Week 4: October 24 - 30
Mark 12:41-44a
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he 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."
Commentary
Commitment. You know, the four letter to “C” word! I believe, that we live in a culture that is commitment phobic. I believe this is the case, because commitment means accountability. And this means that there will be expectations of us. So rather than live with accountability, we run from it. Run the other direction, so that there will be no expectations of us. But our scriptures leave us no such latitude. The witness of the Bible over and over and over again is that commitment is part and parcel of faith. Anything significant that we will ever desire to do will require our utmost commitments and responsibility. These things will demand everything from us, if it really matters that much. Take the witness of this widow in the Gospel of Mark. For all of those who believe that they are giving generously, and that they are the picture of commitment, this woman walks into the treasury of the temple, gives everything she has, and puts everyone else to shame. She put them to shame, because she gives everything that she has. I wonder, if we have the same temerity and commitment that this woman demonstrates in the Gospel of Mark?
No doubt life is full of experiences that challenge our commitments. It’s just that our character gets tested when our commitment kicks into gear. It’s when we are asked to give it all, to give beyond it all, that we begin to measure the depths of our being and our passion for the thing at hand. I think that this widow, that we see in the Gospel of Mark, had to give everything she had because it was in her character to do no less. The Temple was the Temple of her God. She believed that her God deserved everything that she had, even her last few pennies.
Our commitment isn’t just a measure of our character, but also of the depth of our love. If this is true, then we should all be wowed by the depth of God’s love for us, revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus’s commitment took him to the depths of the cross and into Hell itself for this creation and the humanity that inhabits it. You simply can’t go any lower. There will never be any greater measure of the depth of God’s love, literally, for each of us.
Questions for Discussion
1. Jesus’s observation of the widow and his interpretation of her actions challenge Jesus’s disciples. As you read the story above, what do you hear God saying to you? What do you hear God saying to our congregation?
2. In your small group, share a personal story of radical commitment. This story may be something that you personally experienced, or a story you saw demonstrated in the life of another. How did the situation you just shared grow your character? What were the ramifications for those around this incident? If the story involved you personally, how did the opportunity to show commitment change you going forward?
3. What sort of commitments do you think that we as a church could make good on that would make God very proud of us? How do our commitments as God’s people reflect the nature and character of the God we serve?
Mark 12:41-44a
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he 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."
Commentary
Commitment. You know, the four letter to “C” word! I believe, that we live in a culture that is commitment phobic. I believe this is the case, because commitment means accountability. And this means that there will be expectations of us. So rather than live with accountability, we run from it. Run the other direction, so that there will be no expectations of us. But our scriptures leave us no such latitude. The witness of the Bible over and over and over again is that commitment is part and parcel of faith. Anything significant that we will ever desire to do will require our utmost commitments and responsibility. These things will demand everything from us, if it really matters that much. Take the witness of this widow in the Gospel of Mark. For all of those who believe that they are giving generously, and that they are the picture of commitment, this woman walks into the treasury of the temple, gives everything she has, and puts everyone else to shame. She put them to shame, because she gives everything that she has. I wonder, if we have the same temerity and commitment that this woman demonstrates in the Gospel of Mark?
No doubt life is full of experiences that challenge our commitments. It’s just that our character gets tested when our commitment kicks into gear. It’s when we are asked to give it all, to give beyond it all, that we begin to measure the depths of our being and our passion for the thing at hand. I think that this widow, that we see in the Gospel of Mark, had to give everything she had because it was in her character to do no less. The Temple was the Temple of her God. She believed that her God deserved everything that she had, even her last few pennies.
Our commitment isn’t just a measure of our character, but also of the depth of our love. If this is true, then we should all be wowed by the depth of God’s love for us, revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus’s commitment took him to the depths of the cross and into Hell itself for this creation and the humanity that inhabits it. You simply can’t go any lower. There will never be any greater measure of the depth of God’s love, literally, for each of us.
Questions for Discussion
1. Jesus’s observation of the widow and his interpretation of her actions challenge Jesus’s disciples. As you read the story above, what do you hear God saying to you? What do you hear God saying to our congregation?
2. In your small group, share a personal story of radical commitment. This story may be something that you personally experienced, or a story you saw demonstrated in the life of another. How did the situation you just shared grow your character? What were the ramifications for those around this incident? If the story involved you personally, how did the opportunity to show commitment change you going forward?
3. What sort of commitments do you think that we as a church could make good on that would make God very proud of us? How do our commitments as God’s people reflect the nature and character of the God we serve?
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