Latest / Belin Memorial UMC / Rev. Dr. Sandra Stevens Poirel - "Render"
Transcript
- harbor 10 18 26: The gospel lesson that is assigned for today is a familiar scene. The Pharisees, along with the Herodians, are conspiring together to trap Jesus, and they do this by asking him a trick question. He responds as he often does by turning the question back on them. It is his subsequent Comment that is very well known. It's a well known verse challenging them and us to consider what truly belongs to whom. So I invite you to rise in body or in spirit for the reading of the gospel. Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle Jesus in his talk. And they sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully and care for no man, for you do not regard the position of men. Tell us then. What you think, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the money for the tax. And they brought him a coin. And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? And they said, Caesar's. Then he said to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. When they heard it, they marvelled, and they left him and went away. This is the word of God for the people of God. You may be seated. Well, we start out by hearing that the Pharisees and Herodians thought they were going to have Jesus in a trap. But immediately, I know you're already thinking this, you said, wait a minute, who? You said the Pharisees and the Herodians? That is correct. These are two groups that whose names would never have even been in the same sentence. So this is a strange coalition. They had absolutely nothing to do with each other. They wanted nothing to do with each other. It would be safe to say they didn't exactly care much for each other. Yet here we have the opening that they come together, they are joining forces. And this would be about the only thing. That would have ever brought them together. It was to accomplish their goal to trap, discredit, and destroy Jesus. So here's the context of what's going on. Jesus is still in the temple, and that will be very important that he physically is there, and it is the week leading up to his crucifixion. So this is taking place as he knows he is very close to the cross. Now the interrogators begin with insincere flattery to throw him off guard and to set the trap. You can hear the sarcasm dripping off the page even as they refer to him and begin by saying, teacher. And they're doing this in the temple. Teacher, we know that you are true, and you teach the way of God fully. And then they set the trap and ask the loaded question to put him intentionally in a very tight spot. Tell us then what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? Or not? Trapset. This is a no win trap. question. If Jesus answers yes, this would result in the Pharisees accusing accusing him of disloyalty to the Jewish people and the crowds that follow him and are even around him at this point would turn on him before sundown. He would have lost the people. Now a no answer would char would result in his being charged with treason against Rome, which is the charge they were going after from the beginning, eventually to crucify him. but they forget. This is Jesus that they're dealing with. So Jesus directed them to show him the coin. But notice that he did not produce the coin. That was important. He's in the temple. They have to bring a coin to him. And they did. And they produced it right there in the temple, which was unheard of. And he asks them the question: this is where things begin to turn. Whose likeness and inscription is that? And they answer, Well, it's Caesar's. The inscription on the coin. There was an image of Caesar, but the inscription on the coin actually declared Caesar as a God with a little G. That's when Jesus drops those now famous words. Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And with that one sentence, Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter. And they knew it. And then when the interrogators heard it, they marveled and they left him and they went away. The problem is they heard it. They knew what he was saying. They knew it was an invitation, and they missed it. That coin that they produced, and that was used in the first century, bore Caesar's image. It belonged to Caesar. But Jesus didn't stop there. So what then is this about render unto God that which is God's, that which bears God's image. So what is this that bears God's image? they got it, because the answer had already been given all the way back in the first chapter of Genesis. So God created humankind in his Image. In the image of God he created them. God minted you and me, us, in his likeness. The image of God is imprinted and stamped on us. It is us who belong to God. We belong to the one whose image we bear. The religious authorities heard this and they went away not because Jesus dodged or skirted the question, but because he revealed the real question. What belongs to God? God is naming and claiming you. I have called you by name. You are mine. Caesar's coins were Caesar's. They're temporal, they're transient, they are not eternal. What belongs to God shapes our very lives and leads to that which is eternal, including right this very minute. We're already living eternal life. Jesus revealed the brilliant foundational. transformational truth about how we see and how we live life. He revealed the shift in what we call stewardship. This is a time of year that we often hear about stewardship and we think about financial stewardship, which that is a part of stewardship, and of course it is a very important part of it. But Jesus reveals the shift in our living stewardship out. We are not owners and we're not weighed down with all of that heavy responsibility. Rather, Jesus reveals that everything we have is from God. Everything we have belongs to God and everything we have as stewards we want to honor, praise, and magnify God and God's church. So we are freed then to be stewards or managers of God's resources. And then in return, as we live that out, because God is so abundantly