Sympathy for the Scribes

Sermon as Preached 11/11/12 at Lambs & Evington UMC

Scripture- Mark 12:38-44

 

As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰ They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” As I read this passage for the first time and as I began to work on this sermon, the first thing that popped into my mind was, I’m glad that this isn’t a communion Sunday. Can you imagine how awkward that would be, with me in my robe talking about the teachers who walk around in flowing robes. I caught a break there. But in all seriousness, our passage for today did cause me to do some deep self-reflection, it forced me to really challenge some of the ways that I think and act about my role as a Christian. As difficult as it may be, I pray that as we explore this text together today, that it may be as challenging to you as well.

            In our passage for today we really have two different things going on. There is first Jesus’ warning about the scribes, and then there is secondly Jesus’ observation of the poor widows giving. Both of these stories teach us a similar lesson, but it is important that we recognize that they are in fact two different stories. So with that being the case, let us examine each story separately and then later we will see what they have in common.

            As mentioned, the first story is of the scribes in the synagogue, and as we see in our passage, Jesus does not look upon these men very favorably.  Throughout the Gospels many of the Jewish leaders such as the Pharisees and the Sadducees are constantly and continuously portrayed as being the villains. They are portrayed as being corrupt, greedy, snotty, arrogant, and misguided. We have been so accustomed to these portrayals of the Jewish leaders, that now when we read about these people in the Bible that our minds automatically cast these men in a dark light. Jesus and the disciples for sure had valid reasons for their disapproval of the Jewish leaders, but before we write them off altogether as being evil, let us show a little sympathy for these leaders, and if we do we might find that we are not that different from them at all.

            For all of the downfalls of the Jewish leaders, on thing can and should be said of these men, and that is that they were very devout and dedicated to their beliefs. These leaders would constantly study the law (remember that law and religion were tied together in those days), they would devote themselves to studying the scripture. They were diligent in their discussions of the texts and what they meant, and which laws were most important. If you remember our passage from last week, Jesus’ discussion of the great commandments started with the scribes discussing which law was the most important. These leaders for the most part acknowledged that there was a level of respect that accompanied their position, and many tried to do their best to follow the laws such as cleanliness and dietary laws in the scriptures in order to keep their position respectable.

            In our passage for today were are told to beware of the scribes. When we hear the word scribe we often think of them being wealthy leaders such as the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and some were. However, many of the scribes were also actually rather poor, and it was seen as an act of piety to give money in order to support these scribes. These are the scribes that it seems Jesus is talking about today in our scripture. They were probably just as devout and pious as any other Jewish leader, but let’s not confuse these scribes with the wealthy givers that we see in the next part of our passage.  After looking at the scribes, and other Jewish leaders in a more sympathetic way we then may start to ask, what is it that they did wrong? If they were so devout, why are they always being chastised by Christ? That is the question that is at the heart of our passage for today.

So let’s look at what Jesus says about the scribes in our passage for today. He’s says to beware of them for they like to wear long robes around and be respected in the marketplaces. He also says that they like to say long prayers. As mentioned earlier, it is likely that the scribes that Jesus is talking are not actually that wealthy, and that they depend on the generosity of others to sustain their living. Jesus seems to be indicating that these scribes are saying long prayers, that they are walking around the marketplaces in their robes, because they are trying to earn more gifts. They think that if they say longer prayers they will be more respected, that if all the people in the area know that they are scribes then more people will be willing to give. The problem with these scribes is that  though they may be devout in their practices, that though they may be diligent in studying the law, that though they may do their best to earn the respect that comes with their position; their beliefs and their practice of their beliefs have become focused on themselves and not focused on God.

