"Soli Deo Gloria" (Deuteronomy 8:1-10) - Thanksgiving Eve

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not” (Deuteronomy 8:2).

 

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Tomorrow is the day our republic has set aside to give thanks to our God. So, what are you thankful for?

 

In today’s reading from Deuteronomy, Moses calls on the Israelites to remember Yahweh as the source of every good thing that Israel has and will have in the Promised Land. The nation of Israel’s past, present, and future, are all under the care and promises of Yahweh.

 

But did they always remember that? Most often, they grumbled. They consistently grumbled against Moses and God. So many of them preferred slavery in Egypt than wandering those 40 years in the wilderness. Moses feared that God’s people would forget about God. 

 

So, God inspired Moses to say: “You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).

 

In other words, God is saying: “Remember how these forty years I have led you and cared for you. I have protected you from the elements, fed you with manna and quail. It wasn’t luxurious living, but I have brought you safely to the Promised Land. Yes, there were times of difficulties. Yes, you murmured and complained. I never forgot about you even through you thought I did. I did all these things so that you might be humbled.”

 

When Israel stopped to think about all of this, they were moved to give praise and thanksgiving to God.

 

And what about you and me? As we step back and recollect, we remember those times when we were sick or discouraged. We remember those times when you thought no one really cared, including God. But as time went on, God helped you, encouraged you, healed you. 

 

It is so easy to go on with our lives and forget to look back at the times God helped us through: those difficult times in our families, those financial struggles. But as we look back, we see how God worked His will in our lives, humbled us, and focused our attention back on Him again.

 

As you stop to remember, you may be surprised at how many reasons we have to be thankful to Him.

 

Look to your Baptism as you were adopted as a child of God, an heir to the promise. Look to the cross and empty tomb where your sins were forgiven through the blood and merit of Jesus Christ. Look to the Lord’s Supper where Christ gives you His very Body and Blood under the bread and the wine, which forgives your sins and strengthens your faith to life everlasting. We have so much to be thankful for.

 

Like the Israelites who grumbled until they realized all that God provided in their lives, another man had reasons to grumble. By the age of ten, both of his parents had died. He experienced struggle after struggle with various trials. His wife would die leaving him as a single father with a house full of children. However, he would re-marry and be blessed with many more children. 

 

Between all of that, this man was employed by the church. And he appeared to often lack patience. He served congregations playing the organ, but oftentimes the congregation would want him to direct the choir. And when things took a turn, again, he often lacked patience. At one such church, the choir demanded simpler music. He claimed that his aim was to create music to the glory of God. So, he left and took a new job at another church. This man would eventually write a new cantata each month. At his death, he composed more than one thousand albums to the glory of God.

 

Upon each of his compositions, this man wrote “J.J.” at the beginning and “S.D.G.” at the end. They are abbreviations for the Latin, “Jesus Juva,” which means “Jesus, help me!” and “Soli Deo Gloria,” which means “to the glory of God alone.” He hoped that when the music was played, it would point toward God.

 

He once said, “I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music.” His desire was to always glorify God.

 

If you haven’t caught on already, this man was the Lutheran composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

 

For anyone who has read through my sermons on wspop.org, you may have noticed what I have typed at the conclusion of my sermons. I have followed Bach’s tradition with “Soli Deo Gloria” — “to the glory of God alone.” I write those words as a reminder that I am a poor, miserable sinner who is nothing without God. I would have nothing to say without God. So, every sermon I preach is to His glory as I preach His Law and Gospel. It’s not about me. It’s always all about Jesus.

 

And like the Israelites and Bach, we will also face tests. As God humbled them, He is also humbling us. 

 

So, remember where you are now. Israel could not have made it to the Promised Land without God. They made it because God cared for them throughout those forty years. He fed them, He clothed them. As Israel stood before the Promised Land, they were grateful for being where they were. They remembered to give God all the glory.

 

In Deuteronomy 8, God is tapping us on the shoulder and asking us if we have stopped to think about where we are today. What a privilege it is to hear the message of God’s love in Christ, to kneel at the communion rail and have fellowship with God. What a joy it is to hear those words of forgiveness pronounced over us! 

 

Have you looked around and remembered all those people God has placed in your life here at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and elsewhere who have had an influence on your life? As we ponder and remember, your hearts swell with thanksgiving.

 

And look at your personal life: your family, your home, your relatives and friends. Look at all that surrounds you. Look at all the blessings God bestows upon you as His daily bread: “everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like” (Luther’s Small Catechism: Fourth Petition).

 

We would have nothing without God. That is what God has done and is still doing for us today.

 

But there is more to come! “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, and land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you” (Deuteronomy 8:7-10).

