October 16 Sermon

The right idea will fly.

So says a billboard in Bridgeport, depicting the Wright brothers testing the world’s first successful airplane. It is part of the campaign of the Foundation for a Better Life which began as a simple idea to promote positive values, and is best known for the billboards we see. As I saw the picture I was reminded of a story about their invention…

One day during the early history of the airplane, the Wright brothers were working in their shop. Suddenly, something outside caught Wilbur's eye and he ran to the window. Running outside, Wilbur yelled back, "Orville! Come out here! Look, another aviator is using our patent!"

Orville came running out to see a figure soaring high in the sky. "He certainly is," Orville confirmed. "That's our three-axis control, with simultaneous warping and steering."

"Call the police!" Wilbur shouted. "I'm going to our attorney's! We'll file an injunction immediately! That flyer can't do that to us!"

But Orville, who had been watching through his binoculars, gently restrained his brother. "Hang on, Wilbur. Forget the attorney," he said. "It's a duck."

I don’t know if this story is true or apocryphal, but it does speak to the Gospel for today, about human invention and the source of everything: God.

“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”

Jesus moves the conversation of paying taxes to the emperor from what the Herodians and Pharisees wanted to hear, a trap that Jesus couldn’t escape, to a deeper level of truth. Yes, give to the emperor that which is the emperor's, it’s his picture on the coin, give it back to the emperor. And give to God that which is God's.

In his response, Jesus is not saying, "give to the Emperor those things that are the Emperor's, and the rest to God." Nor is Jesus saying, "give to the Emperor the worldly things and give to God the spiritual things."

These statements would put Caesar equal to God, and Jesus would never make the Emperor or his stuff into a golden calf, another thing to be worshipped…

We may give our money back to the government, to the Emperor in the form of taxes, we pay bills with it, we spend it, we save it. But the almighty dollar isn’t almighty, and it belongs to God just as assuredly as we do.

“Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”

For God created everything that is & by God’s will they were created and have their being. Everything is part of God’s creation. We are made in the image of God. So the answer that Jesus gives, remind us that we owe God everything, & we owe God our lives: how we live them, how we give them away, it’s all important.

The miracle of flight begins with God, with the duck naturally flying and in the invention & genius of the Wright Brothers and their airplane. Both are truly gifts from God. It’s not about holding on to what we have or to defend it, but to share with our world all the gifts that we have.

So the right question to ask, as Bishop Andy Doyle puts it is, “If all things are God's, how does God want me to use everything?”

Be a talent for creating great food, or signing, or fixing things around here, or reaching out to mentor a child, or to invent, it should make us ponder and think about how God would have me help others with what I have been given. How do I as a steward of God's stuff in my life, understand and enact the kingdom of God through what I do with them? (another way of putting it)

There are emperors in our lives that demand many things of us. Be that at our workplaces, be they the government, even friends, there are many things in our lives that act like Caesar and demand of us our time, talent and even treasure.

Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s…

But we are not to see in those places and those people the true control of our lives, and make them our God. We need not make fortresses to protect what we have done and then give only small offerings to God who has created all things and brings life into the world.

Render unto God the things that are God’s…

What Jesus has done these past few weeks in the parables and again today, is to remind us that God invites us into a sacred relationship with the gardener, with the vineyard owner, with the host of the great banquet, the holy one who is God, the Creator of life. And we are given the privilege of serving as stewards for all the gifts so freely given to us.

All things come from thee O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee, words from King David that we use every week at the 8 AM service. All things come from God and we have the honor to use such gifts as God wishes us to use all things of God’s creation, for it is only then will we soar with God. Amen.

Sermon: October 19

Humpty Dumpty sat on Wall Street…

As one person has put it:

THE financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.

So ... I’ve been buying American stocks. Why?

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors, but fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense.

These words are from the Billionaire investor Warren Buffett in an opinion column in the NY Times on Thursday. He is right. We are living in a time of fear. We are waiting for the other shoe to drop…

Already pension plans have lost much; having talked with my mom the other day who is retired, she is watching money evaporate from her 401(k), sitting on a house she wants to sell but there are no buyers and there is no credit for those who might want to buy. Some have called this the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression; many of us are feeling the weight of anxiety.

