INTRODUCTION: Today’s Scripture Reading is set by the Lectionary and is often read at this time of year. Sometimes this reading is seen as supporting “the separation of church and state,” but that was not the original intent of these words. Rather, Jesus was inviting people to consider a larger question about where their loyalties lie.
Scripture: Matthew 22:15-22
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap [Jesus] in what he said. 16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “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. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
Remembering back when you were a kid growing up, did you ever try to get your friends to say goofy things? Like the old joke that was popular when I was in first grade: when you’d vaguely point to a place under a table or some chairs in the lunchroom and you’d say to your friend, “Hey, is that your lunch box under there?” And your poor, unsuspecting friend would say innocently, “Under where?” And you’d giggle and say, “You just said ‘underwear”!”
This kind of behavior, trying to trap someone into saying something that they are not aware of, can be amusing if it is done in a good-natured manner, especially by giggly first graders, but it’s not so amusing when it is done with malice. We see that in today’s Scripture reading—when some Pharisees (a group of religious leaders) are trying to trap Jesus into making a statement regarding paying taxes to the Roman government.
Paying taxes to the government was a hot topic of conversation in Jesus’ day and age, as it has been in every day and age, including ours. What is the government’s claim on us? What should it be?
Before I go too far down this road and get everyone worked up about taxes, let me go back to the Scripture. The Pharisees ask Jesus a question about paying taxes, and it is a good question! It’s important to think about what claims government has on us and whether or not those claims conflict with our calling from God. But here’s the thing—these particular Pharisees don’t really care about the question! They don’t care about the claims of the government OR the claims of God—they just care about getting rid of Jesus, who is a threat to their power. They just want him to go away. And they figure if they can just get Jesus to say something negative about the government, then the Romans will arrest him and their problem will be solved.
But their plan doesn’t work. Jesus outsmarts the Pharisees and gets them—and everyone else—to actually think about the question! He tells them to “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” He turns the question back to them and says, in effect, “What do you think?” What do we—and what should we--give to the government? What do we—and what should we—give to God?
Jesus is inviting each of his listeners—in his day and ours-- to answer these questions for ourselves.
Given that our purpose as a church is to worship and serve God, I propose we focus on answering the second question. What do we—and what should we—give to God? The obvious answer is, of course, “everything.” Our Scriptures teach us that God is our Creator--and that all things in heaven and on earth belong to God.
But what does this mean, practically speaking? Have you thought about that lately?
When I was a little kid, I went to a YMCA day camp. It was a requirement, as I believe it is at most camps, to have your name written on everything you wore or brought with you to camp. Your beach bag had to have your name written on it. Your sweatshirt. Your bathing suit. Your bathing cap. Your beach towel. Your sneakers. Your T-shirt. Your shorts. Your underwear. Everything had to be marked, so that it would all go home with you at the end of the day. I remember my mother had used a black, permanent magic-marker and had written “M. Schmidt” on everything. And not discretely. “M. Schmidt” was written on the heel of my sneakers, the cuff of my sweatshirt. The outside back of my white Camp T-Shirt. In big letters. There were other kids at the camp whose mothers were more discrete than mine. Some of the mothers had actually bought custom-made labels and sewn them into the lining of their children’s clothes. So that, if you looked inside the collars of their nicely pressed shirts, there would be a lovely white label with tiny red rosebuds on it that read, “This belongs to Laura Lee Chandler.” (or some name like that.) (I was a little jealous...)
But here’s my point—what if everything around us had labels like this? But instead of saying, “this belongs to Laura Lee Chandler” or “M. Schmidt,” the labels would read, “This belongs to God.” What if our alarm clock went off in the morning and instead of flashing “6:00 A.M.” It flashed, “This day belongs to God!” What if--when we sat down at our computer to check our email or do our work—what if our computer flashed a screen that said, “This work belongs to God!” What if when we took out our credit card to order something on line or to buy something at the store, rather than our own name embossed across the card, it read instead, “This belongs to God.” Would our actions be any different?