 

The Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land. We will soon enter paradise.

 

As Christians, we know where we are going. Our future is certain. Jesus made sure of that for us by His suffering, death, and resurrection.

 

Deuteronomy 8 reminds us that God has provided for us in the past, He continues to provide for us now, and because He is God, He will surely fulfill His promises for our future. He will fill your future with His love and His care. Our lives are sealed with the love of God that surpasses all human understanding.

 

Remembering that God is always with us, our heartaches turn to hope. Our difficulties turn into praise. Soli Deo Gloria: to the glory of God alone! Amen!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Judgment Day: Salvation Day" (Mark 13:24-37)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Jesus said: “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:32-33).

 

The end of the world always has a certain allure for us. Like Jesus’ disciples then who asked, “When will these things be?” (Mark 13:4), we also wonder when. Throughout history, there have been an array of people who have predicted when the end of the world would take place. So many religious leaders and secular leaders have been obsessed with the end of the world. However, they have different convictions on how the world will end.

 

One of the more obsessed “so-called” religious groups are the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which first predicted the end of the world in 1918, then in 1920, and then in 1941, and most recently in 1975. And still, despite those wrong predictions, the Jehovah’s Witnesses continue growing.

 

In more recent times, so much of the secular world has become obsessed with the end of the world and like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, many secular leaders have had their predictions fail.

 

But so many, on either side – religious or secular, have one thing in common: they both agree that the falling of the first domino will lead to the world’s demise.

 

For many Christians and Jews, they believe if we only rebuilt the Jerusalem temple and sacrificed the red heifer, we would usher in Judgment Day.

 

For many on the secular side, they believe that if we don’t solve “climate change,” then the earth would warm or cool to the point when the earth would no longer be inhabitable. 

 

To many people, these predictions sound plausible. We just need to do something. We need to do thisor do that to usher in the return of Jesus, or we need social justice or environmental justice to save the world wrought by humanity.

Given what so many “so-called” experts say, climate change is a much bigger threat than Jesus. For all intents and purposes, they fear, love, and trust in climate change. More and more these days, those who claim that Jesus has control over the end of the world are laughed at.

 

So, who is really going to have the power to usher in Judgment Day?

 

Jesus said, “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory”(Mark 13:24-26). This kind of sounds like Jesus is in control, not you, and not me.

 

To those who claim they know when and how the world will end, what does Jesus say? He tells us, “Don’t believe them!” “Concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32).

 

While we don’t know when the Last Day will come, Jesus does give us some insight.

 

Over and over again, Jesus says that we must always be alert for His return. He says, 

§  “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42); 

§  “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:33); 

§  “What I say to you I say to all: Stay awake” (Mark 13:37); 

§  “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes” (Luke 12:37).

 

Today, Jesus tells us of a man going on a journey, and that when he leaves home, he puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.

 

You see, Jesus wants us to be alert, on guard, to keep watching for Him to come at any moment. In this mini-parable, Jesus is the “man,” the Church is the “house,” and we are the “servants.” Here, Jesus paints the picture that we in the Church are to “stay awake,” for He could return at any moment.

 

For those who lived in the First Century, they believed Jesus would return in their lifetime. They lived in that hope and expectation. They kept waiting and watching and longing for His appearing.

 

But He didn’t return, and thus, we wait, watch, and long for His appearing. Jesus says in Luke 21, “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap” (Luke 21:34).

 

So, are you just going on with the current, or are you fighting the good fight of faith?

 

It is so easy to get caught up in the rigamarole of life. It is so easy to get caught up in the daily tasks of putting food on the table, paying bills, putting gas in your car, getting caught up on your favorite television show or sporting event and to ultimately forget about Christ’s coming. Now, each of those things are good in themselves, but if we forget or ignore Jesus because of those things, they are just mere distractions weighing us down in the cares of this life. 

 

But what would it mean to fight the good fight of faith? Is it something we do? Like standing at a street corner proclaiming Jesus? Not exactly.

 

Christ is coming! And when He does, you will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26).

 

Fighting the good fight of faith is staying awake. And how do we stay awake? Do we have to literally watch the sky at all times for Christ’s return? No! If we did that, we would ignore the needs of our neighbor. We would ignore our own needs that God provides.

 

So, how do we stay awake? Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Mark 13:31). Knowing that God’s Word never ceases, let’s take a look at today’s Epistle from Jude. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Jude writes, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 20-21).

 

So, how do we stay awake? What Jude is writing about here is the mutual consolation and corporate gathering around the Means of Grace – Christ’s Word and Sacrament.

