would be what personal sacrifice was necessary in making such a large gift?  Where is the sacrificial quality of the gift?  In what personal way has the giver invested themselves in the cause? 

     The second characteristic about sacrificial and sacramental giving is that what matter most is the commitment of the giver.  It seems that fewer and fewer people will do without their personal pleasures in order to give a little more to the work of God through the church.  Many spend far more on their habits than they do on charitable causes.  Some hold on to the damnable idea that they can control what the church says, does, or stands for by withholding their money or earmarking it or designating it for something they might approve.  “Boomers,” unlike the generations before them, have not had to make significant sacrifices and have bought into a cultural notion that it all really does belong to them.  It doesn’t!

     The Vestry of St. John’s, at its regular January meeting, voted to give a one-time $5,000 gift to the Diocese of SWVA as a challenge to other parishes in an attempt to help offset a more than $100,000 deficit in the 2006 operating budget.  We are not a wealthy parish, but we have extremely generous members.  I am profoundly grateful for that.  If we fail to make up this deficit we will be faced with cuts in important program areas and will incur debt for 2007.  I do not believe we have to face either of those.

     I have been accused of talking about money too much.  I don’t apologize for that.  The three subjects about which Jesus spoke most were wealth, hypocrisy, and the Kingdom of God.  Those categories are tied together.  Three of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship with material stuff.  Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables attributed to Jesus have as their subject matter money and stewardship.  One out of every six times Jesus is recorded as saying anything deals with the relationship of a person to material possessions.  The crucial concern for Christian people is not, “How much do I give?”  We need to ask, “How much am I allowed to keep?”

     It may be disquieting, upsetting, or a cause of personal embarrassment, but Jesus still watches as people “place their gifts into the treasury.”

                                                                      Peace,                                                                                  Tom