A Leap of Faith

​Stewardship 1                                                                                                LSB #’s 940, 703, 790
Text – Luke 21:4
 
…they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.
 
A LEAP OF FAITH
 
 
The Bible is a remarkable book.    Where else would you hear about a son who leaves home, wastes his father’s money, returns home broke, & is welcomed by his father with open arms?   Where else do you hear of a Samaritan who stops at the side of the road to tend the wounds of a traveler who’s been beaten & left for dead? 
We hear of a widow who, during a famine, gives her last crust of bread to a hungry prophet named Elijah.  And there’s the time a donkey is given the power to speak. 
When turning to history books, we’re accustomed to reading about great battles, about the conquests of explorers & others who made a name for themselves in shaping the world.   In the Bible, it is the little people who stand out – the ordinary folk who are not famous for anything, except for some act of mercy or love that was lifted up & preserved by God. 
Today, we read about a woman whose name is never mentioned, but it’s told of her that one day Jesus saw her throwing two copper coins into the temple treasury.  Why is such an event recorded in Holy Scripture? 
As Jesus went about the towns & villages of Galilee preaching the Gospel, He looked for those rare persons who exemplified the things about which He was speaking.  Whenever He found such a person, He pointed to that one as a mirror of the Good News. 
As Jesus was resting by the temple gate, weary from His travels, He heard the clink of two small coins being dropped into the offering box by the entrance.  The sound of the coins was distinctly different.  They did not make the loud, heavy sound of the larger coins being thrown into the box.  This sound was hollow, almost muffled, yet Jesus heard & He looked up.  What He saw was a frail woman in old clothing who was obviously not well-to-do.  We do not know if Jesus spoke to her, but He had a keen ability to see into the depths of people’s lives.  This was a woman for whom Jesus was looking. 
“Come over here,” He called to His disciples.  “Come & see this woman.  She has put in more than all the others.  They have given out of their wealth, but she, poor as she is, put in everything, all she had to live on.” 
Why was Jesus so moved by this woman?  What did she do that so captured His heart?  Well, she put the substance of her life into that offering.  It was not the leftovers or what she would not miss.  It was her next meal.  It was her security for tomorrow.  She took a leap of faith, not knowing at all what the next day might bring. 
It is this leap of faith that we will consider this morning – that response which is called forth at rare moments in our lives, leading us to give & share far beyond what we’d ordinarily do.   Can you think of a time in your life when you broke out of your routine to do something unexpected?   How about a time when you found strength you did not know you had? 
There was an Alpine Mountain climber scaling a treacherous peak in Switzerland when his strength gave out.   He quit, exhausted, powerless to lift his ice-axe another notch.  As the wind whipped about him, he was certain he would freeze to death or be torn loose from his support ropes & hurtled to the rocks thousands of feet below. 
Suddenly an object from above flew past him.  As he looked up, he saw a fellow climber who had lost his axe, & with it the power to move.  With strength, he didn’t have the moment before, the exhausted climber dug in with his axe & scrambled up the side of the mountain until he reached the man in trouble.  Together the two climbers worked, sharing the one axe, until they reached a place of safety.  Beside the fire that night, the man who was rescued expressed his thanks, but his rescuer broke in: “Listen,” he said, “If you had not been there calling out for help, I would have died, so I want to thank you for rescuing me.”   One man’s need saved another man’s life by calling forth from him a strength he did not have just moments earlier. 
Isn’t it true that when a need strikes us with real force, when someone is in trouble, or when help is called for, we often find a power that was not there?  We take the leap.  We go beyond what we would ordinarily do, without thinking of all that could go wrong. 
We expend energy for a specific act, but when things quiet down, we go back to the ordinary way of living.  That reminds me of a man who was deeply moved in church one Sunday to pledge an extra hundred dollars to a mission effort that was eloquently portrayed.   
When someone came by a few days later to pick up the check, the man refused to pay it.  He said, “I just got too religious last Sunday for my own interest.”    It is true, isn’t it?  Sometimes we are deeply moved to take a risk, to jump out there, to do something out of the ordinary, but then things return to normal.  Caution sets in, & we hold back. 
The amazing thing about the widow with the two mites is that she did not hold back.  She put the substance of her life into that offering box.  Her leap of faith wasn’t a momentary impulse.  It was an act that had implications for tomorrow & the next day & every day after that. 
That is what Jesus praised – not the surge of temporary piety we all feel from time to time, but the complete self-giving of this woman.  While the Pharisees debated in the streets about what was God’s & what was Caesar’s, this woman had no debate.  All of it was God’s, her whole life, everything.  That was her starting point. 
She did not haggle over what was God’s & what was hers.  Her life belonged to God.  She lived by faith, & it affected everything she did.   Do we look at our lives in that way?  As faithful Christians, it’s likely that we do, at least in general.  We start to struggle when it comes down to specifics.  Think about this common mantra in our culture – my body, my choice.  How does that square up with the understanding that your life, & everyone else’s, belongs to God?  My body, my choice says that God has no say in certain decisions. 
Another area we tend to rope off, from God’s influence, is who decides what happens to the money we have.  My money, my choice, is sort of an unspoken mantra of the world.  One day a pastor & his daughter had a conversation about giving to the church.  He reminded her that she would need to estimate what her giving would be the next year. 
