Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor

 © 2021, Dr. Tamilio

The great Greek philosopher, Socrates, was tried and executed for three reasons: one of them was that he was corrupting the youth of Athens.  He wasn’t contributing to the delinquency of minors, mind you, nor did he behave inappropriately around them.  He did, however, have a big influence on his students — to question others, particularly those in power, to discern the truth.  Maybe a little background information is in order.

A friend of Socrates was once told by the Oracle at Delphi that there was no one in the world who was wiser than Socrates.  Socrates found this hard to believe.  All he knew, according to him, was that he knew nothing.  OK, maybe he was being a bit hyperbolic, but you get the point.

Socrates began to question people whom he thought were wiser than him.  In particular, he questioned poets, priests, and politicians.  What he discovered was that although these people knew a great deal about their respective fields, they pretended to be experts in everything.  They were know-it-alls.  You know these people.  You’ve seen them.  You may be sharing your Thanksgiving dinner with one or two of them.  This encouraged Socrates to question people even more.  Suffice it to say, these people, who were mostly people in power, took umbrage with the philosopher.  Who wants to appear foolish publicly?  Furthermore, his students began to do the same thing.  They went about the Athenian marketplace questioning everybody as well.

Suffice it to say, Socrates had a knack of upsetting people.  About 430 later, and about 1250 miles to the east, another historical figure did something similar.  Jesus of Nazareth had a knack for infuriating the religious authorities of his day.  We see that in today’s passage.

Before we go any further, be warned: this is about stewardship.  Don’t tune me out, though.  This isn’t what you think.

Jesus was warning his followers about the scribes.  According to one source, “the scribes were learned teachers and authoritative leaders, who were drawn from the priests and Levites, as well as the common people.”[1]  Another source tells us that the scribes were men trained to write.  At first, they were merely transcribers of God’s law and synagogue readers.  They later became interpreters of God’s law whose responsibility was to teach the Torah.  Scribes produced legal documents, recorded deeds, [and such] and could act as a notary public and court secretaries.  Although some of the scribes copied documents, this was not necessarily a part of their job.[2]

Scribes held an important function within the Jewish religious community.  As experts in the Law, who sometimes misinterpreted and misunderstood the Law, they became a target for Jesus.  He wasn’t doing this to be a wise-Alec.  He was showing how their interpretation of the Law was either faulty or hypocritical.  You can be sure that this upset them.  In fact, the main reason why Jesus was crucified (the historical reason, not the theological one) is that he was upsetting the religious authorities of his day.  This is similar to what happened to Socrates.

One example had to do with today’s story about the poor woman who put two, small, copper coins into the treasury.  People were coming to put money in the Temple treasury.  Jesus saw many rich people putting in large quantities of cash.  Then, a poor widow came and put in two, small, copper coins that combined were worth a penny.  Jesus contrasts her with the scribes, who, just a couple of verses earlier, he chided for devouring “widows’ houses.”  (Obviously, he is drawing a parallel between the widows whom the scribes take advantage of and the widow who gave the two coins.)  Everything is relative, right?  Those who are rich can afford to give away large sums of money — and it probably won’t affect them much.  This widow, however, gave everything she had.  She didn’t tithe.  She gave 100%.

Maybe she had so little because the scribes took advantage of her.  That seems to be what the text suggests.  Maybe she was poor because her husband died, and she had no real means of income.  Whatever it was, she gave all she had.  She gave everything.  She is more of an exemplar believer than all the scribes combined.  “They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.”  This woman, though, was unassuming.  You can almost see her: hunched over, her head covered in a shawl, placing her offering into the treasury with frails hands — maybe they looked just like the hands on the cover of this week’s bulletin.  I then imagine her walking away in a very unassuming way.

A moment ago, I mentioned that this was going to be a stewardship sermon and not to tune me out, because it wasn’t going to be what you think.  No, I’m not going to ask you to increase your pledge to the church.  I would be more than happy if you did, as would the members of the Visionary Board not to mention our Treasurer.  We will gladly accept an increased pledge.  But we would gladly accept any pledge — whatever you can give.

However, as you think about the year that is before us, I want you to take a moment (not just on Thanksgiving, but now), I want you to take a moment and think about all the blessings that God is poured into your life.  Jesus gave us everything — even his life on the cross.  In return, should we not offer all that we are and all that we have to him?

In the very opening of his book The Gospel Driven Church, Jared C. Wilson writes, “Every church is in transition.  Every church is either growing or dying.”[3]  He also says, just two pages later, “The size of the church does not matter.”[4]  Churches can be small but growing in more ways than just numbers.  The Congregational Church of Canton is growing.  Keep in mind that we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the numbers we see each week (in terms of attendance) are going to be down.  They’re down everywhere.  But look at our outreach endeavors.  Look at our fellowship.  Look at what goes on here throughout the week, meaning those who use our building and why they use it.  Everything from CCK to AA to the Seventh Day Adventists.  Our church is active.  Our church is alive.  Imagine what this place would be like if each and every one of us were like the widow who placed just two coins in the treasury.

During this season of harvest, as you read and reflect upon the letter you will get in the mail this week, along with a pledge card, I want you to ask yourself whether or not you are giving your all to Jesus.  I am not just talking about your financial contribution to the church, although that is certainly part of it.  I am talking about your time and talent as well as your treasure.  The future of this church is what we want it to be.  Let’s make it limitless!  Amen.

[1] Taken from bible.org.

[2] Taken from biblestudy.org.

[3] Jared C. Wilson, The Gospel Driven Church: Uniting Church-Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019), 23.

[4] Ibid., 24.