We should not give as if we are keeping score, a score that becomes like an anchor chain.
Exodus 33:12-23
12 Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, you have said to me, “Bring up this people”; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.” 13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’ 14 He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ 15 And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.’
17 The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.’ 18 Moses said, ‘Show me your glory, I pray.’ 19 And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The Lord”; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But’, he said, ‘you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.’ 21 And the Lord continued, ‘See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23 then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.’
Matthew 22:15-22
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16 So 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. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ 21 They 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.’22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
Spoken words for “Stewardship” by Rev KellyAnn Donahue.
Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew tells us that Jesus is asked about paying a specific tax. Matthew wrote during a time in which the Pharisees were part of a leadership struggle in Palestine. This census tax was instituted by the Roman Empire on all men who were 14 or older and on all women beginning at age 12. It had to be paid using a Roman coin. No other coins or type of payment were accepted for this tax. Jesus lived during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. The coin shown to Jesus by the Pharisees might have had these words on it “Tiberius Caesar, august son of the divine Augustus, high priest”.
Jews were offended by the language calling Caesar divine. We have recently heard Old Testament stories of God’s commandment to have no other gods or idols. In our first reading from the book of Exodus, God is speaking to Moses after the people had worshiped the golden calf. Moses is asking God to lead them on the next stage of their journey to the promised land, so that everyone will know that God has chosen them as his people. In Verse 16 Moses said, “For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.”
The Jews speaking to Jesus were distinct from every people. They followed the Ten Commandments, the laws about food, the festivals, and the requirements of temple offerings. They also knew that they were part of the Roman Empire, and the ruling Caesar was considered a god. The Pharisees were asking Jesus a very tough question. They were forcing Jesus into being disloyal to God, or disloyal to Caesar.
Jesus does not end up being disloyal to anyone. He points out that the coin is of Caesar, and should be given to the emperor, while the things of God should be given to God. Jesus does not make the decision for the Pharisees. He shows there are choices to be made with our resources. At this remark, the Pharisees are amazed, and leave Jesus alone.
I have a choice too, as I consider my pledge for East Corinth Congregational. Every year, our trustees send out a letter asking for a pledge of money. The act of asking for pledges and speaking about supporting a church is called Stewardship. Our church uses pledged or promised amounts of money to anticipate income and plan our expenditures for the next fiscal year. Some churches preach about stewardship for several Sundays in a row. They invite speakers from the missions and charities supported by their pledges. The national office of the United Church of Christ has new marketing ideas, posters, bulletin wrappers, and pledge cards available every year. All of them convey this message from their website; “modeling what it means to reimagine the gifts of God-lived out through joyful engagement, efficient management of resources, and excellent stewardship of relationships and resources-equipping others to serve, to ask and to give.”
Some of my money must be used for food, clothing and transportation. If there is money left after those and other obligations, what do I choose to do with it? Exactly how much should I and can I give to God’s work here at ECCC? I do think of it as God’s work, of work we can do to care for those whom God has given us to care for. We are God’s hands, feet and hearts. Jesus also taught us to care for others. Some of the United Church of Christ Stewardship guidelines suggest a pledging range of 2 to 15 percent of one’s income. Last year we received twenty eight pledges. I do not know how many stewardship letters will be mailed this year; all will be acknowledged with a thank you note. My hope and my prayer is that I will have to hand-write more than 28 thank you notes. Some of the notes will feature original artwork from me, as I bought blank note cards. I can draw stick figures, flowers, bunnies and thumbprint people so you are getting something you can consider a collectable. Or, after I become famous for my sermons, you can sell my artwork.
Why am I talking about money in the pulpit? I need to be attentive to the money because the money comes from people, and people are the church. I must respect the work they did to earn the money they give, the time and travel it took, and the sacrifices they and their families made. I also value and respect the contributions to our church that are not dollars and cents. There are countless hours of time, talent and physical labor that make up our church year activities and duties. You don’t let me do it alone.
I once got a stewardship quote from a fortune cookie: “He that gives should not remember, he that receives should never forget.” I think it means that anything we give should not weigh on our minds. We should not give as if we are keeping score, a score that becomes like an anchor chain. What we receive should always be on our minds, prompting us to gratitude and praise for God, the giver of all that we have. I don’t remember how many hours I worked on the recent chicken pie supper. I do remember how wonderful it felt to see the tables full, to hear people laughing and talking, and to recognize folks I saw last year.
If you can pledge to East Corinth Congregational Church, may you be able to give a pledge that does not weigh on mind or heart, a pledge that is not remembered with any anxiety, because it was given with joy. And I want you to know that I will never forget the love and care you have shown to me as the leader of this church family.
© Rev KellyAnn Donahue