 

You see, the triune God alone – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is who keeps us awake. He keeps us awake through His Means of Grace as we receive forgiveness of our sins and strength for our faith through His Word and Sacrament.

 

Judgment Day is approaching. The day when we will see the Son of Man descending from the clouds with great power and glory is approaching. The One who created the world, who redeemed and restored the world by His death and resurrection is coming to judge the living and the dead.

 

However, judgment is not the focus of today’s text. In fact, the focus of today’s text is quite positive, since Christ says, “He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven” (Mark 13:27).

 

You see, what we call Judgment Day is actually the salvation day of the elect! This salvation day of the elect is given to us. It is given to us at your Baptism when we were buried with Christ and raised with Him. There, Christ gives us the Holy Spirit and this Holy Spirit moves us daily in repentance. From contrition to faith. From condemnation to forgiveness. From death to life. The daily drowning of the old Adam and the daily resurrection of the new man in Christ, and by it, the Holy Spirit makes you one of the elect – the chosen. Jesus does that now through His Means of Grace and He does that on the Last Day when He orders His angels to gather us up with Him. For the repentant Christian, every day is judgment day – as we repent and receive Christ’s forgiveness – until that last day is revealed to us.

 

The day of the Lord is coming. The signs are all around us. We are living in the last days. So, life will not be easy as a follower of Christ. But don’t be afraid. Christ is coming. That day when there will be no more fear, no more tears, no more troubles or trials is coming. 

 

Today, we live with Christ now by faith, but on that day of His coming, we will be with Him forever in love. With faith in Christ, there is forgiveness for all your sins. There is hope when all seems hopeless. There is life after death. Salvation day is coming and until that day, Christ keeps us awake in His Means of Grace. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"In Christ Alone We Endure" (Mark 13:1-13)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

Jesus said: “And you will be hated by all for My Name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13).

 

Today is one of those Sundays where it may sound wrong saying, “This is the Gospel of the Lord.” 

 

Are you looking forward to the coming of Christ? Normally, we’d all say, “Yes!” But how are you feeling after today’s Gospel reading? Does the coming of Christ actually sound like a glorious day? Are you beginning to second guess saying, “Come, Lord Jesus”?

 

We all look forward to the day when we are sheltered in the presence of the Lamb of God. We all look forward to when we will hunger no more, thirst no more, suffer no more. But until that great and glorious day, Christ says, “There shall be a time of trouble” (Daniel 12:1). Many will be led away by false christs – false pastors – wolves in sheep’s clothing, who preach what our sinful itching ears desire to hear rather than what we need to hear, who refuse to preach God’s Word as they bend to the cultural tides. 

 

Christ warns of wars and rumors of wars. Nations rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Earthquakes in various places. Famines. They will bring you before councils. They will beat you. They will bring you to trial and hand you over. Brother delivering brother to death. Father delivering his child, and children rising against their parents to have them put to death. We will seemingly be hated by all.

 

Are you still looking forward to the coming of Christ? It sounds like all hell will be breaking loose. It sounds a lot like doom and gloom. Where is the good news in any of this?

 

Jesus says, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Mark 13:2).

 

Not only will the Jerusalem temple be destroyed – for which it already has been – but everything built by human hands will be destroyed – including this building known as Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. As much as this may shock us today, this certainly shocked Christ’s disciples then. They were not only shocked, but they were disturbed!

 

You see, the temple was the heart and center of Jewish life. It was where they prayed. It was where their sins were forgiven. For any Jew, the destruction of the temple meant – really – the end of the world. 

 

Everything built with human hands will be destroyed on the Last Day. Those beautiful churches, those tall skyscrapers, those billion-dollar sports stadiums. Everything will be destroyed. Everything. So, we shouldn’t be too impressed by the structures all around us.

 

Not only that. But Satan will be spreading murder and mayhem wherever he can. He will get in as much destruction as he can in the short time he has left. 

 

But there is good news. Did you catch it? Christ says: “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13b).

 

Really? We have to endure? How can we endure through deception, wars and rumors of wars, persecution, even persecution from within our own nuclear families?

 

That’s the good news? Endure? All I have to do is endure through times of trouble, troubles that will be far worse than I can even imagine, and then I will be saved? How could surviving unprecedented troubles really comfort me?

 

If we’re honest, for those who travel, we barely endure the TSA line at the airport. We have to wait in line, then when we reach the end of the line, we are treated like criminals. Many would rather pay for TSA pre-check or Clear, so they can cut in line and avoid the humiliation.

 

We barely endure traveling in a car with a toddler across state lines.

 

We barely endure when the car in front of you is going the speed limit.

 

We barely endure the thought that someone may not like you, let alone be angry with you, or actually hate you.

