Sermons for the Month
Follow Jesus In Single-mindedness
DATE: October 20, 2002
SERVICE: 22nd Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Matthew 22:15-22“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
Jesus is single-minded. He has a goal, a job to do, and he does not allow himself to get sidetracked by the "stuff" of life. I like that about him. I try to be single-minded, to keep my eyes on the goal, whatever it might be, and to focus on that until it's completed. But, sometimes the "stuff" gets in the way. For example, on Sunday evening, as it was getting dark, I went out on my patio intending to do one little job and ended up moving outside furniture, trimming potted plants to bring them in, washing off mud and then doing a rearranging session in my house so the plants I was bringing in would fit. I got so involved that I could not later remember why I went out there in the first place. Now, I don't suppose that's all bad, I did accomplish some tasks on my fall list. But, on the other hand, my initial purpose got lost. That's not a crisis when it comes to cleaning up patios, but it can be devastating if in our spiritual lives or in the life of the church we let the "stuff" become more important that the ultimate, eternal goal. That's what Jesus did not allow to happen, and we see an example of that in today's Gospel lesson. While this text has often been used in an attempt to answer questions about the division of church and state, that's not its focus at all. As is always the case when we study scripture, we have to look at the big picture. And, in this situation, the context is that after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem Jesus challenged the religious leaders. In the chapter of Matthew just before this one he drove those who were buying and selling in the temple out, overturned tables, and called what was to be a place of prayer a den of thieves. So, the chief priest and elders respond with a counter-attack. Their goal is to discredit Jesus with the crowd and to get Jesus into trouble with the Romans, who ruled Palestine at this time. They come to him with four questions, intending to trip him up. And, the first of them is the one we read today. "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" Oh, they are a tricky bunch. First, instead of going themselves, the leaders send their disciples to question Jesus so that if they fail - which seems unlikely given the deceptive questions they are asking - the Pharisees won't be personally embarrassed. Second, they begin with flattery saying, in essence, that Jesus has truth in his very being and that he can be relied on to say what is right. They want to disarm Jesus. (Most of us would fall for such a thing, but not Jesus.) Then, they ask their question, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?" It's a set up. No matter what Jesus says he'll get into trouble. The people hate the tax to which they are referring - the head tax - because they can see no visible benefit from it - it seems to disappear into the emperor's coffers. (Does that sound familiar?) Also, they hate the coin with which the tax is paid because it bears the image of Caesar that the Jews consider idolatrous, as well as an inscription that they consider to be blasphemous. So, if Jesus says "yes", taxes are OK, he will alienate the people. And, if he says "no", taxes can be ignored, the Romans will arrest him for sedition. Either way, he loses. Jesus is single-minded; he refuses to get sidetracked. He knows that the purpose of this interaction is not religious discourse, but instead is to destroy him. So, Jesus gives an answer that cannot easily be explained - that's the point. He's not falling for it. Instead, he points out that the coin is under Caesar's control and it exists only because the Emperor had it made; it's a part of his temporal kingdom and belongs to him. BUT, all things belong to God - coins, Caesar, Rome - and their days are numbered while God's realm is eternal. So it is that our larger obligation is always to God. His enemies are amazed because they have been unable to trip him up, to embroil him in controversy. Jesus is single-minded. His focus is on God and on fulfilling God's will which will lead him to the cross. We need that single-mindedness in our individual lives and in our family of faith. There are many voices that call us away from worshipping, trusting and serving God and growing as disciples of Jesus. The opportunities for us not to put God first in our lives are as endless as the excuses we devise to make doing so OK. Even in the church, we can easily involve ourselves in all kinds of worthwhile activities that could draw us away from our goal, our vision - which is to share the good news of Jesus with everyone; to transform followers into disciples with a faith that works in real life and to joyfully go and share his love in the world. We need to carefully evaluate how we use our time, talents and money because all three are in limited supply. How do we maintain our single-mindedness? How do we show the world that God comes first? Now that the World Series is in process it's a great time to tell a story about Sandy Koufax - an event that some of you may remember happening. I first read about it this week in some materials written by Richard Donovan. Sandy Koufax was one of the great pitchers of all time. He pitched for the winning team in two World Series - 1963 against the Yankees and 1965 against the Twins. In 1963, his first World Series, his manager Walter Austin came to Sandy and said, "I want you to pitch the first game of the World Series." What greater honor could there be for a pitcher? But Sandy said, "I'm sorry, but I can't." Can you imagine the look on the manager's face? Then he explained. The first game of Sandy's first World Series was scheduled for Yom Kippur, one of the Jewish High Holy Days, and Sandy said, "I cannot work on that day. Sandy was Jewish and he believed it would be wrong for him to work on that day. So, he didn't. They juggled the schedule, and Sandy pitched the second game. The Dodgers won that series, and Sandy was named the most valuable player of that series. Sandy Koufax gave God his due. I look forward to the day when one of the 19 young people I'm teaching in Confirmation Class does a "Sandy Koufax" and puts living out their faith ahead of that which the world values. They are a great group of kids; I believe it will happen. I want them to be rebels, to defy the culture, to be single-minded and to say, "God comes first." And, I imagine God will be pleased when that happens too. And, if it occurred often enough, the world would respond to such a grand public witness of the Christian faith. My friends, in our individual lives and our life as a community of faith, let's not get sidetracked. Like Sandy Koufax may we more often say "no" to that which distracts us, and like Jesus, may we say "yes" to God and be single-minded as we strive to follow the path that God has set before us.
AMEN