Sunday's Message - Drivers and Putters

As disciples of Jesus, we've been called to follow him by claiming his example and learning from his teachings. From June to October, we're going to focus on the Gospel of Mark so that we might better understand how we might follow our Savior and live as his community. 

During the following twenty Sundays, the message will apply following passages:

June 6, 2021 - Mark 3:20-35

June 13, 2021 - Mark 4:26-34

June 20, 2021 - Mark 4:35-41

June 27, 2021 - Mark 5:21-43

July 4, 2021 - Mark 6:1-13

July 11, 2021 - Mark 6:14-29

July 18, 2021 - Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

July 25, 2021 - Mark 7:14-23

August 1, 2021 - Mark 7:24-37

August 8, 2021 - Mark 8:27-38

August 15, 2021 - Mark 9:30-37

August 22, 2021 - Mark 9:38-50

August 29, 2021 - Mark 10:2-16

September 5, 2021 - Mark 10:17-31

September 12, 2021 - Mark 10:35-45

September 19, 2021 - Mark 10:46-52

September 26, 2021 - Mark 12:28-34

October 10, 2021 - Mark 12:38-44

October 17, 2021 - Mark 13:1-8

October 24, 2021 - Mark 13:24-26, 32-36

On Sunday, October 10, 2021, we looked at Mark 12:38-44. The passage, the message and the podcast is below:

Mark 12:38-44 [Contemporary English Version]

As Jesus was teaching, he said:

Guard against the teachers of the Law of Moses! They love to walk around in long robes and be greeted in the market. They like the front seats in the meeting places and the best seats at banquets. But they cheat widows out of their homes and pray long prayers just to show off. They will be punished most of all.

Jesus was sitting in the temple near the offering box and watching people put in their gifts. He noticed that many rich people were giving a lot of money. Finally, a poor widow came up and put in two coins that were worth only a few pennies. Jesus told his disciples to gather around him. Then he said:

I tell you that this poor widow has put in more than all the others. Everyone else gave what they didn’t need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had. Now she doesn’t have a cent to live on.

Drivers and Putters

Now, as you probably could tell by the bulletin cover, the message this morning has a, well, a golfing theme. Of course, that would even be even more obvious if I hadn’t forgot to put in the title, “Drivers and Putters,” but it’s too late now. But be-that-as-it-may, we’re going use something from the links to introduce our focus.

But for full disclosure, I’ve got to be clear about this; I am not a golfer. In fact, the last time I played was over thirty years ago, when I was a young minister in eastern Montana. You see, there were these three guys in the church who played nine holes every Wednesday morning. Now, at the time, I thought they were pretty old, but I’ve got a gut feeling that they were about my age now. Anyway, they invited me to join them and to do something I’d never done before. And you know, that was possible, because one of them had a set of clubs his daughter had used, and I’ll tell you, they were in the cutest pink bag you’d ever seen. And so there I was, on a course in Sidney, Montana, with my little clubs in my little pink bag. And over the weeks we played, I discovered two things. One, the three other guys in our foursome couldn’t hit it far, but they was always straight. And two, my Titleist either had a mind of its own or was possessed by some evil spirit. You see, even after taking a few lessons, my ball would always veer to the right. I think they call that a slice. And so while my partners were always in the fairway, I was in the rough or the woods or the parking lot or somebody’s backyard. In fact, although occasionally I’d hit the fairway, it wasn’t always the one for my hole. And so, after about three months, I gave the little clubs in the pink bag back, because, even though the guys were always gracious, I knew they were getting tired of spending half our time looking for my ball. And so, I’m in no way a golfer.

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t watched some golf on television or heard some golf-related sayings, one of which I’m using this morning, namely “drive for show, putt for dough.” And I’ll tell you, without getting into whether or not it’s true, to me, that little saying really fits nicely with the passage we just read. I mean, just think about it. In these two little stories, one dealing with the teachers of the Law of Moses and the other with a widow who made an offering in the Temple, I believe we’ve got the same kind of contrast that’s suggested by drivers and putters. And that’s what we’re going to spend the next ten minutes or so talking about. You see, we’re going to consider what’s going on with the teachers of the Law, a group that Jesus warned us against, and then we’re going to contrast them with this poor widow whom Jesus holds up as an example we might want to follow. And then, at the end, we’ll have the information to decide which of these we, as disciples, should follow. In other words, we’ll be able to chose whether we want to live as divers or as putters.

And as to how that relates to this passage, man, I think the contrast is really clear, isn’t it? I mean, the idea that these teachers of Law were a lot like those who might drive for show, well, I think that’s pretty accurate. And according to what the Evangelist Mark wrote, I think we can see this in both what they did and what they wouldn’t do. You see, after telling the folks at the Temple to watch out for the teachers of the law of Moses, Jesus explained why. Remember, he said, “They love to walk around in long robes and be greeted in the market. They like the front seats in the meeting places and the best seats at banquets.” [Mark 12:38b-9, CEV] In other words, these guys really enjoyed showing people how important they were. But sadly, their desire to be greeted and admired and respected, well, it certainly didn’t translate into anything positive, at least not for anyone other themselves. I mean, these men who wanted all the praise and all the perks, they had a pretty messed up view of they’re responsibility to others and they’re relationship with God. And that why Jesus said, “But they cheat widows out of their homes and pray long prayers just to show off. They will be punished most of all.” [Mark 12:40, CEV] Now that was how these teachers of the Law, these scribes and Pharisees, that was how they were described by Jesus.

