Matthew 22:15-22 It's a Personal Gospel
Sermon October 19, 2008: People's United Church of Christ, Dover, DE: The Rev. Dan Griggs
Take a step back and see the picture described in the Gospel Lesson. Jesus and the Pharisees are not out on some hillside somewhere, and they don't exist in a vacuum. They're standing on the marble floor of Solomon's Portico, the grand courtyard that took up the whole eastern portion of the temple mount in Jerusalem and wrapped around the north and south sides of the temple building itself. King Herod may not have been a nice guy, but he was a great builder; and the grandeur of this Second Temple amazed everybody who saw it. Around the walls were copper coffers shaped like trumpets, their open ends pointing toward heaven; and worshipers would drop their temple offerings into these coffers, the money would fall through an opening in the bottom and land a floor below in the temple treasury where it got counted and stored. But they couldn't give just any money here: only the temple shekel was permitted for this offering. That's why there were money-changers in the outer court: they exchanged Roman denars, Persian darics and Syrian drachmas into temple shekels for the temple tithe; so when Jesus drove the money-changers out, he interrupted the flow of cash into the temple treasury. The Sanhedrin was not amused. There were several different denominations, or parties, or groups that held seats on the Sanhedrin: the priests, the Sadducees (who were mostly priests), the Herodians (who were collaborators with the Roman colonial government), and the Pharisees (whose center of power was in the synagogues around Palestine). It was the Pharisees and Herodians who challenged Jesus about the money. They had a plan to trip him up with words. The question would be, "Is it according to God's law to pay taxes to the Roman government?" This was a major issue at the time: to pay Roman taxes was considered traitorous. If Jesus said "No," the Herodians could report him to the government and have him arrested. If Jesus said "Yes," the Pharisees could report him to the Sanhedrin and have him arrested.
Jesus didn't say either "yes" or "no." He asked to be shown a coin. They handed him a Roman denar. On the head of the denar was an image of Augustus Caesar. This violated the Second Commandment: "Thou shalt not make for thyself any graven image." There it was, plain as day in front of them. It was a violation of God's law—one good reason not to accept Roman denars in the temple treasury, and one reason paying the Roman tax was considered traitorous. It was the equivalent of pornography. Jesus called their attention to the image, as if they weren't already aware of it, and said, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God." They were taken by surprise. Not only had their trick failed, but Jesus actually made sense.
So what happened next? Each of these Pharisees and each of these Herodians went home that night with Jesus' answer still ringing in his ears. If he had any conscience at all, that answer was boring in on his conscience: it became very personal. What does belong to Caesar? What does belong to God? And what am I supposed to do about it? This hearer of Jesus' message was confronted with his own behavior and his own beliefs about right and wrong, and also about his money. So also for us, I hope; because it's a personal gospel we have staked our lives on.
Money! What are we going to do about our money? Or our lack of it? Or our surplus? For us as for those individual Pharisees and Herodians that day, it's a personal gospel we've staked our lives on. You must choose. Here are some thoughts about money that have occurred to me lately, as our country and our personal check books have gone through rough water. Jesus didn't avoid talking about money, so why is it so offensive for Jesus' church to talk about money? Ameritrade isn't embarrassed to buy television time to ask for your money. Congress was so happy to talk about seven hundred billion dollars that they took three weeks to finish the conversation. Money doesn't embarrass Americans.
Money is half the reason we work at our jobs—all those hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades: to have some money. When we go out to eat we expect not only to pay for the food, but also to leave a tip for the server (who, by the way, makes only $2.15 an hour if she doesn't get any tips). We feel responsible to teach our children about how to manage money, about its uses, about money wisdom. As the price of gasoline kept going up and up over the past several years a lot of people have thought about buying a smaller, more fuel-efficient car; but when we calculated what it would cost to buy versus what we would pay for gas in the car that's already paid for, most of us stuck with the car that's paid for—a money decision.
Here are some more thoughts. The biggest difference between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party, historically, has been where each wants to apply federal and state money. If you have a college alma mater then you've probably had the same experience I have: all the schools I've received degrees from (and some that I haven't) keep sending me letters and phoning me to ask for money—and they're not embarrassed to do so.
Money is very personal—my father-in-law wouldn't talk about his money to anybody, ever—which caused a bit of a problem when his ALS became so bad that he couldn't write the checks anymore. Money is very personal, and yet everybody is glad to ask you to spend it, give it, share it invest it, bequeath it. Isn't it ironic that we don't take offense when all the elements of our society ask for our money, except the church? As my father used to say, "Now you've stopped preaching and started meddling." And that's my point: it's a personal gospel we've staked our lives on, and that includes our money.
Let me suggest a few thoughts about a Christian and their money, at this season of the year when our church boards are submitting their proposed budgets for 2009, and the annual Estimate of Giving Campaign is getting underway. It's time to think about church and money in terms that are different from TV commercials, restaurants and gasoline stations.
Why does a Christian give to their church? We give, not because the church needs to receive (although that, too, is true); rather, we give because we need to give. Giving changes who we are inside in a way that simply can not change unless we give. His name was Charles, and he told me that he and his wife decided the first year of their marriage that for the rest of their lives, every time either of them received a paycheck, the first ten percent would go to their church. When they first started, that church check wasn't very large—a few dollars. As they each progressed in their careers (he was a mechanical engineer, she was a teacher), their giving increased. And he said, that commitment to giving had made them who they were. He was a lay leader in his church, she was deeply involved with the children and the youth, and all three of their children were happy to be part of the church's life and work. But when Charles said they had always given ten percent, it embarrassed me. I was his pastor, and I wasn't giving ten percent. So I began to increase my estimate of giving one percent each year until, based on my take-home pay, I was giving ten percent too. Not only did it change Charles, it changed his pastor! See how it's a personal gospel that we've embraced?
When we give—to church, to our school, to a special program that has touched our heart—when we give, we are like God, the giver of all things. If you want to become more like Christ, attend to your giving. How many stories I've heard from people living in Pennsylvania, about traveling along a highway at night in a driving snow storm, and their car slipped into a ditch; and after some worry, a big expensive car stopped and gave them a ride to the next town; and when the driver turned to say "Goodbye," it was Frank Sinatra. I've heard that story from a dozen different people, whose friends had that experience. Frank Sinatra was everywhere in the snows in Pennsylvania. He became a God-like figure—not because he showed up, but because he gave. You can, too. It's a personal gospel we've staked our lives on.
In many world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam—the worship houses exist because some great benefactor built it and sustains it; but in American Christianity, churches exist because the members give. You are your church's benefactor. For us it's a personal gospel.
So I invite you to spend some time before the end of October in prayer and thought specifically about what you are giving to your church, and what God is calling you to give in the year ahead. You may find a little desire growing in your heart to increase your offering by one per cent next year, and add one percent each year until you are tithing. I guarantee, that would change you more than it would change the church, because it's a personal gospel we've staked our lives on.
AMEN
| Home | Mission | History | Boards | Activities | Support | Photos |