            Before we jump to judge these scribes, let us remember the title of this sermon, “sympathy for the scribes.” And why exactly are we being so sympathetic to the scribes? Well, it is for the simple fact that far too often we are the scribes. When we think about worship what is our expectation? Do we ask ourselves how can I participate to the best of my abilities in worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ this morning? Or are we more likely to ask what am I going to get out of worship this morning?  A lot of this comes to the forefront of our church, especially now in this time of charge conference. We become so rushed, so focused on getting everything done, making sure it is done right, and finding ways to present it in a way that makes the church look good, that we too often forget what is really at the heart of what we are doing. Let me be the first to say that I have been one of the biggest culprits of this type of thinking. I know that there is the phrase preaching to the choir, but there should also be a phrase preaching to the preacher, because this for sure is an instance of it. We as a church, as Christians, and as individuals far too often miss the mark when it comes to our understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

            This brings us to the second story of our passage for today. In this section of the passage Jesus observes the giving of a particular synagogue and sees many rich men who come and give large sums of money, but to them it is only a drop in the hat of what they have, and then there is a poor widow who gives just a small offering, but it is all that she has. Jesus tells us that she has put in more than all the others. While this story focuses on money and financial donations, it is about more than money, it is about how we think and act on our faith.  The rich men who donated were probably pretty nice people. Let’s not demonize them like we far too often do. After all they are coming to the synagogue, and they are donating a good amount of money; that shows some commitment to their faith. But what separates these rich men from the poor widow? It is the way that they think about their faith and more importantly it is the way they act upon their faith. For the rich men in our story, their faith was a part, a segment of their life. Their faith and their beliefs were something that contributed to their growth. Their giving indicates that that they care, and so they gave some of what they had to the synagogue. What makes the poor widow different is that her faith was not a part or a segment of her life, but her faith was her life. Her faith wasn’t something that she simply used to contributed to the growth of her life; her faith was her life. This does not mean that we do not get anything out of our faith, for we through Christ there is eternal life, but it means that the primary purpose of our faith is not what is in it for us, but what can I do for God. We get so inundated with things in our lives, in the church, with ideas, and new directions, old traditions, respect and duty, that we lose sight of the purpose of our faith and the purpose of the church. Like our scripture told us last week, love God and love each other. Or as the United Methodist church puts it in our mission statement, “Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

            There is a commercial on TV now, that can unintentionally teach us a lot. It’s a KFC commercial for their new snackers, smaller chicken sandwiches, and the goal of the commercial is to make us rethink how we view fast food. In it a manager in the office comes out to all the people working at their cubicles and says, “Little news everyone, the little wigs at corporate are coming in so I want everyone to think little.” Think little. This is what our passage for today teaches us.  Not to think little in the sense of don’t dream big, but to think little meaning we need to be reminded of what our faith really means and how we should really live it out. Think little like the poor widow, that through her little offering she offered more than those who gave more money, because her focus was on Christ. Think little meaning not thinking about ourselves like the scribes, but thinking about the good news of Christ and the great commission that he gave us. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your mind, all of your soul, and all of your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

            What if we as a church dared to think little? Finance meetings would no longer be meetings simply to go over figures and numbers, crunching them to see if we have the money for the upcoming year, but instead they could become a time to envision and plan a way for this church to transform the community around us. Recording attendance numbers in worship would not just be the sake of butts in the pews, or so that the church won’t die, but it can be a way for us to encourage new ways of inviting back those who have not been in a while, reaching out to the community to bring in those who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ or have heard it and for one reason or another have left. It could be a way in which we can imagine new and creative ideas in how we can glorify the Lord through worship, or it can be a time for the Holy Spirit to work through us in reinvigorating and reviving traditions of this church that started with good purposes but have been forgotten over the years. Looking at our participation in mission, both local and overseas can help us rejoice in the great work the Lord has done through us, but can force us to sees the ways we have failed each other and our community. And charge conference, especially the way we do it in our cluster, can be transformed from a mere formality from the book of Discipline, into a time in which we can encourage other brothers and sisters of Christ in their ministry, and a time in which we can learn from each other for our own future ministries. All of this is possible if we are brave enough to think little. To think about what is at the heart of all we do, and that is as Christ told us, to love God with all of our being, and to love each other.