She said, “How come we have to give anything since you work there?”  The father made a response but did not feel it was adequate, so that evening he said to her, “Can you think of times this past week when someone gave you something?” 
She began to name them: he gave her a few dollars to go out with friends, some bubble gum given to her one day after school, being helped with homework, compliments from friends.  Then her father asked about things in the church that she enjoyed.  She mentioned youth group, camp last summer, & choir.  Then she remembered being given scholarships for camp. 
It all added up that she had received quite a lot.  Then her father said, “I don’t think we give to the church just to support a budget.  I think it’s more that we’re trying to say thanks to God for all that He has blessed us with.”  Whether or not this message gets through to children, it is still important for them to know why we give.  
The starting point is that our lives belong to God.  All we have & all we are is God’s gift.  It’s clear that the widow who put her two coins into the temple box believed this.  Do we believe this when it comes to any of the money we have?  There are many Christians who have a faulty view of money.  They believe the church should never talk about money, even though Jesus did.  He called His disciples over to praise this woman because her leap of faith was concretely expressed in the giving of her last penny to the temple.  Jesus celebrated that act, & He lifted up this woman as an example for every generation to consider.  What we do with our money reveals a great deal about where our heart is. 
The OT standard of giving was high.  Each year the Israelites were required to offer back to God 10% of all the crops & produce of their land.  Every three years the full 10% was to be given to the poor.  This was a continual reminder to Israel that they were God’s people because He brought them out of Egypt, out of bondage into a land flowing with milk & honey. 
The 10% was required.  Anything over that was an offering.  The tithe was only the starting point, the obligation.  If we held ourselves to that standard, we would have to say that most of us have never made an offering to God.  Whether or not we hold ourselves to the OT standard, the Bible does challenge us to consider what we do with our money. 
How do we spend it?  What values are expressed by our use of money?  Jesus said, “…where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  (Matthew 6:21)    A few years ago, a family sat down together to see where their money was going. 
They were dedicated Christians, involved in the life of the church, but they discovered that their giving wasn’t up to par.  Although they gave a set amount to God each week, they found that most weeks they spent more than double that on movies, fast food, & little odds & ends that really added up. 
Almost all families struggle with financial pressures, but we usually find the money to do the things we really want to do.  Where our treasure is, other people can easily see our heart.  Does your giving reflect your trust in Jesus?  There are times when low-percentage giving is a necessity, but in most cases, it reflects a stewardship that is hidden in the dark.  When the widow gave her two mites, Jesus saw where her heart was.  She took a leap of faith in giving far beyond her means.  Did she hurt herself by doing so?  Did she jeopardize her health & security?  Did she go overboard?   That is a question of faith.  She believed that her life belonged to God, & she trusted that if she did what she felt called to do, God would not let her down. 
Some will say that’s a naive kind of faith.  God tells us He will provide – if we take a leap of faith.  Where did that mountain climber’s strength come from when he went to the rescue of another human being?  Where does the strength to meet situations, we never thought we could meet, come from?  How do we know that God is trustworthy, & will provide what we need?  
First of all, He knew we needed to be saved.  When the time was right, He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to live the perfect life among us.  Messiah obediently & lovingly suffered & died on the cross for the atonement of our sins.  Filled with love & gratitude, we go forward following His wisdom & guidance, using His strength. 
As we respond to what God wants from us, His Spirit will show us the way.  Has it ever happened that you came home after an exhausting day, feeling physically & mentally drained, & the telephone rings?  Someone on the other end is in distress.  Can you come?  You don’t want to go, but you sense it is important, so you do. 
You rush back out the door, whispering, “Lord, show me the way.  I have nothing left to give.”  Not only does God show you the way, but you are revitalized.  If we take that leap of faith, go that extra mile, do what God calls you to, He will make the way. 
Maybe for you, giving has always been an obligation.  Try taking a leap of faith instead.  Allow God to give you the experience of responding gladly to all you have received.  Everyone’s situation is different.  Is there some leap of faith you might take?  Could your response be something that causes Jesus to notice as you pass by the offering basket?  Are you spiritually ready to challenge yourself in giving?   We pray you will start giving proportionately or even begin to tithe for the first time.   God is certainly capable of much more than we ever dream, & when we take a leap of faith, your Lord will show you the way.  May God grant you the wisdom to see what He has given to you. 
Dear Lord, You alone are the source of every good gift.  We praise & thank You for Your great power & Your tender, faithful love.  In the name of Jesus, we commit ourselves to be good stewards of the gifts entrusted to us, to share our material gifts as an outward sign of the treasure we hold in Jesus.  Amen. 
 
 
How can I thank You, Lord,  for all Your loving kindness,  that You have patiently  borne with me in my blindness!   When dead in many sins & trespasses I lay, I kindled holy God, Your anger every day.      It is Your work alone that I am now converted; Over Satan’s work in me You have Your power asserted.   Your mercy & Your grace that rise afresh each morn have turned my stony heart into a heart newborn.       Grant that Your Spirit’s help to me be always given lest I should fall again & lose the way to heaven.     Grant that He give me strength in my infirmity; may He renew my heart to serve You willingly.  Amen.  LSB 703:1-2, 4.