Sermons for the Month
Giving: A Family Affair for God' Family
DATE: October 16th, 2005
SERVICE: 23rd Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Matthew 22:15-22To 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 There are many passages in the Bible that should cause us to sit up and pay attention. Some of them are obvious, like the words of Jesus that ended a parable we read two weeks ago, "For many are called, but few are chosen." But others are more subtle and do not incite the puzzled look or the double take.
I think today's Gospel lesson is in that category. It's one of the most challenging passages in the Gospels, but we do no realize that's the case. Did you say challenging, you might be thinking. It's interesting, perhaps, but challenging?
The picture that is painted is of a group of amateur Pharisees who have been sent by their mentors - who don't want to put themselves in a compromising position - to discredit Jesus. From these religious leaders' perspective Jesus has been attacking them. (And if last week's parable is any indication, they are right.) So, they have devised a trap from which they believe Jesus cannot escape.
The conversation begins with flattery. They want the crowds to witness the trap, so they avoid saying anything that would offend them. Also, the hope is that Jesus will lower his defenses. Then comes the punch line; they ask a question about taxes.
The reference is to what was know as the poll tax - which people particularly disliked because they could not see how their money was being used. It just seemed to disappear into the emperor's coffers. (Did you ever notice how the more things change, the more they stay the same?)
It was paid with a denarius coin, which bore the image of Caesar; this was considered to be a graven image by the Jews and an affront to God. (Never mind the fact that the coin was in common use by even the most religious people. Didn't his challengers immediately produce one to show Jesus upon his request?) Getting back to the trap the question posed to Jesus was, "Is this tax lawful?" In other words, according to the Torah is it OK for us Jews to pay this tax?
It's a no win situation. If Jesus answers that taxes are lawful, he will alienate the people, who hate the tax and the coin. If he answers that the taxes are not lawful, the Romans will arrest him for sedition. Either way, Jesus loses and his enemies win.
Now all of that is very interesting but how is it challenging? Remember I said that this passage is one of the most challenging ones in the Gospels. We might say it's entertaining, but not challenging. We like the fact that Jesus finds a way not to give a simple "yes" or "no" answer. He notes that the coin was created by Caesar, is an instrument of Caesar's government and should therefore be returned to support that government; citizens have an obligation to the state. But, Jesus doesn't stop there; he goes on to say the believers have a larger obligation to God.
And that's where this passage becomes challenging. This is more than a clever answer; this is a pivotal principle of our faith. "Give to God the things that are God's." What Jesus is saying, in essence, is that we are to give ourselves back to God. Think about it we are made in the image of God. Just as Caesar's image is stamped on the coin and it belongs to him, God's image is stamped on us, and we belong to God. God created us, and we are the instruments of God's reign. So, let us give God what belongs to God ourselves.
On this Commitment Sunday we are being asked to do something much more challenging then being intentional about giving a percentage of our income to the church, or sharing our time and our talents in this setting. Oh, those things are very important in terms of our spiritual well-being, to our ability to grow in trust and commitment, and as a source of joy in our lives. But they are just the tip of the ice berg compared to the idea that we are to give ourselves back to God.
What does that mean? I thought of two examples, each one very different from the other.
I believe I mentioned to you last Sunday that I had spend four days the week before at the Abbey of Genesee, a Trappist monastery in an absolutely beautiful setting east and south of Buffalo, New York. There I witnessed one way that people give themselves back to God.
It is a place of silence and of prayer. Thirty-five men - monks - live at the Abbey; many have been there for more than 20 years. The entire group gathers seven times a day for the "offices", that is for prayer, beginning at 2:30 a.m. and spaced throughout the day, ending at 7 p.m. Visitors are invited to join them. The form of prayer is primarily the chanting of the Psalms.
When not in the Abbey Church, the monks are engaged in spiritual reading, reflection and in baking bread, which is their source of income. It is expected that there will be silence, even at meals. There are rooms set aside for quiet conversation, but it is not encouraged. Signs throughout the buildings tell visitors and cell phone and internet communication is not allowed. The concept is, of course, that such communication interrupts our ability to hear God. And, the goal is to know the heart of God, or we might say to give ourselves to God. The Abbey is a spiritual island, something for which there is a great need in our secular culture.
That's one way. The other example is quite different from the first. While I was at the Abbey I read three books. One of them was titled, A Vision of Hope and told the story of a man named Samuel Habib, an Egyptian and a Christian pastor, who founded an social service organization in that country.
His vision for the church is that it has a dual responsibility, to announce the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ and to act and an agency of change in people's lives. So, he created a program that now employees hundreds of people, and uses numerous volunteers. It serves the poor regardless of religious distinction - remember 90 percent of the people in Egypt are Muslims - with emphasis on self-help using local organizations.
To say that his story is intense is a huge understatement. The scope of this ministry, and of the sacrifices that Samuel Habib made to create it, are hardly imaginable. As I read I thought, "How is this possible for one person?" Only by the power of the Holy Spirit could someone have given himself back to God so fully.
Now, I would say that most of us are in-between those two examples. We are finding our way when it comes to giving ourselves back to God. In the world in which we live we certainly need to be reminded that doing so is our goal; it is for many a foreign concept.
So, it's important that we ask ourselves the question, "What does it mean for me to give myself back to God?" And then go on to ponder, how will my striving to do so manifest itself in my day to day living? How will this desire be clear in my involvement in, and financial support of, this ministry? How will I convey this principle to my children, or grandchildren? Will the next generation have any idea that this is our goal in life? How will my sense of who I am be impacted by the reality that God's image is stamped on me?
As I consider all this for myself, I find assurance in the strong message of two of the books I read - one a diary written by a long-term visitor to the Abbey and also the book about Samuel Habib. The message was that in giving oneself back there was gain that far exceeded any loss.
So, sit up and pay attention today as Jesus requests, " give to God the things that are Gods." That's us.
AMEN