BREAKTHROUGH
(Open-ended, Life-centred Explorations of the Sunthly Gospels for Home
Groups)
MK 12: 38-44...Sunday, November 12th, 2006...23rd S.
after Pentecost
NOTES: 1] Jesus has no time for
those who posture, the opposite of our 'what you see is what you get'. 2] In the story of the poor widow,
we see Jesus as a keen & sharp observer of human nature. 3] The method of giving was via
wide-mouthed tubes through a wall directly into the treasury.
(Deposit-on1y ATMS!)
WARMING UP: Let's shut our eyes
& see if we can name everyone in our group & where they're
sitting.
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
38-40 What appears to lie
behind Jesus' attack on the scribes? Why would he single them out for
such criticism? Are they simply one example close to hand of a kind of
behaviour he pours scorn on? In which case, which other groups might
the cap also fit - then or now? What's the real issue at stake here?
Why should we 'beware' such people? What's wrong with 'dressing up',
'parading around', needing to be acknowledged publicly?
Is there a
connection between how we dress for church, where we want to sit, etc.,
& the way we treat others in the congregation? How do we feel
towards those who 'go on' (& on & on!) in praying? Isn't
a long prayer necessarily better than a short prayer?
How important is it
to us to have 'our' particular seat in church - or anywhere else? Are
we ever offended because we don't get the 'right' place in church? on a
plane? at a wedding? at a funeral? at a public function? etc. etc.?
What makes one seat the 'right' seat? Are there times when we actually
do have a claim, some moral, legal, or other right to a particular
place or standing? Given what Jesus says here, what principles do
we need to apply to matters such as personal standing,
acknowledgement, status, kudos, etc.?
41-44 Do we ever peek into the
collection to try to see what others are putting in, or wonder if
anyone's watching what we contribute? Does either matter? Is some
of the concern people can show towards church 'stewardship programmes'
more about how little they / we may want to give as compared with how
much? Are the methods of giving provided in our congregation to our
satisfaction or not? Has anyone ever come up with an entirely
satisfactory system? Could we come up with one? Why is money always
such an importamt item on church agendas anyway, & why is
stewardship such an unpopular topic in most churches? Might it have
something to do with seeing 'stewardship' as being related to 'surplus'
rather than as a 'first charge' on our income?
Would it ever be realistic for anyone to
put into the collection 'everything they have to live on'? Or is 'being
realistic' just an attempt to dodge the real issue? Which is what?
Doesn't God expect us to be realistic in the way we manage our finances
& everything else? Have we worked out the relationship between
realism & generosity? To whose satisfaction? Can we see any
connection between what makes Jesus critical of some people in this
passage and our own attitudes? Are there any principles to help us
determine the relationship between our church-giving & our wider
community-giving? How much is the way we manage our finances related to
whether we understand ourselves as operating independently of God or
dependent upon him?
