If you have ever felt like you are standing on the outside looking in, like you do not belong in a beautiful church with its beautiful people, then listen to Jesus, because Jesus has a word for you.
Something like that is happening in our Gospel reading today. Jesus is inviting His disciples into the household of God and He pauses to offer them a beautiful view. While everyone may not appreciate His choice of scenery, Jesus opens our eyes to what is truly beautiful in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus and His disciples are at the Temple in Jerusalem. They pause to look at the surroundings and are struck by its beauty. But they differ in terms of what is beautiful.
For the disciples, it is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people. Immediately after our text, the disciples call Jesus to look at the buildings. “Look teacher, what wonderful stones,” they say, “and what wonderful buildings” (13:1). Their language indicates they have trouble comprehending what they are seeing. Literally, they say, “What sort of stones and building is this?” Earlier in Mark, when Jesus stilled the storm, the disciples were struck with fearful awe at His powerful figure and cried out “What sort of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” Now, in the Temple, they are faced one more with something beyond their comprehension, the beauty of the Temple, and they cry out in amazement. “What sort of thing is this?”
And it is not just the place that impresses them. It is also the people. As our text begins, people are coming to worship, but they are also coming to see and be seen. Jesus observes their false sense of beauty. The scribes are here in all of their glory. They wear long robes and delight in long greetings. They like the best seats in the synagogues. They take places of honor at feasts. They are truly larger than life.
Yet, as Jesus knows, a beautiful temple filled with beautiful people can blind us to true beauty in the Kingdom of God.
Yet, as Jesus knows, a beautiful temple filled with beautiful people can blind us to true beauty in the Kingdom of God.Have you ever experienced that? Have you ever felt just a bit out of place at your congregation? Your congregation has a building program. They are expanding the Family Life Center. As everyone talks about the kind of activities this ministry will provide to Christian families, you feel like you belong less and less. You cannot give like the others. And your family? Well, it is an absolute mess. You doubt the Family Life Center has space for divorced fathers of religiously disaffected children. While the Family Life Center is beautiful and the families of the church are beautiful, you recognize this is not the home for you.
If you have ever felt like that, like you are standing on the outside looking in, like you do not belong in a beautiful church with its beautiful people, then listen to Jesus, because Jesus has a word for you.
Jesus asks His disciples to look at a widow. She has nothing that would draw your attention to her. She has no long robes, she receives no long greetings, she claims no best seat, and she has no place of honor. Her contribution is virtually nothing compared to the giving of others, but she gives all she has. Jesus sees that. Not only does she give all she has, but she gives all she has for a church which is corrupt. Jesus has just told His disciples that the scribes “devour widows’ houses” (verse 40), and here we see a widow giving her house to those who devour it.
What on earth is beautiful in this picture? God’s self-sacrificial love.
In this poor widow, Jesus sees a faint picture of Himself. He is about to give all He has for a church that will kill Him. He will give His life as an offering for the sins of the world. He dies for those who are building beautiful churches and for those who will never belong in them. He dies for the prideful and the humble, for the powerful and the weak. Jesus dies to offer all He has for all His Father has made and He rises to bring all His Father has to all who believe. Jesus asks us to see something more beautiful than a temple. This is more than a million-dollar view. It is priceless. We receive a priceless view of God’s priceless love which flows from the cross of Jesus into the lives of His people.
This love not only forgives our sin but also transforms our lives. We become temples of the Holy Spirit, beautiful in the Kingdom because we overflow with God’s self-sacrificial love. As the apostle Paul teaches, we bear in our bodies the death of Jesus so the life of Jesus might be revealed (2 Corinthians 4:10).
A divorced father with religiously disaffected children, who stands there hungering and thirsting for righteousness, belongs in the Family Life Center. He is part of the family of God. He confesses the brokenness of sin that tore apart his marriage. He prays for the words to share which will renew the faith of his children. Jesus sees his longing to belong. Jesus hears his prayer for his children. Jesus understands that his life of longing and suffering, so easily overlooked by others, is a beautiful view in the Kingdom of God.
So, as we gather for worship, let us turn our eyes to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who fills our lives with His love, that the world might see the true beauty of the Kingdom of God.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Mark 12:38-44.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Mark 12:38-44.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Mark 12:38-44.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. Charles Gieschen of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through Mark 12:38-44.
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