This week I invite us all to think about these things--to think about, in word, stewardship. Stewardship, as defined by the dictionary, is the job of taking care of something that belongs to someone else. In the church’s definition of stewardship, the “someone else” is specifically identified as God.
In this past Thursday’s e-blast, beneath the Scripture reading, I wrote 3 things: “time,” “talent,” “treasure,” with a line next to each one. I invite you, if you wish, to print out this page from the e-blast to use as “spiritual homework.” Or--if you prefer-- just jot down some notes based on the slide that is up in the PowerPoint. If indeed, everything we have--our time, our talent, our treasure--belongs to God (and we are just stewards, taking care of things for God), I invite you (and me) to think about one new way we could give back to God in each of these categories.
Taking them one at a time…
What is one new way this week we--you and I--could give some time back to God? Spend some time serving God?
A couple ideas have occurred to me:
· Could we take 10 minutes to make a phone call to a neighbor, family member, friend, fellow church member we haven’t talked to since Covid started and see how they’re doing?
· Maybe we could invite them to come with us to today’s outdoor concert at 4pm?
· Or, another idea of how to spend some time serving God:
· Could we do what one of my neighbors did early in the Covid crisis? My neighbor across the street contacted other people on our street and created an email and cell-phone list of the people who live right around us, so that we could stay in touch during the crisis. And, because of that email/texting list, not only have we gotten to know our neighbors better-- We’ve also shared jig saw puzzles, weed whackers, and extra hand sanitizer. One neighbor even gave away extra rolls of toilet paper when other people’s supply was running low (back when the stores had run out.) Some ideas to get us all thinking…
Let me move to the next category:
What is one new way this week we-- you and I--could use our talents for God?
A couple ideas have occurred to me:
· Most of us have gotten better at doing tech things since this crisis started--because we’ve had to. Maybe we haven’t gotten good enough to think of it as a talent, but perhaps we’d call it a talent-in-progress? For instance, most of us now have Zoom accounts. We know how to made video calls from our phones and computers. We know how to watch livestream worship. Could we use this new budding talent we are developing to help someone else who hasn’t yet developed it?
· For instance, could we make a socially distanced visit and show one of our neighbors or friends how to download Zoom? Or how to access the church website or FaceBook page?
· Another idea: maybe you have a talent for writing. I know there are a number of excellent writers in this congregation. Maybe you could send one of your pieces, poems, essays, stories to someone you think might enjoy it. Send it out with a little note saying “thinking of you.”
· Just Some ideas to get us all thinking of creative and energizing ways to give back to God…
Let me move to the next category:
What is one new way this week we could use our treasure for serving God?
I realize that the Covid crisis has hit many people hard, and our monetary resources may be somewhat--or even severely--diminished due to this fact. However, if we are able, are there new ways we could use our treasure to serve God this week?
A couple of ideas that have occurred to me include:
· Join FFC’s Missions committee in donating to help put together Church World Service Cleanup Buckets for what our website describes as “what is shaping up to be an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season.” (You can read about this on the church FaceBook page or our Thursday e-blasts.) For a limited time, it costs only $25 to fill a bucket. That’s a third of what it usually costs. A great deal to help people in need.
· Another idea for using our treasure for God: our Stewardship pledge season is starting. In the next few weeks all church members will receive their pledge letters and cards. Speaking on behalf of church leadership, echoing words I heard expressed at the last council meeting, we are very grateful for this congregation’s generosity--not only in years past, but especially in 2020, which has been difficult for everyone. And still, people have given sacrificially. And, this year, in addition to your generous gifts, we have also received much needed help with the church budget from the PPP loan, thanks be to God and our government. Next year, in 2021, we will be back to relying solely on our own sources of income, so our pledges will be very important. I invite you to join me in prayerfully considering making a pledge to God’s work through Franklin Federated Church.
May God be with us all in this stewardship season as we contemplate the various ways we can give back to God.
May we be open to the Spirit’s guidance as we once more commit our time, talent, and treasure to serving God and the world that belongs to God. Amen.
October 18, 2020
Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt
Franklin Federated Church
Franklin, MA
An earlier version of this sermon was written and preached by Marlayna in York, ME on October 16, 2011.