| To contact us: Calvary Episcopal Church 667 Mount Road Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 OFFICE mail@calvaryepiscopalrockdale.org |
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| SERMON 23 Pentecost - Proper 24 October 19, 2008 The Rev. Kristine Hill |
| 667 Mount Road, Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 |
| Small Parish - Big Heart The little church you've been looking for! All are welcome! |
| Our Mission: To worship the Lord To serve the community To grow the church |
| Exodus 32:1-14 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Matthew 22:15-22 |
| The Rev. Kristine Hill, Interim Rector |
Who do you love? That seems to be a theme in these lessons. Who do you love-
really, trust, and respect as the genuine power in life, the one who ‘makes your
world turn’ as they say? Writing on the First Commandment -- “I am the Lord
your God, you shall have no other gods” -- Martin Luther says that love makes
both God and an idol, that whatever you trust with your whole heart is, in reality,
your god. Whether that “god” proves to be true and capable will tell you
whether you have invested your trust in the real God or in an imposter.
When Rome occupied Israel, back in the days when Jesus lived on earth, Caesar –
the Roman emperor - made himself out to be a god. All Roman subjects were to
pay homage to the emperor -- to worship him. This was a problem for the Jewish
people; they did not ‘worship’ anyone or anything other than the God of Abraham
and Sarah, the God who gave the commandments to Moses. Roman money was
especially distasteful to the people of Israel because Caesar’s picture was
imprinted on the coins along with a motto about the Caesar’s eternal kingdom.
Again, this offended their devotion to God, specifically their determination to avoid
idols, graven images of “other gods.” Israel was perturbed, in general, with Rome’
s occupation of their land, and they were especially disturbed by having to handle
Roman coinage.
However, Israel had no choice when it came to using Roman currency. Their
everyday life in the marketplace could be conducted with their own coinage; and
at the Temple, Israeli money was required -- none of that pagan stuff would do
for taking care of Godly work. But when paying taxes to Rome -- a responsibility
that falls to citizens of every era – the people of Israel had to use Roman
money. Rome imposed several kinds of taxes – taxes on goods, taxes on
property – but the kind spoken of in our gospel reading today was a yearly tax
registered on every adult person in the Roman system – one denarius a year, or
a day’s wage a year, was paid to the Roman government by citizens of all
occupied nations. Paid grudgingly, no doubt.
In our gospel reading from Matthew, a trap is laid for Jesus by an unlikely pair of
allies, some Pharisees and some Herodians. Pharisees were the elite group of
Torah scholars (scripture scholars). They knew the religious laws inside-and-out,
and their aim was to guide the rest of the Jewish people to keep God’s law
properly. They would have despised this foreign tax paid to an occupying
government. Had Jesus spoken favorably of it, they would have seen him as a
traitor. The Herodians, on the other hand, were cohorts of the governor, King
Herod, Rome’s “company man” in Israel. King Herod was appointed by Rome and
any power he had came from Rome; the same was true for his associates. So it
was in the Herodians best interest that the Roman empire be fully supported,
financially. That’s how they kept their positions of power and made their living.
Had Jesus spoken against paying the tax to Rome they would have reported him
immediately to the authorities. These two groups on opposite sides approached
Jesus in our gospel reading and asked: “is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor
or not?” They did their best to wedge Jesus right between a rock and a hard
place.
But the place isn’t hard if you know who you are and whom you love. Jesus did
not have divided loyalties. He loved Israel, his home; he loved the Jewish people,
his people. No doubt, he would have liked to see them freed from the agony of
being occupied by another country. But he knew what he owed to whom without
having to think about it. It was not unimportant to him that people were hurting
under Roman rule. But those who asked were not seeking an answer regarding
the Roman occupation; they were trying to trap Jesus. “What’s lawful? What do
we owe to whom?” Jesus knew what ‘we owe to whom.’ That coin with Caesar’s
face on it meant little to him. It was merely one of life’s obligations, like grabbing
a tissue and wiping your nose when it starts to run. So Jesus said “give to the
Emperor what belongs to the Emperor,” but then Jesus struck the chord, turned
the conversation toward its proper subject, and said “and give to God the things
that are God’s.” It’s almost as though Jesus was pushing his adversaries to
consider who they truly loved, who, bottom-line, was their God. Because our God
is the one we love and trust with our whole life, with everything we have and
everything we are. That one is really our God.
