Bristol Lutheran
Pentecost 19A – Commitment Sunday
Matthew 22:15-22
October 19, 2014
In college, I was a philosophy minor – for two reasons. First, I needed a
minor and it was only 18 credits, compared to most that were 24. Second,
at La Crosse we didn’t have a religion department, so as I was prepping for
seminary I wanted to take classes that might be relevant as a pastor.
Comparative Religions, Ethics, Logic, even philosophy of science all were
interesting. However, I admit, most of philosophy went way over my head.
But one Philosophy – which never was a class but has
always intrigued me – is philosophy of money. The
idea that most of our economy, while backed by Fort
Knox, is still just a system of numbers changing on
computer accounts.
From a check, to the bank, transferred to the electric company, transferred
to an employee at the electric company on payday, that goes into their
bank, and the cycle continues. It can get lost pretty quick, but I think it is
fascinating.
You have maybe seen that stamp “where’s George” on
your dollar bill that tracks all the places where a specific bill
went. Take a moment, and think about where your dollars
(or numbers) have traveled. How are your dollars used?
And maybe even more important, how did those dollars
impact where they traveled.
Maybe that dirty smudged dollar in your pocket, came from the change
drawer at a coffee shop, after it was given to the mother on the street,
praying for a few dollars to get a bite of food for her baby daughter.
Maybe the dollar will travel to the store where you buy a
shirt, to the company where it was made, to the textile
distributor, to the farmer who grew the cotton, and back
to you as a tip, when the farmer sits down to a dinner at
the restaurant you waitress at.
Maybe that credit card we use at the grocery store, gets charged 3% to
accept it, and drives up the cost for other families scraping by.
Maybe the dollar was used once to support a
campaign, opposite of your politics, or
purchased products you would never buy.
Maybe that dollar is from your tax refund, coming from another’s paid taxes
that contributed to education, military, welfare, housing subsidy, or college
loans.
The point is, we don’t always know where our
dollars have come from, or how our money is
used, and if the impact is positive or negative.
Jesus was being trapped with a similar dilemma,
a question that had no easy answer.
If Jesus says pay the taxes to Caesar, he shows bias, preference for the
worldly empire that he had spoken against. Saying Caesar would make him
a hypocrite.
And to say that we should give it to the
temple, the church, to God, would be grounds
for arrest for a sort of ancient tax evasion.
So we hear Jesus’ clever response – give to the emperor that which is his,
and to God that which is God’s.
If only it were that simple. The
beauty of Jesus’ response is that it
has layers and layers of meaning.
The emperor is often considered god, but there is only one true God.
The emperor gives preference to certain
people, yet, as the Pharisees correctly
pointed out, God shows no partiality.
The emperor excludes divisions and difference, God makes diversity a gift
to cherish, and not a problem to solve.
The people are taught that the emperor
gives them everything, but it is God who
gives us everything.
The emperor takes care of the people,
but nothing compares to the well-being that God provides.
The emperor might have his face on the coin, but we are made in God’s
image, God’s imprint is on all of creation.
The money we have, small amounts and large, are
gifts, yet Jesus never says that rich are more blessed
than the poor, in fact Jesus often says the opposite.
God never says that we will be blessed with money or
riches if we pray more or go to church more.
Jesus doesn’t say that church and state are separate, never says that God
and government should have a wall. He says that it is all connected. Jesus
doesn’t say that money is evil, taxes are bad, or wealth is corrupt. Even
though I don’t think Jesus ever carried money around, he realizes money is
needed make the world move.
God wants us to understand is the impact that our
dollars have, and the perspective we take on the
money we have been given.
And though we might not always know where money has come from, God
has given us opportunity to know where it goes. To feel good about how we
respond to God’s generosity in our lives. To celebrate how we go out and
love our neighbors, with the resources that have come to us. Pope Francis,
in responding to a question about charity, said that money in itself is morally
neutral. The morality comes in the way we use it.
That is why we are stewards as we support fair trade –
knowing that coffee and chocolate farmers and jewelry
makers, are given living wages for products we buy.
That is why we are faithful when we support local businesses, with good
work environments.
That is why we celebrate every penny
and every $100 bill, as both are given
out of love and generosity and joy.
That is why we come together to support a family emergency, or causes
around the world.
That is why we can be a difference, when we
unite to end malaria or hunger.
Or why as a church, we strive to give as much as we can away to support
our community.
Or why we can view every
dollar as a dollar for mission.
The Pharisees wanted Jesus to incriminate himself with a political response
– Jesus gives us a response of faithfulness, helping them and us to see this
dilemma differently.
Jesus in his own way, asks us to broaden our
perspective, to remember that whether we pay
taxes or bills, or give to the family on the street, to
medical research, the church, or buy cookies from
the girl scouts, or a book from the fair, everything
is a response to what God has done in our lives.
We can be joyful about paying those taxes as we are about philanthropy,
because God makes an impact, wherever those dollars are spent. That is a
pretty beautiful perspective of stewardship, as it helps us always give thanks
for these gifts.
That isn’t something I would ever learn in a
philosophy of money class. That may not be a
message we hear in all those places where we
spend money. But it is the good news of God. A
new way to see these coins and dollars.
Because the way we use money tell us who we are, reveals our identity. In
many ways our image is bought by money – houses we own, clothes we
wear, cars we drive, jobs we have. But is also shows our compassion for the
poor, our generosity for our neighbor, our love for our communities, our
support of our family.
At the heart, the identity we buy with the coin, isn’t as
important as the identity of the one holding the coin.
The image on the denarii, similar to our presidents on
our coins, is never as important as the image of the one
with the coin.
You and me and all people, the ones created in the image of God.