The Power of a Penny

Sermon Transcript

Our lesson this morning comes from the gospel of Mark. The 12th chapter, starting with the 38th verse. 

And in his teaching, he said, beware of the scribes who like to walk along and long robes like greetings in marketplaces, and had the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at the feasts, who devour the widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive greater condemnation. And he said opposite the treasury and watch people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums, and a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him. And he said to them, truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who contributed 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. 

Friends, this is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Long about this time of year, I disappear to write out lines for the sermons for the coming year. And so last November, that’s what I was doing. And the church year is starting to wind down. And there this passage was the widow’s mite. There’s a lot you can do with that. You could talk about I might, I might or might am I or the mighty Mite? If you want to. But I wanted to talk about the power of a penny. You know that copper coin made of copper and zinc may be in your pocket? That coin that it cost $0.03 to produce. So, I’ve been pondering that for a couple of weeks. And the weirdest thing is going on here at Trinity. You can join me in observing what’s going on here. I do management by walking around. Just kind of walk around, see what’s going on, peeking doors. Look at windows, turn off on and off lights, do all that stuff. And as I’ve done that the last couple of weeks.

There are pennies everywhere. As a matter of fact, it’s gotten to be that last week, every time I walked out of my office, I would find a penny somewhere at Trinity Methodist Church. What are you people doing? Is there an offering I don’t know about? Do I do I need to find someone to fix the holes in your pockets? Are you reaching in to grab something? And a penny is falling out, and you look at it, you go. And not worth the energy to pick up. They’re everywhere around here. So today, when you leave, check the parking lot out. Because I’m finding them out there. I’m seeing them in the drive thrus. They’re in the hallways. They’re just everywhere. Can’t do a lot with a penny in Kenya. There probably still isn’t a penny. Gumball machine. There used to be, but now there’s inflation. Goodwill in Dallas started a financial program several years back. They call it change for change, and they put these goodwill boxes or containers out, and they give you an opportunity when you’re transacting business just to drop your change in the box. And last year in the Dallas metroplex, change for change raised $290,000.

Can you imagine? I kind of challenged Katy and the children in the first service, and I’m going to throw it out. Parents. We may. We may do this. There are programs called a mile of pennies. And what you do is you bring a mile worth of pennies to the church. Now, for you mathematicians, mile pennies take 84,480 pennies to go a mile. 800-some-odd dollars we would collect. What if we had our kids or children just bringing the pennies to Sunday school? Can you imagine what 84,000 pennies would look like? Who’s going to count all that coinstar that’s who’s going to count on Walmart? Coinstar not us. No. The penny. Was debated in Congress nearly a decade ago. They wanted to get rid of two things daylight Savings time and pennies. As a matter of fact, the penny is not the smallest denomination of American currency that’s ever existed. From 1793 to 1857, the United States had a half cent coin, which, ironically, was about the size of a quarter. No more. Can’t do nothing with Penny. Doesn’t matter. As a matter of fact, if you see a penny on the ground, some of you will look at that penny. And if it’s faced down, you will not pick that sucker up, will you? Bad luck at all the pennies. Good, for there was a penny I saw the other day at Trinity.

It was standing on its side. It was propped against one of the walls and I thought, come on, God, you want me to talk about a penny? So, we’re going to talk this morning about the power. Of a penny. We sort of, in the last few weeks had a lot of money passages flowing through the lectionary readings, and we talked about the rich young ruler, that fellow that came to Jesus and said, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said, well, tell me the commandment. Ten and the guy articulates the commandment, says, you know, I’ve lived all these commandments since I was a little boy. And Jesus looked at him and loved him, and, and was really impressed with what he had done. And he said, you like one thing, go and sell all of your possessions and give the money to the poor and come and follow me. And he turns and walks away free, had great possessions. Jesus has entered Jerusalem, and the first thing that Jesus does is he enters Jerusalem, according to Mark, is he cleanses the temple. He kicks over the money changers. They are the ones that are selling sacrificial animals. They are the ones that are in control of the Jewish economy. You don’t understand how radical that was.

The whole Jewish economy was built around the sacrificial system. If you sin, you have to make an animal sacrifice in the temple, and you bring us the animal and we, we, the temple people decide if the animal is without blemish. And you better bet you we’re going to find a blemish on that animal. Because for just 1995, we have a sacrificial animal. Don’t have Jewish coins? Oh, you only have Roman coins. We have an exchange rate at the temple, and you can almost see the brochures in the publications. One shop sin really? That’s the economy. Jesus kicked over. That’s what got him crucified. You’re not dealing with sin. You’re making money off human suffering. So, there’s this energy now around the temple and around their economic policies and around the way they make a living. And Jesus says, look, beware of the scribes who devour widows’ houses. They will tell these widows; you’re such a big sinner.

You need to sacrifice a ram. Can’t afford a ram? Mortgage your house in exchange for your sins. So, Jesus, knowing that the people in the temple want him out of the way, knowing that he is headed toward the cross, knowing that he wants to incite the Jewish conflict rather than help them be comfortable, is hanging around the temple. And Jesus is watching the offering box. There were 12 of those boxes in the temple. They were brass, and in that world, they didn’t have a lot of silent money. All the money made a sound when it went into the box, and you could stand close by, and you could tell by the sound the money made. What was going in? Was it a gold coin? Was a silver coin? Was it a bronze coin? Was it Jewish? Was it Roman? They had it all figured out. What denomination was going into the offering box. Can you imagine Jesus. Watching. 