The television and radio news programs still seem to be focused on the
economic crisis. Every day we hear what the stock market has done, not only in
the United States, but around the world; then various people analyze what that
means for today, for tomorrow, for people’s financial portfolios and for the rest of
us who do not have financial portfolios, but who do want to keep our jobs and
our homes. One issue that is frequently mentioned is how important the selection
of the next Secretary of the Treasury will be. The financial bailout has been
passed, the government is trying to decide just how to allocate that money,
several major banks are on the brink of going under or staying solvent – there’s
still a lot to be done to clean up the financial mess in our nation. Significant
questions remain -- will there be better oversight of lending practices? Will there
be limits to compensation for CEOs? Will there be new regulations for folks in
the Stock Market to follow? If the answer to these, or similar questions, is yes,
then who will implement and oversee the new policies? Clearly someone has a
lot of critical work left to do. It could be that the next Secretary of the Treasury
will be a very important position. Carousel
These are weighty issues -- who will be leading our nation, who will be Secretary
of the Treasury, what kind of financial structure will be devised for the nation --
these are important matters and we need to pay attention, be involved… but at
the same time, we want to beware, lest we climb back on the same carousel of
mistakes we’ve been riding -- trusting the currency of the government to see-us-
through, to provide for us, to build our homes and ensure our futures. Trusting
the financial system has not worked out well so far, although things could have
been worse for us – and have been, at all times, for some folks. Given the
situation we are in, we might want to consider whether we should entrust our
happiness, our wellbeing, our security, our future to the strength and health of
our nation’s economy. Jesus looked at the denarius and saw it was just a coin.
The same is true for a dollar bill, a bank balance, a piece of stock, or any kind
of wealth. It is one aspect of our lives, one necessity - we have to participate in
an economic system to live in this world. But it is no more important than that.
For too long, we have allowed the accumulation of wealth to be far, far too
important in our lives, to have too much power, too great a hold on our hearts.
And it is true that love makes both God and an idol; whatever we truly love-and-
trust in the depth of our hearts is, finally, our God.
When they go to trap him, the Pharisees and Herodians say to Jesus: “Teacher,
we know that you…show no deference to anyone, for you do not regard people
with partiality.” That is true. Jesus does not play favorites, fawing all over some
people while ignoring others. But it seems equally clear from today’s story that
Jesus shows no deference to money, either. He takes the coin, looks at it, and
says “pay what is due” almost as if he’s tossing that coin over his shoulder into
the dust. Jesus cares about people -- whether you have enough to eat (and your
neighbor, also), whether you have a safe place to live and people to love you
(your neighbor, too), whether we have clothes to wear and our health is care for
-- but beyond that, it’s just money and it’s only purpose is to do good for
someone -- to help that family Calvary is buying-wood-for so they can heat their
home this winter, to give regularly to your church so we can do ministry in
Jesus’ name, to save, yes -- but not to horde for personal wealth, to save so
that it may be a blessing to you and to others.
We, also, know what we owe to whom; we owe everything only to God. More
important than that, we know who loves us. God is our strength and our hope.
Our future depends on God, not on when the stock market recovers, not on
whether banks get back on their feet, not on who the next Secretary of the
Treasury will be. Regardless what happens to the economy, God is with us, God
sustains and provides for us. As the psalmist has said: “though the earth should
change, though the mountains shake, though the waters roar and foam… God is
our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Life may get very
difficult for some of us but we know where to turn -- we turn most deeply, most
consistently, to God. And God receives us, God gives us each other for comfort
and help, as time passes we might grow to see anew that God is our rock and
our foundation, and God alone.
The stock market does not give us life; our lives come from the Creator of the
Universe, who made us and loves us. We’re not shaped by the things we hear
on radio and television thus becoming competitive consumers who fight against
each other for the little that is left. No, we are aware that God has given us the
opportunity for companionship in one another as neighbors – as Christian sisters
and brothers – as friends, as family. We are not desperate, fearing that if the
economy fails all will be lost. We live in confidence for we know our Lord Jesus,
who had compassion on the crowds seeing as they were like sheep without a
shepherd, who taught them about God and when it grew late, took 5 loaves and
2 fish, blessed it, broke it, and divided it among 5000 men, plus women and
children. All ate and were satisfied. What’s the stock market compared to that?