Despite the grim financial news, with small businesses hurting, and everybody weary of the volatility and the crisis in home mortgages, there remains a hopefulness…

Buffett sees the hopeful signs in the sound companies that will ultimately help us get through these times. I agree with him, these businesses are good and helpful, and yet we as Christians, must place our hopefulness & faithfulness elsewhere…

The Israelites had experienced a crisis of faith when Moses went up the mountain. They had experienced moments of hunger and thirst and wondered what the days ahead would be like. There was much anxiety. After Moses went up the mountain and did not return, they began to lose their way and they created a golden calf to worship, to lead them; it was something tangible to hold on to as they had forgotten what God had done for them. They preferred the now, forgot the past and did not look forward to what God had promised.

After the calf was destroyed and those who had worshipped it were removed from the community, we hear Moses in today’s reading asking God directly to lead, asking what was next and to walk with the Israelites. And God responded to his faithful questions; each time Moses responded more boldly in his prayers and each time God responded.

It is Moses who embodies that hopefulness and faithfulness we are called to live. The reading reminds me that as we pray, we are called to pray boldly, that indeed God is with us and will answer. But it also reminds me that we must beware of the Golden Calves that exist all around us that make us “rich in things but poor in soul.”

And it is Jesus who reminds us what our priority needs to be. “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Jesus has moved the conversation of paying taxes to the emperor to a deeper level of truth. Yes, give to the emperor that which is the emperor's, in a sense give it back to the emperor. And give to God that which is God's. The emperor may collect his coin for taxes but we are made in the image of God and owe to God much, much more. What it means, is that we owe God, as Jesus implies, we owe God our life. How we live it, how we give it away.

Jesus calls us to live in this world by the values that God has given us. Jesus is not saying, "give to the Emperor those things that are the Emperor's, and the rest to God." Nor is Jesus saying, "give to the Emperor the worldly things and give to God the spiritual things."

Both of these statements put the Emperor equal to God. It is the second part of Jesus' answer that we need to examine, to give to God those things that are God's, for God created everything that is. And so it is the living out of our deepest held beliefs and convictions that connects us with the God who made us. We may give our money back to the government in the form of taxes, we pay bills with it, we spend it, we save it. But the almighty dollar isn’t almighty, and it belongs to God just as assuredly as we do.

Too often our hopes revolve around our money. It is a possession and too often it possesses us.

So in this time when we consider our stewardship of our money, how we spend it, we need to consider how we honor God, how we give to God the things that are God’s, and how our wealth is used for the glory of God. We live in these anxious times and in a culture that does not believe in generosity that sells things based not on our need, but on our insecurities so we’ll buy their products. We live in a scarcity culture where there is not enough and we have to hoard what we do have. The Emperor is not only government but is really anything that draws us away from giving to God fully…

And it is so easy in this economic downturn to hold on to everything we have, fearful of what is to come. But God has made us not so we will live in fear, in despair, in scarcity but so we will live in joy, in hope, in love.

I think of John Chrysostom, an early Church father who put it this way, “things themselves do not remain, but their effects do. Therefore we should not be mean and calculating with what we have but give with a generous hand. Look at how much people give to players and dancers – why not give just as much to Christ?”

Chrysostom words written some 1600 years ago, ring true today…look how much we give to watch a sporting event, go to a concert, go to the theater, look at how much we spend on entertainment (on players and dancers) than consider what we give to the Church, what we give to other charitable organizations.

We often give to our Emperors our first fruits and give what remains to God, but what would our spending look like if we gave to God first rather than last? What if we refused to buy into the scarcity way of thinking from the culture of the Emperor, and instead believed in the bounty and generosity that God has given us?

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” What if we dared to pray to God to give us a generous spirit, and a hopeful heart in the midst of these times?

Around the world today Christians from all walks of life are praying to God and asking their Emperors, their representatives in government to not only bail out the rich and mighty, but to remember the poor and needy, the neighbor nearby and far away.

Let us join in that prayer [Micah Challenge - see above post].

Jesus did not give us a blueprint on how to give to God, but he gave us a way to live: a loving heart, a generous hand, a faithful spirit.

May God bless us and guide us to do just that in our lives today. Amen.