 

Just look at Christ’s disciples. How well did they do at enduring during trials? Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Jesus privately: “Tell us, when will these things be?” (Mark 13:4a).

 

Peter denied Jesus not just once, not just twice, but three times. And James, John, and Andrew joined Peter, and the other apostles, who hid away behind locked doors after Jesus was crucified for the fear of the Jewish authorities.

 

So, are Christ’s own apostles doomed? Are we doomed? How can anyone be saved? What hope do we have of enduring all that Christ lays out for us today?

 

So many of us struggle with just little things. So many of us feel overwhelmed already with just those little things. So, how could we endure when the bad turns to the worst?

 

Some weeks ago, we heard Christ say: “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27). Again, I bring up that rich young man from Mark 10. Christ’s disciples believed that simple wealth proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that rich people must have special access before God. But just because you are wealthy doesn’t guarantee salvation. The only guarantee of salvation is faith alone in Christ Jesus.

 

So, the only hope we have to endure all things is to look to Christ alone, who has endured everything before us and for us!

 

Christ has already been betrayed and abandoned. He was delivered over to the council and beaten. He stood before governors and kings. He was hated by all. He was scourged and crucified. The earth quaked. He died.

 

Christ endured it all for you and me, so that we would be saved. Then on that third day, He rose in victory over our evil foes: sin, death, and the devil. And Christ wasn’t done yet! He would later ascend to the right hand of God the Father in glory. Then He would send the Holy Spirit.

 

If enduring is something that we do by our own reason and strength, we would never endure. If enduring is something that we can manage, then salvation is tied to works. What Jesus describes to us today is clearly unendurable for sinners, but thanks be to God “all things are possible with God,”as He gives us the only way we can endure and that is by clinging to Jesus Christ alone!

 

Jesus says: “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). So, we only endure since Christ endured for us! Our victory is His victory! Our salvation is His salvation! 

 

Yes, endurance is tough. But it’s only tough if we endure by ourselves. In Christ alone, His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). 

 

Jesus has endured for you! So, you can also endure in Him!

 

Today and at each Divine Service, Jesus gives you the way to endure to the end. He comes to us in His body and blood broken and shed for you and your sins! He comes to us through His Word that endures forever!

 

So, when all hell breaks loose – and it will, Christ invites us to hide in Him and thus endure through Him.

 

Remember, this is why Christ became man, why He suffered and died, why He endured all. Apart from Christ, all things are impossible. Apart from Christ, we are doomed. 

 

But remember your Baptism into Christ, where Christ claimed you as His own. Each time we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. And He is coming, for He has promised. And God keeps all of His promises. He never lies (Titus 1:2). He is with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

 

Even though we may see everything around us disappear, Christ tells us: don’t be alarmed. Even when the fallen world temps us through false teachings in order to lead us astray, or worldly peace comes to an end through persecution, war, earthquakes, and family ties, always remember: Christ endures. And if you cling to Christ, you will also endure!

 

Nothing, not even Christ’s dire list we heard today, can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus. By grace through faith in Christ alone, through His Means of Grace, we endure to the end. In Christ alone, we are saved! So, we say: “Come, Lord Jesus!” Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Faith-filled Giving" (Mark 12:38-44)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: 

“And [Jesus] called His disciples to Him and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on’” (Mark 12:43-44).

Some weeks ago, a rich young man came up to Jesus and asked Him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). After Jesus examined the heart issues of this rich young man, He said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mark 10:21). That’s the last we hear of this rich young man as he left Jesus disgruntled since He could not part from his absolute dependence on his great possessions.

 

In today’s Gospel lesson, we find Jesus and His disciples sitting in the temple court of the women, where the temple offerings were deposited. As they sit, Jesus is examining the hearts of all the worshipers.

 

There, in the court of the women, are 13 trumpet-shaped receptacles. If you are a Millennial or older, like me, you may remember those highway toll baskets. Those offering receptacles would look similar to those toll baskets. Worshipers would walk up to those receptacles and drop in their coins of copper, silver, or gold.

 

There, with Jesus and His disciples, would be other onlookers watching what others had given to the temple treasury, in case they felt the urge to outdo their neighbor.

 

Then comes up a woman, a widow. She drops into the receptacle two small copper coins. In today’s money, this would be a fraction of a cent. But surprisingly, Jesus says to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43-44). 

 

Now, how did Jesus know this? Did He ask this widow? No! He knew because as the Son of God, He could look into her heart. You see, Jesus knows vastly more about us and all others than we even know about ourselves.

 

This past Tuesday was the general election. You may be thrilled with the results, or you may be down in the dumps. Today, you may be thinking you know your future. But do you really know? Psalm 146 teaches us: “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish”(Psalm 146:3-4).

