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Once again it is time for each of us to consider our
commitment to the church for the coming year. What
role will the church play in your life in 2009? And
just as important how will you “participate in the
ministries of the church by our prayers, our presence,
our gifts, and our service that in everything God may be
glorified through Jesus Christ” as we state in our
membership vows. Our church has done and continues to
do amazing things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I hope and pray, that with your gifts, our church
will continue well beyond next year!
Stewardship is something that needs to be taught. In
our culture how we use our talents and our resources for
others does not come naturally but is a learned
response. Out of the abundance of all that God has
given us we give back to God a portion of our resources
for the work of the church. Our gifts assist our church
and also help churches and ministries in other places in
our country and around the world.
This fall we approach our annual pledge with some fear
and trepidation with the uncertainty of the economic
climate of our nation. During the past few weeks we
have witnessed the biggest financial crisis our country
has experienced in decades. We are not sure what will
happen in the coming weeks and months, yet we are asked
to make our pledge, our commitment, for the work of the
church. I visited with one of our homebound members
this week, who told me he remembered the difficult days
of the Great Depression of the 1930s. He spoke of faith
believing that no matter what happens God will see us
through.
Earlier this month Bishop Johnson met with pastors and
lay people from our district. A pastor voiced a concern
about the shaky economy and the very real possibility
that giving to the church will be less as a result. The
bishop quoting one of her friends replied that “it is
not faith if it isn’t tested.” The difficult days ahead
will be a time to test our faith. We give believing
that God will meet all of our needs. We place our lives
in God’s hands believing beyond any doubt that God will
see us through the most difficult days.
Giving to the work of the church changes the way we view
the world and what we deem as important. I once heard
someone state that the best way to understand what a
person feels is important is to look at her or his
checkbook.
A
young couple shared with their congregation their
experience with tithing, giving ten percent of their
income to church. Keri told how tithing forced them to
think about the use of money and how all they received
has been entrusted to them by God. Tithing made them
spend money more wisely, with less waste and fewer
impulsive purchases. Matt and Keri viewed each dollar
as having a mission. Further she shared that tithing
had broken the sense of panic, worry, desperation and
fear that had driven many of their financial decisions
in the past.
Matt described how many conversations they had about
priorities, family spending and saving patterns that had
enriched their relationship. He said that their
commitment to tithing “forced significant discussions
about their goals and values as a family that they would
never have had otherwise.”
As
they concluded their talk they told how tithing
strengthened their commitment to the church. They
became more involved and interested in their church than
ever before. They began praying for the people, the
ministries and the outreach of the church with a renewed
sense of passion. (1) Giving changes our lives.
Turning to our Gospel lesson, Jesus
is in Jerusalem, having been welcomed by the masses on
what we refer to as Palm Sunday. Jesus did not wait for
some opportune time but went straight to the temple. He
drove out the money changers, overturning their tables.
The scene was chaos. The religious leaders knew they
had to step up their attacks on Jesus. They questioned
Jesus’ authority but instead he asked them a question.
Then he told a couple of parables that do not take too
much imagination to figure out that Jesus was speaking
negatively about the religious leaders who fail to
recognize that Jesus is the Son of God. The religious
leaders were in fact the “Wicked Tenants” who killed
those sent by the landowner, who even killed his son.
They were also the ones who refused to attend the
“Wedding Banquet” so the doors were open to all people.
The religious leaders openly “plotted to entrap” Jesus.
They brought along some unlikely allies, the Herodians,
who were loyal to the king. Beware of people who say
flattering things but have evil intentions. “Teacher,
we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God
in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one;
for you do not regard people with partiality.” They did
not believe a word they said. If there were bystanders
they would not necessarily feel that the religious
leaders were plotting against Jesus.
After their insincere compliment they get down to
business and ask their question, “Tell us, then, what
you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or
not?” Clearly this was a lose/lose proposition for
Jesus. Obviously it was a trap. If he answered “yes”
then he would be perceived as in collusion with the
hated Romans. People despised Roman authority and would
not be the least bit pleased had Jesus said they should
pay taxes to the emperor. On the other hand, if Jesus
had said “no” to paying taxes he would be in trouble
with the government officials and viewed as a
revolutionary. That was probably why the Herodians were
standing by waiting for such an answer.
Jesus immediately realized that this was a trick
question; he knew they had evil intentions on their
minds. He even calls them, “hypocrites,” they might
have tried to sound sincere with their question but in
truth were against Jesus, trying their best to silence
him. They were not the least bit interested in Jesus’
teachings—their minds were already made up and nothing
Jesus said would change their opinion. Jesus turns the
table on his questioners by asking to see a coin. Jesus
did not have a coin so he asked to see one.
The Pharisees in the sacred precincts of the temple
produce a coin. “Whose head is this, and whose title?”
Jesus asked them. He had them right where he wanted
them, for in having a coin with the idolatrous image of
the emperor they acknowledged that they were in effect
loyal to Caesar. They had hoped to trap Jesus, expose
him to the people as a fraud, but instead Jesus exposed
them for what they truly were hypocrites whose loyalty
was not to God but sadly to the emperor.
“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the
emperor's, and to God the things that are God's” Jesus
expounded. Those with less than honorable intentions
should stay away from Jesus—Jesus has a way of bringing
to light that which is hid in the darkness of our souls.
The issue is one of allegiance. We belong to God and
everything we have comes from God. Stewardship is about
giving to God what already belongs to God. We need to
constantly be on guard against consumerism and
materialism recognizing them as competing allegiances to
our faithfulness to God. We can get a head start on the
consumerism and materialism of Christmas by declaring
our ultimate allegiance to God alone.
It
was time for the morning offering as the pastor
explained the meaning of offering and the importance of
sacrifice. The pastor then directed the ushers to get
ready for the offering, except it was not going to be an
ordinary offering. People were invited to come forward
and place something of value, not money, near the
altar. People came forth tentatively with some
hesitation. One person brought a blanket, another a
Bible, another a coat. One person went out to the car
and brought the golf clubs he had just purchased and
placed them near the altar. A spirit of generosity
spread through the congregation like wildfire. People
began to get up and bring anything they had with them to
the altar.
One person, deeply moved by the golf clubs, didn’t have
anything he might give as an offering. He went out to
his car and brought in a spare tire he had in his trunk.
He rolled the tire up the aisle. When the offering was
finished the altar area was full of various items that
had been brought forward.
It just so happened that in that
congregation that morning someone had a flat tire on the
way to church but could not afford to buy a new tire.
He prayed to God to bring him a tire. He could not
believe it, the tire was the size he needed. “Giving
can be infectious, and you never know which of your
gifts people will need,” were the concluding words of
the pastor. (2)
As
you consider your total commitment to the church for the
coming year remember the words of Jesus, “Give therefore
to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to
God the things that are God's.” We give back to God
what God has given us. For the church to thrive it will
take more than your financial gifts, which are
important, it takes your total commitment. Our
discipleship, demands our best efforts. At times the
task before us seems too large, but together we can make
our commitment even in a year with economic
uncertainty. We place our lives in the very hand of
God, believing that no matter what God will see us
through.
As we sing our closing hymn, I ask
that you bring your 2009 commitment card and place it in
the model church. We give to God what belongs to God,
we are simply stewards entrusted to care for God’s good
creation. Our commitment card is a statement of faith,
for we believe that our lives are in God’s hands and God
will take care of us!
Amen.
1. Five
Practices of Fruitful Congregations, Robert Schnase,
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007, pp.103-105
2.. B.G.
Schmitz, “Stewardship” October 2008,
www.parishpublishing.org
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