When Life Is Not on Your Terms

St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Scripture Passage

Mark 12:38-44

Worship Video

Worship Audio

Sermon Script

When life is not on your terms, how do you respond?

That's an important question we must ask ourselves. It has implications for your life and those around you.

We all try to do our best to make a good life. We understand the rules of the game and work hard to do well within them.

But sometimes, even if you follow all the rules, things don't turn out the way you expect. Sometimes, life is not on your terms.

No one likes that. No one wants to lose control over the terms of your life.

Jesus makes a contrast between the rich people and the poor widow.

He sees the rich people put in large sums of money into the treasury. He then sees the poor widow put in two copper coins.

He says this in response to what he saw:

Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. (Mark 12:43-44)

Jesus is not criticizing the rich people.

But he's pointing out a crucial difference between the rich people and the poor widow. What was that difference?

The rich people lived life by their own terms. Life was in their control.

Yes, they gave large sums, but it was on their terms. That money came from their surplus. Life was in their control.

The poor widow, on the other hand, did not live life on her own terms.

All she had was two copper coins. That amounts to 1/32 of a day's wage. In today's minimum wage, that would come out to about $5. You can barely buy a cheeseburger from McDonald's with that amount.

No one would choose to have so little to live on.

Life for the poor widow was not on her terms.

Not all widows were poor in Jesus' time. Some were wealthy. They were allowed to own property.

But they were nonetheless very vulnerable. If they didn't have a wealthy or powerful family to protect them, they were susceptible to abuse and exploitation.

Widows and orphans were the most vulnerable people. This is why the Law paid special attention to them. It provided special protection for widows and orphans.

James says this about the perfect religion:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27)

As the early church began to grow, the first issue was how to take care of the widows in their community.

The community and the religious system built around the Law was supposed to protect vulnerable people like widows.

But in reality, the system was often broken. They were victims of the community that was supposed to take care of them.

Religious leaders often took advantage of widows for their own gain. Experts in the Law often used their knowledge to cheat or take more from widows.

This is what Jesus was implying when he criticizes the scribes:

Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation. (Luke 12:38-40)

The poor widow was likely the victim of this abuse.

Life was not on her own terms. She could barely survive day to day. Life was precarious and uncertain.

Life today feels like that for many people. Very precarious. Very uncertain.

It used to be that if you did all the right things, things would turn out okay.

If you studied hard enough, you would get a good, steady job. That job would allow you to afford a house. You could then live a good middle class life.

That situation is harder and harder to come by. Getting a good job is so competitive now.

Even if you do get a good job, they're often not steady like they used to be. There is constant pressure.

More work is contract or gig based. So there's less stability and predictability.

Even if you do get a good job, owning a home is out of reach for so many people.

Everything is so expensive. Our dollar doesn't go as far so we feel more poor. Eating out seems like a luxury.

Life is less and less on your own terms.

When life is not on your own terms, it creates uneasiness. It creates frustration.

When things seem out of control, it makes you anxious. It creates fear.

Fear is the most primal emotion for human beings.

It activates our brain the fastest. It propels us to move fast (Joonie as toddler getting chased by dog). It helps us survive.

But if fear is not managed, it can morph into other things.

Fear can become anger. Fear breeds suspicion. Anger and suspicion lead you to look for people to blame.

Fear divides.

It points the finger at others for the difficulties you face. It creates walls so that you can feel safe.

The world is absorbing the result of the US election this past week.

Donald Trump won because he was able to tap into the sense that things are out of control. He was able to convince people that with him as President, they will be able to once again live life on their own terms.

Whether that is true, or whether it creates more chaos and division, we will have to see.

Fear takes on a life of its own. It's a natural emotion but it can create so many problems.

This is why so much of the Bible addresses fear.

Whenever God speaks to people in the Bible, the first words are often do not fear or do not be afraid . The first thing God does is bring peace to ease your fear.

When things seem out of control, the most important thing is to experience peace.

The poor widow's life was not on her terms. Life was not in her control.

But what she did was remarkable. She gave everything she had to God.

She didn't cling onto the two coins she had. She put in everything she had.

In other words, she surrendered herself completely to God. She placed her total trust in God. For her survival. For her life.

We don't know anything about this poor widow, but we see her faith. Not just a meek faith, but a tenacious faith. A faith that believes and fights against all odds.

It's remarkable!

That is what she put into the treasury – her tenacious faith and trust in God.

The rich people didn't put in faith. They put in their surplus on their own terms.

Faith is not on our own terms. That's what we learned on Friday at our Bible study.

Faith is not on your own terms. It is on God's terms.

To have faith is to live by God's terms. It is to place yourself in surrender to God's terms.

That's how Jesus lived. He lived completely by God's terms. Accepting the cross was his complete surrender to God's terms.

That is what the widow did.

Surrendering yourself is not easy.

Faith doesn't shield you from life's problems. So it brings testing.

The problems make you doubt God's presence. They shake your trust in God. They tempt you to take matters into your own hands.

I'm sure the poor widow was afraid and worried about how she would survive.

Tomorrow was uncertain. Where would her money and bread come from?

But she had a relentless, tenacious faith. A faith that would not be deterred.

No matter what my situation is, I will give to God. Whatever my situation, I will trust in God.

That's how she was able to give even her last penny.

Life was not on her terms, but she gave everything to God.

The poor widow gave all she had because giving was baked into who she was. No matter what her situation, she would give to God.

Worship was a habit built into her. Trusting God was baked into her. It's what gave her a tenacious faith.

Worship is a habit.

Every week, worship needs to be a habit. A habit where you come and give everything to God: your fears, your worries, your anxieties, your money, your future. Where you hear what God has to say to you.

Through the discipline and habit of worship, you will build a tenacious faith that withstands what life throws at you.

This is what James says:

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face various trials, consider it all joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

My friends, build up a tenacious faith.

When your faith is tested, persevere.

When life is not on your terms, don't let fear and anxiety take over your life. Rather, bring everything to God in prayer.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

When life is not going your way, when life is not on your terms, give everything to God.

God will give you a tenacious faith.

God's peace will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God will take care of you.

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