Let’s not hedge our bets any more. The stock market isn’t god; neither is the
economy. Lets put our whole treasure, our entire trust, right where it belongs --
in God’s absolute ability to keep us and care for us. I remember Kermit Hugo,
an old farmer and a hard workin’ man, a good church member, late in his life
coming and telling me, his eyes twinkling, “aw, Pastor Kris, I’ve been worth a
million dollars, and then again, I haven’t had two nickels to rub together. But the
Lord has always taken care of me.” And ya’ know, that’s just about right.
really, trust, and respect as the genuine power in life, the one who ‘makes your
world turn’ as they say? Writing on the First Commandment -- “I am the Lord
your God, you shall have no other gods” -- Martin Luther says that love makes
both God and an idol, that whatever you trust with your whole heart is, in reality,
your god. Whether that “god” proves to be true and capable will tell you
whether you have invested your trust in the real God or in an imposter.
When Rome occupied Israel, back in the days when Jesus lived on earth, Caesar –
the Roman emperor - made himself out to be a god. All Roman subjects were to
pay homage to the emperor -- to worship him. This was a problem for the Jewish
people; they did not ‘worship’ anyone or anything other than the God of Abraham
and Sarah, the God who gave the commandments to Moses. Roman money was
especially distasteful to the people of Israel because Caesar’s picture was
imprinted on the coins along with a motto about the Caesar’s eternal kingdom.
Again, this offended their devotion to God, specifically their determination to avoid
idols, graven images of “other gods.” Israel was perturbed, in general, with Rome’
s occupation of their land, and they were especially disturbed by having to handle
Roman coinage.
However, Israel had no choice when it came to using Roman currency. Their
everyday life in the marketplace could be conducted with their own coinage; and
at the Temple, Israeli money was required -- none of that pagan stuff would do
for taking care of Godly work. But when paying taxes to Rome -- a responsibility
that falls to citizens of every era – the people of Israel had to use Roman
money. Rome imposed several kinds of taxes – taxes on goods, taxes on
property – but the kind spoken of in our gospel reading today was a yearly tax
registered on every adult person in the Roman system – one denarius a year, or
a day’s wage a year, was paid to the Roman government by citizens of all
occupied nations. Paid grudgingly, no doubt.
In our gospel reading from Matthew, a trap is laid for Jesus by an unlikely pair of
allies, some Pharisees and some Herodians. Pharisees were the elite group of
Torah scholars (scripture scholars). They knew the religious laws inside-and-out,
and their aim was to guide the rest of the Jewish people to keep God’s law
properly. They would have despised this foreign tax paid to an occupying
government. Had Jesus spoken favorably of it, they would have seen him as a
traitor. The Herodians, on the other hand, were cohorts of the governor, King
Herod, Rome’s “company man” in Israel. King Herod was appointed by Rome and
any power he had came from Rome; the same was true for his associates. So it
was in the Herodians best interest that the Roman empire be fully supported,
financially. That’s how they kept their positions of power and made their living.
Had Jesus spoken against paying the tax to Rome they would have reported him
immediately to the authorities. These two groups on opposite sides approached
Jesus in our gospel reading and asked: “is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor
or not?” They did their best to wedge Jesus right between a rock and a hard
place.
But the place isn’t hard if you know who you are and whom you love. Jesus did
not have divided loyalties. He loved Israel, his home; he loved the Jewish people,
his people. No doubt, he would have liked to see them freed from the agony of
being occupied by another country. But he knew what he owed to whom without
having to think about it. It was not unimportant to him that people were hurting
under Roman rule. But those who asked were not seeking an answer regarding
the Roman occupation; they were trying to trap Jesus. “What’s lawful? What do
we owe to whom?” Jesus knew what ‘we owe to whom.’ That coin with Caesar’s
face on it meant little to him. It was merely one of life’s obligations, like grabbing
a tissue and wiping your nose when it starts to run. So Jesus said “give to the
Emperor what belongs to the Emperor,” but then Jesus struck the chord, turned
the conversation toward its proper subject, and said “and give to God the things
that are God’s.” It’s almost as though Jesus was pushing his adversaries to
consider who they truly loved, who, bottom-line, was their God. Because our God
is the one we love and trust with our whole life, with everything we have and
everything we are. That one is really our God.
