Year A, Proper 24 North Andover, Massachusetts The Rev. Stephanie Chase Wilson Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts, be always acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
This is the season of political campaigns. We listen to or read the news, watch the candidates on TV, view their commercials, review the issues, maybe even go to a rally. But everyone’s favorite political event is the debate. We love to watch them, not only to compare the candidates and see them interact with each other and the issues, but in hopes that one of them will goof up, or toss off a zinger at the expense of the other. Who can forget comments like “Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy.” Or “There you go again!”
So perhaps it should come as no surprise that even in Christ’s time, debates were a part of the culture – both for informational and entertainment purposes. Throughout the gospels Jesus is approached by people asking him questions, sometimes disagreeing with his answers and arguing with him. He has a message to share and people want to gain clarity about what exactly he is saying. In today’s gospel lesson the questioning is even more like a presidential debate, in that the questioner doesn’t really want an answer to his question, he just wants to trip Jesus up. He wants to back Jesus into a corner. We are told the Pharisees want to entrap him so they approach Jesus together with some Herodians. The Herodians are those who support Herod, the emperor. What is interesting right from the beginning is that the leaders of the temple and the leaders of Rome make strange bedfellows. Generally speaking the Jews hate the Roman occupiers, but here the Jewish leaders and the Herodians are in cahoots with each other against Jesus.
The debate begins very politely. In fact, too politely. You can imagine the candidates standing behind their podiums. Jesus looking composed. The Pharisee looking a bit shady. Perhaps with a 5 o’clock shadow. The Pharisee is almost sacriney sweet to Jesus, buttering him up with praise and kind words, before offering the question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”
Jesus goes all negative with his campaigning at this point. “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?” You would have thought from his answer that his opponent was consorting with terrorists. But maybe he is. Because the Pharisee is consorting with the Herodians, the oppressors of Israel.
The reason this question is so dangerous is that no matter what Jesus answers, he is in the wrong. If he says, “Yes, it’s okay to pay the tax,” then he is in effect supporting Rome. He is saying it is okay to take money from the people for the purposes of the Empire. Unlike today, most taxes in Israel were not used for services for the people for schools and police, but went instead to the pockets of Caesar and used to oppress the people. If Jesus answers yes, his followers will be outraged. The Pharisees could jump in at this point and direct the people away from Jesus and towards their leadership instead. Jesus will be seen as colluding with Rome.
But if Jesus answers “No, don’t pay the tax,” then he will be seen as undermining the Empire and the Herodians, who are so conveniently present for this exchange, would be able to arrest him.
So Jesus can’t say yes and he can’t say no. There is no good answer. You can see the Pharisee all smug with his clever question, just waiting for Jesus to squirm. He asked a zinger! He’ll be quoted by all the talking heads! Jesus is finished! But instead Jesus asks for a coin and asks whose picture is on the coin. The people respond that it is the Emperor’s. Jesus answers with his famous phrase, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Debate over. The undecided focus groups declare Jesus the winner. The people are amazed.
It was an amazingly clever answer, even subversive, because Jesus stayed true to God, yet didn’t say anything to get himself arrested. Because on one hand, he seems to say go ahead and pay your taxes. And there certainly are parts of the Bible that acknowledge that while we live in this world we support the legitimate authorities. But on the other hand anyone who has been following Jesus around knows there is nothing that does not belong to God. Psalm 24 says “The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” If everything belongs to God, then there is nothing that belongs to the Emperor. Jesus doesn’t say not to pay the tax, but he subverts just how much the Emperor’s rule encompasses. Caesar is not in charge, God is. What Jesus did is change the question. He switched the focus from money’s use, to money’s source. It’s not about where the money goes, but where it comes from in the first place. All that we have and all that we are comes from God. Give to God the things that are God’s.
Today is the kick off of our 2009 Stewardship campaign. Much as you may not care for this topic, you need not groan, but prepare for an opportunity to nurture your relationship with Christ. Seriously, an opportunity! Jesus talked about money so much because our relationship with money is part of our spiritual journey. Stewardship season give us an opportunity to reflect on this very important part of our lives and consider where, and if, we find God in our money. To what extent does our understanding of, use of, savings of, and value of money shape, or is shaped by, our understanding of and relationship with God? To what extent does our relationship with money shape our understanding of ourselves as children of God, or simply our self worth? Money is a rich source of issues, both negative and positive. As Christians it behooves us to consider where God fits into our beliefs and practices about money.
Jesus wants to make sure that when we consider where we spend our money, we acknowledge that all we have is from God. We are so accustomed to believing “This is my money. I earned it.” It can be difficult to imagine that it belongs to God. “Why is it God’s? I get up and go to work every day. I work hard. I scrimp and save to buy the things I want and deserve. That’s not God working at my office desk every day. That’s me!” How can we say it is God’s money? The answer is found in Deuteronomy [8:17-18] “Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.”
In other words, yes, we go to the office and work hard, but it is God who gives us our talents and skills, our health, our family who supports us and gives us an education, our society with its opportunities, even our very bodies, are all gifts from the Almighty. Our wealth would simply not exist without God.
If we truly believe this to be the case, how would this affect how we view and spend our money? If our money is not ours, but on loan from God, how do you think God would want us to spend it? There is no one-size-fits all answer to that question, but if we at least consider the question before spending money, it might help us figure out our priorities. It might help us hold our money a little less tightly and relieve a little stress. I heard one person joke this week that she can relax because God lost a lot of money in the stock market this week – not her!
At the same time, we too belong to God. It’s not just our money, but our very selves which are God’s possession. Just as the coin was stamped with the head of Caesar, so too at our baptism we are given the sign of the cross on our forehead. We are marked as Christ’s own forever. And nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus. We belong to God.
This week you should have received, or soon will receive, our stewardship letter and pledge card. Spend some time over the next month praying about this, talking it over with your family, worshipping God, and on Sunday, November 23rd, bring your pledge card to church where we will offer our gifts on God’s altar. November 23rd will be Gratitude Sunday, the day when we can give thanks to God for our many blessings, and give back just a portion to the church so that God’s work may be done in the world.
I am grateful to the many generous people at St. Paul’s who share much of the time, talent and treasure God has given you. May you always be blessed with God’s abundance. Amen.