And you know, I think we see plenty of folks exactly like them all around us. For example, I believe we all know a whole bunch of people in the public eye who seem to care only about themselves, for the attention they receive and the recognition that they’re given. Man, they seem to crave the spotlight like an junkie craves heroin. And you know, all those qualities that once were considered virtues, and I’m talking about stuff like humility and patience, like showing mutual respect and basic human kindness, man, that’s not for them. No, their focus is on themselves, and that generally leads them to do some of the things they do. Basically, they’re self-promoters, aren’t they? They brag about their accomplishments and blame others for their failures. In fact, everything they do is shaped by how it might benefit them. And when they don’t get what they want, they can be petty and mean, even cruel. But all this is justified, because their lives have become a show. And remember, these are the ones Jesus warned us against.

And I think we can start to understand why he would do this when we begin to recognize how this obsession with show distorts their responsibility to others and their relationship with God. You see, for them, we’re just a means to an end. In other words, we’re here to offer the attention and the recognition they desire. And if we don’t, well, we really are irrelevant, at least in their eyes, and so are our hopes and dreams as well as our fears and frustrations. For them, we exist to offer them praise, in other words, to give them what they want. And if that means we might have to make sacrifices, if that means we might need to move away from what we’re doing to greet them in the market place, if that means we might have to sit in the back so they can sit in the front, then so be it. We’re here for them, and they have no responsibility to us. And I’ll tell you, that applies to how they see God too. He becomes a prop to illustrate devotion and spirituality. But the goal is still the same, to be applauded, to be adored, to be admired. Now these are the ones Jesus tells us to guard against, these drivers for show, these fine men and women whom Jesus said “...will be punished most of all.” [Mark 12:40b, CEV]

But of course, they’re not the only ones involved in this passage, because there was someone else whom Jesus described. Remember, Mark wrote, “Jesus was sitting in the temple near the offering box and watching people put in their gifts. He noticed that many rich people were giving a lot of money. Finally, a poor widow came up and put in two coins that were worth only a few pennies.” [Mark 12:41-42, CEV] Now that’s what Jesus saw, and I’ll tell you, I’m not sure the contrast with the group he’d just condemned could have been greater. I mean, while the teachers of the Law wallowed in the attention and recognition they received, getting much of anything just wasn’t an option for this poor widow. She was never going to be able to buy enough to be greeted in any kind of market. And she was never going to own an attractive robe. And she was never going to be invited to a banquet, much less to have a seat at the head table. As a matter of fact, as opposed to others, she didn’t even have much to give, just two coins. And trust me, no matter how dramatic she made it, there was no way she was going to make a big splash dropping two little copper coins in the offering box. I’ll tell you, she didn’t have any choice but to be humble. And yet, it was after she made her offering that Jesus said, “I tell you that this poor widow has put in more than all the others. Everyone else gave what they didn’t need. But she is very poor and gave everything she had. Now she doesn’t have a cent to live on.” [Mark 12:43b-44, CEV] You see, as opposed to the showy teachers of the Law, it was the widow who was praised.

And I’ll tell you, just like we know plenty of folks who resemble that first bunch, I’ll tell you, there are also a lot of people who are a lot like that poor widow woman and they live all around us. Of course, they’re not always easy to find because generally they’re not easy to see. I mean, they don’t really care about the attention and the recognition. And they don’t crave the spotlight. And often they’re sort of overlooked because they’re humble by either necessity or choice. But just because they may be hard to find, man, that doesn’t mean they’re not here, and I’m talking about here in our world and our country, in fact, right here in our community and congregation. 

And I’ll tell you, when we meet these amazing people, I believe they share one important thing in common. They all care more about the folks around them than they care about themselves. In other words, they put the needs of others before their own wants. And they put a higher priority on what they can give than on what they might get. And they’re willing to offer some of their time and their talents and their money without expecting anything in return. You see, they’re like Bessie Madson who knitted these little pink and blue caps for the babies born at the hospital in Watford City, North Dakota. And they’re like Mattie Carlsen who never felt worthy to serve in any church office but I swear was involved in every bereavement dinner. And they’re like Dean Allen who would send hours and hours working in the Weirton church, because God had given him skills and abilities that most of us lacked. And I’ll tell you, these are just a few of the remarkable people I’ve known, men and women who really valued humility and patience and who were willing to show respect and kindness without one word of praise. And even though there’ll probably never be a banquet thrown in their honor nor would they want one, I believe they offer an example that we can follow. You see, as it relates to the Kingdom of God, man, these men and women are putting for dough.

Of course, having said all this, I’m no longer sure that the saying “drive for show, putt for dough” is accurate. I mean, yesterday after I’d pretty much committed myself to using this image, I googled it and discovered that well over half the articles I found disagreed. But even more disturbing than that, yesterday, right before the group left for their pontoon boat trip, I showed Ron, for me the alpha and omega for all things golf, I showed him the bulletin cover and told him the title, and without missing a beat, he said, “It’s all about driving.” Great, not only do I have a slice that caused me to abandon my pink bag of girl’s clubs, now I’m presenting fake golf information. I guess I may lose my twitter account. 

But you know, even if I’m wrong about the relative value of the drive vs. the putt, I still believe this imagine is reflected in the passage we read. You see, right here and right now, we have a choice between two pretty clear but radically different options. I mean, on one hand we can choose to follow the teachers of Law and all those in our world who live for recognition and attention but who don’t show much respect to others or even to God. On the other hand, we can decide to emulate the example of a poor widow who offered everything she had and all those who are willing to do what’s right even if they may never be recognized for doing it. You see, we have a decision to make. In other words, right here and right now, we can decide whether we’re going to be drivers or putters.