The television and radio news programs still seem to be focused on the
economic crisis. Every day we hear what the stock market has done, not only in
the United States, but around the world; then various people analyze what that
means for today, for tomorrow, for people’s financial portfolios and for the rest of
us who do not have financial portfolios, but who do want to keep our jobs and
our homes. One issue that is frequently mentioned is how important the selection
of the next Secretary of the Treasury will be. The financial bailout has been
passed, the government is trying to decide just how to allocate that money,
several major banks are on the brink of going under or staying solvent – there’s
still a lot to be done to clean up the financial mess in our nation. Significant
questions remain -- will there be better oversight of lending practices? Will there
be limits to compensation for CEOs? Will there be new regulations for folks in
the Stock Market to follow? If the answer to these, or similar questions, is yes,
then who will implement and oversee the new policies? Clearly someone has a
lot of critical work left to do. It could be that the next Secretary of the Treasury
will be a very important position. Carousel
These are weighty issues -- who will be leading our nation, who will be Secretary
of the Treasury, what kind of financial structure will be devised for the nation --
these are important matters and we need to pay attention, be involved… but at
the same time, we want to beware, lest we climb back on the same carousel of
mistakes we’ve been riding -- trusting the currency of the government to see-us-
through, to provide for us, to build our homes and ensure our futures. Trusting
the financial system has not worked out well so far, although things could have
been worse for us – and have been, at all times, for some folks. Given the
situation we are in, we might want to consider whether we should entrust our
happiness, our wellbeing, our security, our future to the strength and health of
our nation’s economy. Jesus looked at the denarius and saw it was just a coin.
The same is true for a dollar bill, a bank balance, a piece of stock, or any kind
of wealth. It is one aspect of our lives, one necessity - we have to participate in
an economic system to live in this world. But it is no more important than that.
For too long, we have allowed the accumulation of wealth to be far, far too
important in our lives, to have too much power, too great a hold on our hearts.
And it is true that love makes both God and an idol; whatever we truly love-and-
trust in the depth of our hearts is, finally, our God.
When they go to trap him, the Pharisees and Herodians say to Jesus: “Teacher,
we know that you…show no deference to anyone, for you do not regard people
with partiality.” That is true. Jesus does not play favorites, fawing all over some
people while ignoring others. But it seems equally clear from today’s story that
Jesus shows no deference to money, either. He takes the coin, looks at it, and
says “pay what is due” almost as if he’s tossing that coin over his shoulder into
the dust. Jesus cares about people -- whether you have enough to eat (and your
neighbor, also), whether you have a safe place to live and people to love you
(your neighbor, too), whether we have clothes to wear and our health is care for
-- but beyond that, it’s just money and it’s only purpose is to do good for
someone -- to help that family Calvary is buying-wood-for so they can heat their
home this winter, to give regularly to your church so we can do ministry in
Jesus’ name, to save, yes -- but not to horde for personal wealth, to save so
that it may be a blessing to you and to others.
We, also, know what we owe to whom; we owe everything only to God. More
important than that, we know who loves us. God is our strength and our hope.
Our future depends on God, not on when the stock market recovers, not on
whether banks get back on their feet, not on who the next Secretary of the
Treasury will be. Regardless what happens to the economy, God is with us, God
sustains and provides for us. As the psalmist has said: “though the earth should
change, though the mountains shake, though the waters roar and foam… God is
our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Life may get very
difficult for some of us but we know where to turn -- we turn most deeply, most
consistently, to God. And God receives us, God gives us each other for comfort
and help, as time passes we might grow to see anew that God is our rock and
our foundation, and God alone.
The stock market does not give us life; our lives come from the Creator of the
Universe, who made us and loves us. We’re not shaped by the things we hear
on radio and television thus becoming competitive consumers who fight against
each other for the little that is left. No, we are aware that God has given us the
opportunity for companionship in one another as neighbors – as Christian sisters
and brothers – as friends, as family. We are not desperate, fearing that if the
economy fails all will be lost. We live in confidence for we know our Lord Jesus,
who had compassion on the crowds seeing as they were like sheep without a
shepherd, who taught them about God and when it grew late, took 5 loaves and
2 fish, blessed it, broke it, and divided it among 5000 men, plus women and
children. All ate and were satisfied. What’s the stock market compared to that?
Let’s not hedge our bets any more. The stock market isn’t god; neither is the
economy. Lets put our whole treasure, our entire trust, right where it belongs --
in God’s absolute ability to keep us and care for us. I remember Kermit Hugo,
an old farmer and a hard workin’ man, a good church member, late in his life
coming and telling me, his eyes twinkling, “aw, Pastor Kris, I’ve been worth a
million dollars, and then again, I haven’t had two nickels to rub together. But the
Lord has always taken care of me.” And ya’ know, that’s just about right.