Grandpa gave little Emma a quarter. For Grandpa, that was nothing. He had many quarters. But it was for Emma. She was only four years old. That quarter was all the money that Emma had in the whole world.
And Emma knew what she was going to do with that quarter. She could have spent it on herself. But the week before, the Smiths lost their home in a fire. Emma didn’t know the Smiths. But there was going to be a collection for them at church on Sunday–and tomorrow was Sunday. And Emma wanted to help them.
When Emma walked into the narthex the next morning, there was a box that said “For the Smiths.” Emma looked inside. There were several checks for $100 each. One couple had put in a check for $2,000. Emma dropped her quarter into the box.
Two women from church noticed Emma giving her gift. They told her mother how touching it was that Emma wanted to help. Soon, everyone in the congregation heard what Emma had done. Everyone knew her 25 cents wouldn’t change the Smith’s life. Pocket change wasn’t going to put a roof over their heads or buy new clothes for them to wear. But everybody agreed: Emma’s effort was incredibly cute.
God didn’t think Emma’s effort was cute. God saw Emma’s meager contribution as one of the greatest examples of sacrificial giving since a widow gave her last two coins 2,000 years earlier. Emma didn’t just give her quarter to the Smiths. Emma gave all the money she had to the Smiths. Emma didn’t think of herself as generous. She just wanted to help.
Emma gives a quarter. Two thousand years before, a widow puts the last two dimes she has to her name in the temple collection-box. 850 years before that, another widow, one from Zeraphath, uses her remaining flour and oil to make a little loaf of bread. That bread could have provided one last meal for her and her son. But, instead, she uses it to make bread for God’s prophet Elijah.
Emma isn’t real. But the two widows I mentioned were real. One needed her money. The other needed bread or she and her son weren’t going to live. They weren’t like Emma. They didn’t have a parent to take care of them. Oh, yes, they did have a parent to take care of them: A heavenly parent, a heavenly Father.
Those two widows knew that God would take care of them. But of the two widows, the one who dropped her last, two coins in the temple offering was more like us. Like us, she saw no Elijah come up to her to tell her that God would work a miracle so she wouldn’t starve.
Yet, that widow knew that God was still going to take care of her. And it’s the same with you. Whether you live or die, whether life is going well or poorly, your Lord will take care of you.
You see, the widow knew that God had promised to send a Savior. What she didn’t know was when He would arrive. But she knew that He would come as Scripture had foretold. And she knew that somehow, someway, He would make it possible for her, a sinner, to spend eternity with God. In heaven, poverty would be no more. In heaven, she could bask in the presence of her Savior for all eternity.
If she had only known! That Savior was only sitting a few feet away, watching when she put those two coins in the collection box. That Savior was telling His apostles what an incredible gift she had just given. He might have even told them that she was far richer than all the others, those who were giving 1,000 times more to the temple treasury. For she had the riches of knowing–and believing–the promises of her Lord!
But it doesn’t stop there. God the Holy Spirit has given you those same riches. Through Word and Sacrament, He has worked faith in you. And as huge as that widow’s offering was for the Lord, it pales in comparison to the offering that Jesus gave to that widow–and to me and you. He gave the His best and His all for us–not just His money, but His life!
Jesus said that most of the people giving offerings in the temple gave from their excess, their leftovers. Do you do that? Do you give to church only what you know you won’t need for yourself? Haphazard giving hardly seems like a proper way to show appreciation to the God who gives His all to us.
Paul has a better idea. He tells the Corinthians, “On the first day of the week, each of you should set a sum of money aside in keeping with his income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Instead of giving from your leftovers, Paul tells you to set part of the money aside that God has given you–whether 2, 5, 10, or 20%.
Let me give you an example of percentage giving. Let’s say you decide to start by giving 5% of your income. If God blesses you with $5,000 of income a month, and you’re giving 5%, you would give $250 to your church. If your income changes and you receive $500 a month instead of $5,000, your offering would be $25 a month. But it would still be 5%.
Sheri and I tithe, that is, we give 10% of our income in the offering plate. We also try to set some money aside so we can help others whom God places into our lives, whether taking someone into our home, giving them rides, or buying them groceries.
Now, am I sharing this to pry more money out of you? No, I’m doing this, so you may know that percentage giving is a practice that grows out of God’s Word. But it still isn’t a way to make God smile on you. After all, you’re still a sinner, and you don’t give your all. I’m still a sinner, and I don’t give my all. That’s why we still need Jesus. Even when the widow gave away every penny, she was still a sinner. Even she didn’t give her all. She gave all her money, but she didn’t give her life.
Today’s second reading said it: “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of the many.” All through that Epistle, the writer of Hebrews was thinking about the Day of Atonement. Every year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest brought the blood of an animal to pay for the sins of the people. The people deserved to die, but the animal died instead.
But Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the final, high priest. On Good Friday, the final Day of Atonement, Jesus didn’t bring the blood of an animal to pay for our sins. He brought his own blood to pay for our sins–the blood that spilled from His head, hands, feet, and side, the same blood He serves to us at His altar. We deserve to die for our sins, but Jesus died instead.
Unlike the sacrificial blood in the Old Covenant, Jesus’ blood doesn’t have to be brought back year after year on the Day of Atonement. Jesus’ blood removes sins permanently. Imagine having soap that, not only gets your clothes clean now, but keeps cleaning them every time you get them dirty. That’s what Jesus’ blood does. It not only takes away your past sins, it keeps cleansing you every day of your life!
When you were baptized, you weren’t just soaked with water; you were soaked with forgiveness. That’s because Jesus’ blood is still cleansing. After you confessed your sins at the beginning of this service, God said, “I forgive you all your sins.” That’s because Jesus’ blood is still cleansing. Those who come in faith to Lord’s Supper today aren’t just filled with Jesus’ body and blood, you are filled with His forgiveness, as well. That’s because Jesus’ blood is still cleansing.
The offering the widow made in the temple was a hint of the offering her Savior was about to give. Jesus didn’t drop His all into a temple collection-box. Jesus let His all be crucified on a cross. Only His all could remove our guilt. So, He gave His all. And now our guilt is gone. It’s gone because Jesus gave His all as an offering.
The widow with the two coins had a Savior. That’s the reason the widow gave all her money. We have a Savior. That’s the reason we give all our money. Yes, you heard me correctly. We have a Savior. That’s the reason we give all our money. That’s because giving all means that we realize that the money we do have (and everything else) isn’t ours. It belongs to our Lord.
We then use some of that money to put food on the table, pay some bills, take our families to the movies, support the work of this congregation, and use some for other purposes. But no matter how we use it, we are giving it all to the Lord. We use it in the way that seems best to carry out what He has given us to do. That’s real stewardship.
But that doesn’t mean we’ll always give in the way that we should. More often, we’ll get it wrong. Our motivation won’t be pure. And we’ll spend money in unwise ways. That’s why we never outgrow our need for Jesus’ blood. We still need Jesus’ sacrifice. We still need Jesus’ forgiveness.
And, in Christ, you do have Jesus’ blood. You still have His sacrifice. You still have His forgiveness. At the font, pulpit, and altar, Jesus continues to give you His all!
That’s why, even when you mess up in your giving, your Lord speaks about your gifts the same way He spoke about the widow’s coins: It’s the greatest gift ever given. That’s because Jesus has forgiven anything that may be lacking in your gift. That’s why you can give. For you have a Lord who takes care of you, not just now, but even into eternity. You have a Lord who gives to you from the fullness of His love, from His forgiveness, and even Himself. Amen.