You know how many times his preachers heard people say to me, Brother Doug, what I give is between me and God? You better bet it is. And he’s watching. So, splitter comes, and she puts in two copper coins, and they’re so thin and they’re so light they make no sound. There were big contributions coming in all day. Jesus has been watching it. There have been people who’ve been giving generously and giving copiously. And she puts in two insignificant. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make a difference to the temple organization. Two small copper coin. And Jesus says, truly, I tell you, she put in all. She put in more than all the rest because she contributed out of her poverty. They gave out of their abundance. She gave all she had to live on. And the disciples, being good Jews, immediately popped up. An Old Testament story. It’s the story of the widow at Zarephath. Israel is going through a time of drought and famine. Ahab and Jezebel are on the throne. The Hebrews are doing what the Hebrews are doing. They’ve turned aside from God. And God said, I’m going to get their attention. I’m going to create a drought, and they’re not going to get rain until they get right.

And he’s going into the village of Sarah fast, because that’s what God told him to do. And as he’s coming into the gate of the city, he beholds a widow. And the widow is gathering six and he called to her, and he said, bring me a little water and a vessel that I may drink. And she was going to go get it and bring it to him. And he called her again and said and bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. And she said, as the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar, and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat and die. She’s cooking her last meal. She knows she’s not going to survive this drought. This famine. This is it. For her. And her son. And I can’t even imagine what it would feel like to be a parent, knowing that you could not take care of your child. But Elijah said to her, don’t fear. Go and do as you’ve said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, the jar and your flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.

And she went, and she did as Elijah said. And the jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord, that he spoke by Elijah as the disciples are listening to the story of Jesus, talking about the widow giving everything she had to live on, they had to think about the widow of Zarephath, and they had to wonder, I wonder if God’s going to put those two coins back in her life. Do you believe prayers like that? We prayed it this morning. What did we pray? Give us this day our daily bread. Do you believe it? Do you believe that God still provides manna in the wilderness? That God still takes care of his people? The widow giving all she had to live on obviously believed in a God who could provide. Obviously, she was giving. Out of a deep faith. In God, you know this is not a stewardship sermon. It could turn into one. Listen to what the psalmist said. There are so many who say, who will show us some good. Lift up the light of your face upon us, oh Lord. Then the psalmist says, but you have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and their wine abound. In the book of Hebrews. The writer of Hebrews tells us that keep your life free from the love of money and be content with all that you have. For he has said, I will never leave you or forsake you, so we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man can do to me.

It could be about stewardship, but it’s not. It could be that Jesus is elevating the poor. But it’s not. Just a few days later in Bethany, Jesus is anointed. He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper. He’s reclining at a table, and a woman came with an alabaster box of ointment, and she broke it. And poured it over his head. And there were some who said to themselves indignantly, why was this ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than 300 in their eye and given to the poor. And they scolded her. But Jesus said, leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She’s done a beautiful thing to me. And then he gets us. You always have the poor with you whenever you want. You can do good for them, but you will not always have me. And she has done what she could, and she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. The story of the widow’s mind is not an elevation of poverty. It’s not suddenly making the poor more worthy than those people who are putting generous amounts. And it’s not a story where we’re supposed to talk about people being victimized or becoming victims.

It’s a story about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. And the questions a simple one. Are you all in? Are you all in? Paul told us that you know the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you, by his poverty may become rich. The widow of Zarephath gave everything she had to live on. This widow that is in the temple gave everything she had to live on. They are all giving it all. They are all in. And Jesus is headed to Calvary, and he is going to give everything, including his life. He is going to die on the cross for us. He is going to be stripped of dignity. He is going to be stripped of human empathy, sympathy and contact. He is going to die very much alone. While we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. What would our lives look like? If we were all in? If we had the confidence and the faith of God in God that whatever we possessed, we just said, here it is, Lord, I’m giving it to you. I’m trusting you for today, and I’m believing you for tomorrow. Y’all, there’s power in a penny. It means that in the kingdom of God, nothing is wasted.

It means that in the kingdom of Christ, nothing is insignificant. It means no human being is wasted. It means no human act is insignificant. When it’s done in the work of the kingdom of God. A handshake, a smile. A word of grace and encouragement. A word of gratitude and understanding. The smallest, kindest, most insignificant act in your economy God can use to transform a life. And change our world. Understand that when you are all in small things become life changing events. I think about her, the widow. I was reading this week, I don’t know. One Bible flew open to the book of the revelation, and I was looking at a description of heaven, and I thought everything that culture thought was precious in heaven is building materials. I mean, they’ve got gold on the streets. Can you imagine? I wonder if gold has potholes in it. Jasper. Carillon pearls. Any beautiful stone you can imagine that was used for jewelry. It’s building materials and heaven because God’s economy is reversed. If you want to save your life, you lose your life. If you want to be first, you become last. Those who are last become first. Because Jesus is just up ended. Things. And he’s invited the world to come unto him and experience that second life, that new birth in Christ.

Friends, are you all in? Would you stand and pray with me? We thank you for the saints who have shown us what it means to be all in, who have gone the extra mile and turn the other cheek, who’ve endured persecution and heartache. And we thank you for those saints who have walked quiet lives of selfless generosity, who in so many ways have given their lives and your service. We pray, oh Lord, that they would challenge us, that they would learn. We would learn from their example. The following you. And being an apprentice of Jesus means at one level we’re all him in his name. We pray. Amen.