generous to us, we have the blessing of, and you've heard this, that we are blessed so that we in turn may be a blessing. Exactly. So we then Have the blessing of serving in joyful obedience and being a partner and celebrating and participating in God's ministry so that when we give, we are investing in the living, thriving, growing Church of Jesus Christ as the connected body of Christ, active and present in the world, reminding others. That God is always present and always active and always generous and always providing. And God then invites us into this circle of grace to participate in God's mission and ministry, God's work. We have many reminders of that right in front of us. We have angel trees, we have shoeboxes, we have golf tournaments. There are so many ways that because of your faithfulness and your generosity, so many people are helped and supported through God's ministry here at Blaine. We are deeply blessed by a generous God, by the one who minted and designed and imprinted us with God's inscription. And in response, To those blessings, people are often creative and responding to God's calling, God's blessings, God's generosity. And by being blessed, they find creative ways to be a blessing. Several weeks ago, a couple approached Pastor Malambri about something called qualified charitable distributions. And they had a conversation with him about it, and the result was that they were delighted about the way this works. Now I am not a CPA, I am not an accountant, but I am delighted when other people understand these things and share them. And they were delighted about the way it works as a win-win for them and their tax liability, and in turn, how it could then. help them and give them joy through their increasing their giving to support the church and God's mission and ministry. So it was a win-win and they were so excited about it. And then just recently two different families came in to talk about something called estate planning and their desire to include Blaine Memorial in those decisions. So that they could continue to be a part of and bless and support the ministry of God's work here at Blaine, even after their course on this earth is finished and their membership is one day transferred to the church triumphant. There is that eternity again, living eternal life now. One day we will live it differently. But they were very excited about finding a way to continue to be a part of supporting the local church and the ministries. And then there was another creative idea. Someone expressed interest in reducing the amount owed on the Oliver's Lodge property. Now, what they explained was that they understood that the payments. That are made from savings, then reduce the investment income that generates additional funds. So their understanding was it's a very valuable property and it will enhance the ministry here at Blaine in the near future and in the long term. So they proposed a challenge which we are now going to share with you. The challenge was that if at least fifty giving units, that's unit, not individuals, but if at least fifty giving units in the church will do two things, then they will make a contribution of fifty thousand dollars to reduce the debt on Oliver's Lodge property. Formerly Oliver's Lodge, it's now Blaine property, but that's how we refer to it. So here are the two things that they propose to challenge us: to have the giving unit total 27 financial commitment on the estimate of giving card be more than the 2026 commitment, and one other thing, include some financial commitment to help pay off the debt. on the Oliver's Lodge debt. So basically two things. Increase the overall financial commitment and include something toward the debt reduction of the debt on the land, which ultimately reduces the debt and unlocks an additional $50,000 that would go toward that debt. Those are just a few of the ways That people have expressed that they become creative in participating and being a part of God's mission and ministry. And there are so many other ways. Stewardship is a lifestyle, it is something we live and we do every day. There is a financial piece of it, but that's a piece of it. Stewardship is our entire lives, recognizing. That everything we have comes from God, and we give back to God to support God's church and God's ministry. We have been deeply blessed by a generous God who lavishly entrusts His resources to be cared for by us, God's stewards, to continue the work of the mission and ministry of God's church. Let us pray. God, we thank you. We thank you for all that you have provided. The things that we render to you, all of them are acts of love and kindness, feeding the hungry, supporting your church in so many ways. And we understand that all of that is eternal tender. You are almighty and sovereign, and we gather before you this day acknowledging that you are the Lord of all creation. Everything we have belongs to you. You have knit us together, you have stamped us with your divine likeness, and you have named and claimed us and you call us your own, and then you invite us into this your ministry. As we hear and reflect on your word, we confess that we often struggle to navigate the demands of this world while staying true to your kingdom. By your transforming grace, forgive us and teach us what it truly means to render our whole selves back to you. Gracious God, we thank you for the countless ways you pour out your goodness into our lives. Remind us daily that we are blessed to be a blessing to the world around us. Empower us to pour out your grace and your peace in every setting. Lord, hear our prayers for those who are sick, grieving, anxious, or lonely. Fill them with your comfort. Use us as instruments of and reminders of your healing presence, of your love and Your generosity. O Lord, receive our lives as an offering of gratitude as we offer them back to you in glad and generous service. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus the Christ who taught us to say when we pray, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.