Sermon

Church + money = ?

Scripture Text:

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon:

Not everyone thinks of Jesus as a trickster, but he was.  The Pharisees come and try to corner him with a loaded question – something that may not be unfamiliar to those of you following the Republican primary debates lately.  Should Jews pay taxes to Caesar, their cruel and oppressive emperor?  Saying “yes” is not the right answer but saying “no” could get Jesus thrown in a Roman jail, which would get this troublesome rabbi out of the way for the Pharisees.  But Jesus is not so easily cornered: he comes right back at them and asks them to produce a coin.  Roman coins had the head of Caesar on them and the words: “The Son of God” because that’s what Caesar called himself.  (Interesting to know, as you read the gospels, by the way, that, whenever Jesus is called “the Son of God,” he’s very intentionally being named as the sort of upsidedown competition to the Emperor.  The King and Kinds and Lord of Lords is not an cruel, arrogant man in Rome with an army and a dictatorship, but a poor, humble rabbi who walks the roads of a country that nobody really cares about.)

 

Jesus says to the Pharisees, “Give to the emperor what belongs to the emperor and give to God what belongs to God.”  And the Pharisees are stumped and walk away.  In typical Jesus fashion, his answer is not really an answer:  it just introduces more questions: what belongs to God?  would we owe anything to a dictator like Caesar?  what did Jesus think about money?  It’s hard to say.

 

Money is how we place value on things.  It’s how we know how precious things are: whether it’s a diamond ring, a college education, a football player’s salary, a teacher’s salary, a gallon of gasoline, or keeping a food pantry open and running.  And yet sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of how we’re spending money, of what we really believe is precious.

 

It happens to me all the time.  When Adam and I were on vacation in Maine a couple weeks ago, I visited a Quaker worship service.  I loved it: their meeting house is probably two hundred years old, very simple, with wide-board wood floors, and worship was just sitting together in a warm silence, with someone standing to share a few words as they’re moved by the Spirit.  I was very moved by the experience, I felt close to God, I felt inspired by their faith community.  Whenever I visit a church, I like to make a gift to their community, especially when I’m moved by what I experience.  Instead of passing offering baskets, the meeting house had a little box nailed to the wall in the hallway.  I’d left my purse at home and put a five dollar bill in my pocket.  But as I tucked it into the box, I felt a little strange.

 

A day or two before, I had spent $50 on two hardcover books.  Now they were two books I really wanted to read, and I spent that without thinking too much about it.  But a morning with God in the midst of a community that welcomed me: that was only worth $5 to me?  That was a tenth as precious as the books I’d bought?  Really?

 

Sometimes money shows us what we really believe is precious and it’s not what we expect, or might even disappoint us.   Sometimes money makes us feel scared that there won’t be enough.  I was disappointed that I’d grabbed the $5 bill instead of the $20 in my wallet that morning.  Now of course, worship is free – but the question is more: who do I want to be?  what do I value?  what is precious to me?

 

I always feel nervous when I preach about money.  And I always feel nervous when we move into the annual campaign each fall because it’s hard to ask you to give money to St. Benedict without feeling as though I’m standing with Caesar.   A church isn’t supposed to be interested in your money.  “A priest who asks you for money” sounds like a huckster instead of a teacher, counselor, or spiritual guide.

 

But I have to remind myself that the giving campaign we do each fall at St. Benedict isn’t really about money in the end.  More on that in a minute.  First, I want to explain what the annual giving campaign is, in case it sounds mysterious or unfamiliar to some of  you.  For many months, you’ve been hearing church leaders talk about a possible capital campaign:  that’s a possibility we’re exploring for next year to help pay down our mortgage.  This is different.  The annual campaign is actually more important than a capital campaign, although you probably haven’t heard as much about it, because it’s how we fund our everyday ministry here:  Sunday worship, children’s formation, hospitality, music, adult education, the nursery, pastoral care and counseling, and a full-time priest.  The annual campaign isn’t really about money – it’s about our mission and our community.

 

It’s thinking about what means the most about St. Benedict to you:  the warm welcome, the worship, the sense of the Spirit, a place to be with others who are searching just as you are, a place where children are welcome, a place where we believe more in questions than in answers, a place where you feel you can encounter God in real and new ways every time you come here.  That’s my hope as your priest and how I direct every day of my work with you here.  And as your priest, I also pledge.   Adam and I tithe our combined income, which means we choose a percentage and set that aside for the church each year.  Sometimes a tithe is 10%, but it can also be a 1/2%, 1%, 5%, or 8%.  Adam and I tithe as a spiritual discipline, to remind ourselves of what is precious to us, and because of our gratitude and excitement about what God is doing here at St. Benedict.  This is a place that is precious to us and we have great hope for the future of this community.

 

So, every year, a small group of people puts together a campaign to ask you to help sustain our community.  This year, it’s Vince Macikas, Jacqueline Soltys, and Margaret Bauman.  You’ll hear more from them in the next few weeks.   They’ll ask you to consider making a “pledge,” or the promise of a monthly gift, to the faith community of St. Benedict.  A pledge is about money, yes, but mostly, it’s a way of saying, “This place is precious to me,” “I want to be part of this community” and “What we do at St. Benedict is important to me.”  It’s a way of joining together in love and hope.   It doesn’t matter if your pledge is a dollar a week or $1000 a week.  Any pledge says “I want to be part of the community of St. Benedict” and “What we do in this church means something to me.”

 

The theme that Vince, Jacqueline, and Margaret have chosen for this year’s campaign is “So Thankful.”  I’m “so thankful” that I get to be part of a church where people are willing to live with questions.  I’m so thankful to be in church where people aren’t looking for answers, so much as a community of faith and hope.  Where we can celebrate sports as part of God’s blessings to us! (Today is Sports Spirit Sunday.)  Where we celebrate children, good food, pets, and prayer.  Where we reach out to people in need, to people in recovery, to people at the Bolingbrook Christian Health Clinic, to Feed My Starving Children, and to anyone who’s searching.  We welcome all kinds of people, couples, and families.  As you consider your monthly giving for 2012, give thanks with me and to God for the community of St. Benedict.

 

Amen.

Uploaded on October 16, 2011 in by RevHeidi

No comments yet