 

Do you really know everything that is going to happen in this coming year? Do you really know what your income will be? Do you really know what your overall financial situation will be? As much as we think we know – we don’t. We live in uncertainty. So much of our life is uncertain. 

 

Today’s Gospel text teaches us many things. One of those things is proportional giving. Jesus said the rich had given out of their abundance. For the rich, it was a surplus, an overflow. They made a lot of money, and they gave a lot of money. 

 

But for that widow, she gave all that she had – 100 percent. Now, the amount cannot compare, but percentage wise, that widow gave more than anyone else.

 

Proportional, or percentage giving, has always been the way God prescribed. Old Testament Israel was required to give 10 percent of the income they received. The tithe was God’s system of percentage giving. 

 

One reason why God prescribed proportional giving is that it works at all income levels. Some have said, “If I had a larger income, I would give a tithe, but right now, I can’t afford it.” 

 

Well, the nice thing about proportional giving is that it grows or shrinks with every paycheck. It works for everyone.

 

Now, in today’s Gospel text, Jesus still speaks about proportional giving, but He doesn’t demand any particular percentage. So, we can give more or less than ten percent. But our offerings should still reflect the way God has blessed us.

 

If the Old Testament people had to give 10 percent, and all they had was the promise of the Savior, what about how much we have been blessed? We are blessed with the certainty that the promise of the Savior has been fulfilled! Jesus Christ has come! We know He died and rose from the dead for us. We know that He has taken away sins. So, what’s the proper proportional thanksgiving for salvation?

 

But oddly enough, today’s text isn’t primarily about proportional giving. Recall all those rich people dropping in their silver and gold into the receptacles. It is likely that many gave a hefty proportion. Remember, ten percent was commanded, but many exceeded that. And someone could give 70, or 80, or 90 percent and still not be commended by Jesus. And why is that? What makes this widow so easily commended by Jesus?

 

You see, if we think our tithes and offerings gets us in good with God, then no percentage is good. God doesn’t need our tithes and offerings. He is God. He is wealthier beyond what we can imagine. However, the Church requires it and our neighbor in need requires it.

 

What really matters here is faith. God desires that we fear, love and trust in Him above all things. Faith is recognizing what God has done for us in the past and believing what He will continue to do for us in the future. 

 

The widow had so little of everything, except faith. It may be no accident that Jesus speaks about the scribes taking advantage of widows in their poverty and then covering up their wickedness by saying long prayers so that everyone would think them to be holy. It could very well be that a scribe took advantage of this widow and has deposited her money as his money into the temple receptacle.

 

Even if that is the case, this widow still offers to God the last of her money. And she gave as a matter of faith. Her husband had died, which meant she lost her sole source of income. Yet, she believed that God had provided for her and that He would continue to provide for her into the future.

 

You see, Christian giving is always a matter of faith. As I said earlier, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But we know Who already knows. So, do you recognize what God has done for you in the past? Do you trust that He will provide for you in the future? Christian giving is a question of faith. It is a question of trust. Christian giving is trusting that God will take care of you.

 

The widow completely trusted God. She trusted Him sacrificially.

 

Now, I’m not saying to empty out your bank accounts. That would be stupid and unwise. That would be a wrong interpretation of our text. But Jesus is inviting us to give Him ourselves. He is inviting us to trust in Him. He is inviting us to cling to Him as the Giver of all things for body and soul. If we truly trusted in Jesus, then our tithes and offerings would also represent that. 

 

Like the rich young man in Mark 10, today’s text about the widow’s faith also leaves us with a cliffhanger. What happens next? We don’t know.

 

Maybe Jesus and His disciples cared for her? Maybe she starved?

 

It’s no accident that we don’t know. If we did, it may have ruined the meaning of today’s text.

 

We are left in uncertainty about the widow, because our Christian tithes and offerings are always to be given in the face of uncertainty, since our giving is always to be an exercise of faith. Again, we don’t know our financial future. We don’t know if we may face catastrophic bills. We don’t know if you will lose your job, or if social security will dry up. We just don’t know.

 

But we do have some things that are always certain. Christ is coming back. Eternal life is certain for everyone who trusts in Jesus. His death and resurrection has made forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation certain for everyone who clings to Jesus as their Lord.

 

Today’s event at the temple is particularly thrilling for another reason. This would be Jesus’ last visit to the temple. From there, He went forward to offer Himself – all that He is – on the cross to pay the price we could not pay, to make the contribution we could not make. On that Good Friday, He paid our entire debt of sin. In Christ alone, we are forgiven. Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +