Aloha Friday Message – November 8, 2024 – Is it enough yet?
November 8, 2024
2445AFC110824 – Is it enough yet? ← 😊 PODCAST LINK
Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.
Mark 12:41-44 – 41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 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.”
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. I sincerely hope for the best for all of you who take the time to read this – and that goes for the folks who will not read this – because our prayer for hope is for all of our God’s creation. This past 10 days, many of us have been concentrating on a certain numeric value – 270 – the number of Electoral College votes it takes to secure success for the Office of the POTUS. As it turns out, apparently that number has been reached, and exceeded by, only one of the candidates in our 2024 election. With that in mind, I ask that all of us recall this passage from The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans:
Romans 13:1-7 – 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; 4 for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
It’s going to be difficult for some of us, impossible for a few more, but it is crucial that none of us take up the stance of defiance and state, “THIS SHALL NOT BE!!” Many surprising things will occur in the next 90 days, and in all of them, whatever may happen, we must carefully reflect on the history we are making and prayerfully seek the Word and Will of God in what we see, hear, and feel. Satan will be working harder than ever to sow division. Remember to believe and to live as “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Whatever comes of this, I reiterate, America will get what we deserve. That will be enough for us.
In our first Key Verse this morning (there will be more later on), we can envision the Disciples experiencing another of those “OH, WOW!!” moments. Jesus is sitting opposite the place where the people put their gifts for the care and upkeep of the Temple. Several bigwigs come by and make a show of their “deep and great sacrifice” by dropping a load of cash in the box, and then taking a bow for their “obvious generosity.” Then Jesus sees a poor widow and her young son come up the line. We can imagine her destitution and shame as she, a widow, and her son, an orphan, give what she can for the Temple. It is a couple of tiny coins called mites or lepton (plural: lepta) , shown below. The name means “thin.” They were small brass, copper, or bronze coins. We’ve mentioned the denarius (← Check it out!) – the equivalent of a day’s wages – and it would take more than 100 lepta to make one denarius.
The hotshots who were tossing in the big bucks probably considered her offering to be as despicable and lowly as her and her son, persons with little or no rights or standing in society. Yet, Jesus saw her sacrifice as the best, the greatest, the most important of all. She gave everything she had. Stop for a moment and think about Jesus and Joseph. His Mother, Mary, was a widow. To earthly eyes and laws, Jesus was like an orphan – a person who has lost one or both parents due to death, illness, or inability to provide for a child. How his heart must have ached for this poor widow! Recall also his interaction with “the Widow of Nain.” (↔ Click Link) The widow at the treasury box gave a pittance, not enough to feed the two of them for even a single meal, but it was everything to her to give it. Many times on those talent shows on TV, contestants will be asked, “What would it mean to you to win this?” The response is often, “It would mean the world to me!” Even the World would not be enough if given by this impoverished widow and her son!
We have better than, and more than, the World to give. We have lives that are blessed, the love of family and friends, security and comfort in most cases, and we are expected to give what we can for the sake of the Body of Christ, for helping with the Salvation of the World, and for our Peace and assurance of Heaven. How much of that is enough? Lets recall the story we recently reviewed about the rich young man.
In both of these accounts from scripture we see people who are considered to be essentially worthless. First a Widow and a child, neither of whom has any rights or standing in the community. And again, in Mark and Luke, a widow living in extreme poverty and judged by others to be sinful and unworthy. Jesus and Elijah don’t see it that way. They see persons who honor God by giving all that they have and trusting that God will receive it. In the eyes of others around them, the gift is too small. For these wonderful women, the gift is everything they have. It calls to mind the words Jesus spoke to “The Rich Young Ruler:” Go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor. Then come, follow me. Use these links to see that story:
Is that really what we need to do? Do we really need to give everything away? Well, we certainly can work harder at trusting that God will provide all we need as did Abraham, Elijah, David, Jesus, and these two widows. Do you know anyone who faithfully lives by Divine Providence? I do. His name is Brendan Case, and he is a Catholic Lay Missionary. Everything he has – home, family, children, mission, support, ministry – all of it traces directly back to God. His only work is to spread the Good News. With that he supports his family and still gives relentlessly of his considerable spiritual gifts and is also very generous with his temporal gifts – Time, Talent, and Treasure. You might say (as I would), “I can’t live like that.” We’re probably right.
Many times in these essays I’ve written about “My Old Friend Abraham.” Most of us could never do the things Abraham did. Why? Because that is not our gift. Abram was a righteous man to whom God elected to reveal himself as El Shaddai – Almighty God. (See Genesis 17) Abram believed what God told him, and for his faith in God, El Shaddai made him Abraham the Father of Many Nations – and the founder of our faith in God. Abraham was prepared by God to do great things. We are all prepared by God to do some things. When we do part of those “some things” for ourselves, we are not giving all that God has given us. Every good and perfect gift comes from above (See James 1:17), so everything we have that is good comes from God. Everything we have that is not good does not. We should never try to give God the things that did not come from him; however, we can ask him to take them and make them Good. That is what God does. He takes stuff that’s not-so-good and makes it wonderful.
That’s what he did to the widow in Zarephath and her son. He did that for the widow at the Temple Treasury – she will be remembered forever because of her unstinting generosity born of bottomless faith. Yes, El Shaddai, God Almighty, takes stuff and situations that are not-so-good, and from them brings Good into our lives. Through Jesus’ gift of Everlasting Life in him, El Shaddai also takes people who are not-so-good and turns their lives into blessings. That kind of thing is the only kind of thing that deserves the ill-used adjective AWESOME.
God is AWESOME. Skateboards are not. Salvation is AWESOME. Tee-shirts are not. Jesus is AWESOME, but, despite popular opinion, football is not. God is awesome because he gives us everything we need to recognize and enjoy his Awesomeness. What God commands becomes reality for those who serve him – especially when his command comes as the answer to our prayer, like when we take our not-so-good stuff and give it to him so he can make it all better. Even the smallest of your gifts are good gifts if they come from God and you place them at his disposal. And if you can be faithful in returning to him the small or not-so-good stuff, God will see to it that you have plenty of the truly amazing stuff to pass around. After all, he is the Source of everything you have to live on – and for. All that you have ever had or been – now, before, or later – comes from God. It is given to you, not bought by you. Honor the Giver by accepting the Gift and then share it like crazy! That is one of THE best ways to Praise the Lord! (↔ Music Link)
This is how the Psalmist praises the magnanimity of God:
Psalm 146:3-4, 9 – 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. 4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
9 The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
In this passage, the word for “strangers” is the same as for “sojourners,” resident aliens in Israel. In the Laws of Israel, sojourners received certain benefits and rights such as gleanings from fields and vineyards, fair and equal treatment, to be loved as if they were fellow Israelites. they could participate in Israeli politics, sacrifices, and develop proficiency in Hebrew if that was not their native language. They were expected to live in accordance with the laws for unintentional sins. They could become citizens of Israel after three years, but they had to demonstrate their proficiency in Hebrew and renounce their allegiance to their previous nationality. Assimilation and cultural acclimation was a requirement. That was enough then; in our day and age, we question whether these rights and responsibilities are applicable here in America.
Let us also compare the accounts of the rich young man and the orphan, Jesus. The rich young man went away sad “because he had many possessions,” but he could not relinquish those for the possession of The Kingdom of God. His idol – wealth – stood in his way. Jesus had no possessions other than his Divinity and Humanity, yet he resolutely and willingly walked to his death in Jerusalem to give everything he had to God, his Father, for us. Unlike the young man who turned himself away, Jesus went forward and gave God all he had left in this World: His LIFE. Here we want to look at what we will hear from The Apostle Paul this weekend:
Hebrews 9:27-28 – 27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Is that enough yet? It’s time for us to ask ourselves a couple of important questions:
First, what idol(s) have I placed between myself and God that prevent me from fullest communion with and obedience to Our Father in Heaven? Here are a few: Sports. Money. Prestige. Spouses and/or children and/or siblings and/or parents. Politics. Ignorance of Scripture (which is ignorance of God). Hypocrites – why do we so easily allow our prejudice against those whom we perceive to be “less than” us in worship, status, or nature to get between us and God? Ought we not pray for, and assist in, their conversion? Jesus the Christ of God died once for all, so “Many are called, but few are chosen.” (See Matthew 22:14) If we know someone who has not heard the call, or chose to ignore the call, our job as Priest, Prophet, and King is to continue to give our all for the Call. Is it enough yet?
How can, how should, how completely must I give all that I am? If everything belongs to God, then it follows that everyone belongs to God. Our life, our love, our worshiping, and honoring of God and neighbor belong to God. If we offer all that we have – body, mind, and spirit – to God and neighbor, what becomes of us and of our gifts? I believe the answer is in John 15:13 –13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. All Good things come from God, so whatever is Good in our lives comes from him, but who can repay him – and how? If we give him All That We Have (↔ Music Link), could it ever be enough? Could we give God and each other All That I am (↔ Music Link), and still come up short? We want to Love God for the Greatness of his Love, but in the Light of his Love, ours is Only a Shadow (↔ Music Link). Is it enough yet? No, Belovéd, it never will, never can be; thanks be to God, our Jesus supplies whatever is missing to it is lacking, yet enough in God’s eyes. Praise the Lord, my soul! I am and have little! Yet, it is enough!
2445AFC110824 – Is it enough yet? ← 😊 PODCAST LINK
Read it online here, please. And please – when you visit there – use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you! And remember, we now have a READER VIEW available, so share this link or this email often.
Do you know someone who enjoys Bible study, or who might like to read this? Ask them to email us or to subscribe on our blog-site.
Mark 12:41-44 – 41 He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44 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.”
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. I sincerely hope for the best for all of you who take the time to read this – and that goes for the folks who will not read this – because our prayer for hope is for all of our God’s creation. This past 10 days, many of us have been concentrating on a certain numeric value – 270 – the number of Electoral College votes it takes to secure success for the Office of the POTUS. As it turns out, apparently that number has been reached, and exceeded by, only one of the candidates in our 2024 election. With that in mind, I ask that all of us recall this passage from The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans:
Romans 13:1-7 – 1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; 4 for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
It’s going to be difficult for some of us, impossible for a few more, but it is crucial that none of us take up the stance of defiance and state, “THIS SHALL NOT BE!!” Many surprising things will occur in the next 90 days, and in all of them, whatever may happen, we must carefully reflect on the history we are making and prayerfully seek the Word and Will of God in what we see, hear, and feel. Satan will be working harder than ever to sow division. Remember to believe and to live as “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Whatever comes of this, I reiterate, America will get what we deserve. That will be enough for us.
In our first Key Verse this morning (there will be more later on), we can envision the Disciples experiencing another of those “OH, WOW!!” moments. Jesus is sitting opposite the place where the people put their gifts for the care and upkeep of the Temple. Several bigwigs come by and make a show of their “deep and great sacrifice” by dropping a load of cash in the box, and then taking a bow for their “obvious generosity.” Then Jesus sees a poor widow and her young son come up the line. We can imagine her destitution and shame as she, a widow, and her son, an orphan, give what she can for the Temple. It is a couple of tiny coins called mites or lepton (plural: lepta) , shown below. The name means “thin.” They were small brass, copper, or bronze coins. We’ve mentioned the denarius (← Check it out!) – the equivalent of a day’s wages – and it would take more than 100 lepta to make one denarius.
The hotshots who were tossing in the big bucks probably considered her offering to be as despicable and lowly as her and her son, persons with little or no rights or standing in society. Yet, Jesus saw her sacrifice as the best, the greatest, the most important of all. She gave everything she had. Stop for a moment and think about Jesus and Joseph. His Mother, Mary, was a widow. To earthly eyes and laws, Jesus was like an orphan – a person who has lost one or both parents due to death, illness, or inability to provide for a child. How his heart must have ached for this poor widow! Recall also his interaction with “the Widow of Nain.” (↔ Click Link) The widow at the treasury box gave a pittance, not enough to feed the two of them for even a single meal, but it was everything to her to give it. Many times on those talent shows on TV, contestants will be asked, “What would it mean to you to win this?” The response is often, “It would mean the world to me!” Even the World would not be enough if given by this impoverished widow and her son!
We have better than, and more than, the World to give. We have lives that are blessed, the love of family and friends, security and comfort in most cases, and we are expected to give what we can for the sake of the Body of Christ, for helping with the Salvation of the World, and for our Peace and assurance of Heaven. How much of that is enough? Lets recall the story we recently reviewed about the rich young man.
In both of these accounts from scripture we see people who are considered to be essentially worthless. First a Widow and a child, neither of whom has any rights or standing in the community. And again, in Mark and Luke, a widow living in extreme poverty and judged by others to be sinful and unworthy. Jesus and Elijah don’t see it that way. They see persons who honor God by giving all that they have and trusting that God will receive it. In the eyes of others around them, the gift is too small. For these wonderful women, the gift is everything they have. It calls to mind the words Jesus spoke to “The Rich Young Ruler:” Go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor. Then come, follow me. Use these links to see that story:
Is that really what we need to do? Do we really need to give everything away? Well, we certainly can work harder at trusting that God will provide all we need as did Abraham, Elijah, David, Jesus, and these two widows. Do you know anyone who faithfully lives by Divine Providence? I do. His name is Brendan Case, and he is a Catholic Lay Missionary. Everything he has – home, family, children, mission, support, ministry – all of it traces directly back to God. His only work is to spread the Good News. With that he supports his family and still gives relentlessly of his considerable spiritual gifts and is also very generous with his temporal gifts – Time, Talent, and Treasure. You might say (as I would), “I can’t live like that.” We’re probably right.
Many times in these essays I’ve written about “My Old Friend Abraham.” Most of us could never do the things Abraham did. Why? Because that is not our gift. Abram was a righteous man to whom God elected to reveal himself as El Shaddai – Almighty God. (See Genesis 17) Abram believed what God told him, and for his faith in God, El Shaddai made him Abraham the Father of Many Nations – and the founder of our faith in God. Abraham was prepared by God to do great things. We are all prepared by God to do some things. When we do part of those “some things” for ourselves, we are not giving all that God has given us. Every good and perfect gift comes from above (See James 1:17), so everything we have that is good comes from God. Everything we have that is not good does not. We should never try to give God the things that did not come from him; however, we can ask him to take them and make them Good. That is what God does. He takes stuff that’s not-so-good and makes it wonderful.
That’s what he did to the widow in Zarephath and her son. He did that for the widow at the Temple Treasury – she will be remembered forever because of her unstinting generosity born of bottomless faith. Yes, El Shaddai, God Almighty, takes stuff and situations that are not-so-good, and from them brings Good into our lives. Through Jesus’ gift of Everlasting Life in him, El Shaddai also takes people who are not-so-good and turns their lives into blessings. That kind of thing is the only kind of thing that deserves the ill-used adjective AWESOME.
God is AWESOME. Skateboards are not. Salvation is AWESOME. Tee-shirts are not. Jesus is AWESOME, but, despite popular opinion, football is not. God is awesome because he gives us everything we need to recognize and enjoy his Awesomeness. What God commands becomes reality for those who serve him – especially when his command comes as the answer to our prayer, like when we take our not-so-good stuff and give it to him so he can make it all better. Even the smallest of your gifts are good gifts if they come from God and you place them at his disposal. And if you can be faithful in returning to him the small or not-so-good stuff, God will see to it that you have plenty of the truly amazing stuff to pass around. After all, he is the Source of everything you have to live on – and for. All that you have ever had or been – now, before, or later – comes from God. It is given to you, not bought by you. Honor the Giver by accepting the Gift and then share it like crazy! That is one of THE best ways to Praise the Lord! (↔ Music Link)
This is how the Psalmist praises the magnanimity of God:
Psalm 146:3-4, 9 – 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. 4 When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.
9 The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
In this passage, the word for “strangers” is the same as for “sojourners,” resident aliens in Israel. In the Laws of Israel, sojourners received certain benefits and rights such as gleanings from fields and vineyards, fair and equal treatment, to be loved as if they were fellow Israelites. they could participate in Israeli politics, sacrifices, and develop proficiency in Hebrew if that was not their native language. They were expected to live in accordance with the laws for unintentional sins. They could become citizens of Israel after three years, but they had to demonstrate their proficiency in Hebrew and renounce their allegiance to their previous nationality. Assimilation and cultural acclimation was a requirement. That was enough then; in our day and age, we question whether these rights and responsibilities are applicable here in America.
Let us also compare the accounts of the rich young man and the orphan, Jesus. The rich young man went away sad “because he had many possessions,” but he could not relinquish those for the possession of The Kingdom of God. His idol – wealth – stood in his way. Jesus had no possessions other than his Divinity and Humanity, yet he resolutely and willingly walked to his death in Jerusalem to give everything he had to God, his Father, for us. Unlike the young man who turned himself away, Jesus went forward and gave God all he had left in this World: His LIFE. Here we want to look at what we will hear from The Apostle Paul this weekend:
Hebrews 9:27-28 – 27 And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Is that enough yet? It’s time for us to ask ourselves a couple of important questions:
First, what idol(s) have I placed between myself and God that prevent me from fullest communion with and obedience to Our Father in Heaven? Here are a few: Sports. Money. Prestige. Spouses and/or children and/or siblings and/or parents. Politics. Ignorance of Scripture (which is ignorance of God). Hypocrites – why do we so easily allow our prejudice against those whom we perceive to be “less than” us in worship, status, or nature to get between us and God? Ought we not pray for, and assist in, their conversion? Jesus the Christ of God died once for all, so “Many are called, but few are chosen.” (See Matthew 22:14) If we know someone who has not heard the call, or chose to ignore the call, our job as Priest, Prophet, and King is to continue to give our all for the Call. Is it enough yet?
How can, how should, how completely must I give all that I am? If everything belongs to God, then it follows that everyone belongs to God. Our life, our love, our worshiping, and honoring of God and neighbor belong to God. If we offer all that we have – body, mind, and spirit – to God and neighbor, what becomes of us and of our gifts? I believe the answer is in John 15:13 –13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. All Good things come from God, so whatever is Good in our lives comes from him, but who can repay him – and how? If we give him All That We Have (↔ Music Link), could it ever be enough? Could we give God and each other All That I am (↔ Music Link), and still come up short? We want to Love God for the Greatness of his Love, but in the Light of his Love, ours is Only a Shadow (↔ Music Link). Is it enough yet? No, Belovéd, it never will, never can be; thanks be to God, our Jesus supplies whatever is missing to it is lacking, yet enough in God’s eyes. Praise the Lord, my soul! I am and have little! Yet, it is enough!
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
