WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
October 19th 2008
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“God and Taxes”
Stewardship Season: Reordering Our Lives
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22
For the next six weeks we are going to talk about the last sacred cow for Christians in North America. That topic is money. When preachers and I included myself, usually talk about money we do it a setting that has something to do with the churches operating budget – our annual campaign. I believe this is a grievous injustice because it does not truly help us to grasp the radical nature of stewardship. When we connect stewardship with funding our operating budget we are at risk to faulty thinking. The first problem is that we begin to believe stewardship is about giving our money to keep the church running. Connected to this is the belief that Westminster doesn’t really need the money because we have an endowment. As a result one of the basic spiritual disciplines of Christianity is neglected.
The spiritual practice of giving is really under assault in our consumer culture. In a consumer culture we expect something in return for our generosity, or for our dollar. In a consumer culture when we give we expect that our wants will be cared for appropriately. When this does not happen in the marketplace we will demand that management make it right. If we do not get what we order we have the right to demand restitution. There is nothing wrong with this in the marketplace but you might be able to see how this could cause problems in a community of faith. In this consumer culture we need to spend far more time reordering our understanding to become imitators of Christ.
When writing to the church at Thessalonica Paul is speaking about the basics of faith which are founding on practice of imitation. It is an imitation which begins with Jesus and continues throughout the community of faith. Paul praises this community and reminds them of the importance of continuing with the basics. The faith we share in Christ is founded on gratitude which is nurtured through prayer, bible study, worship and serving others. In other words, it begins with the knowledge that all we have and all we are is a gift from God. It is a radically different message than what we are nurtured in our consumer culture. The praise that Paul offers for the community goes beyond their faithfulness and extends to their faithfulness witness. By their imitation of Paul, others can see how their lives have been transformed. Nowhere is this more evident than in Jesus encounter with the Pharisees.
“Is it lawful to pay taxes?” It is a trap that is set up for Jesus. It is like asking: “When did you stop beating your children?” There is no way to answer the question which does not get you into trouble. If Jesus says “yes” then the crowd will consider him just another sell out to the empire. If Jesus says “no” then he will become an enemy of the state and subject to death. It is not an easy place to be. But it is the sort of question which divided those in positions of power and the majority of the people. So instead of answering the question Jesus changes the conversation. He challenges those entrenched on both sides of the issue to imagine that the world is not so fixed.
“Give me a denarius.” And Jesus begins the lesson, like any skilled educator, with a question. ‘Whose head and whose title is on this coin?’ His testers do not catch the trick in his question because they answer as if it is simply one question. The face on the coin is indeed Caesars but the title says that Caesar is God, sovereign. And it is on this point that everything changes. The religious leadership have become so tied to the power structures that they no longer notice the money they use is blasphemy. The title given to this political figure is to be reserved for God alone. And Jesus reveals this with his simple words: “give to God what is God’s and Caesar what is Caesars.”
Jesus words are so astounding that his detractors leaves speechless and impressed. Unfortunately his words do not really resolve the issue of whether or not we should pay taxes. For that matter he does not give a clear answer for how to sort out what belongs to the emperor and what belongs to God. What Jesus does do is to put the question back upon the crowd, and back upon us to decide where the boundaries of each realm.
To venture an understanding of all of this we have to begin with the simple truth that Jesus does not answer many questions for those of us living in a democratic state. The best of our tradition has helped us navigate these waters by beginning with the knowledge that human beings bear the image and likeness of God and as such we belong to God. As such our ultimate loyalty is always reserved for God. Nothing can come before God, not even the emperor. That is why Christians must always be wary of politicians of any stripe, they want our ultimate loyalty and as God’s children we cannot give it. So while Jesus does not answer the question about taxes he does answer the issue of ultimate authority and ultimate loyalty.
We no longer have an emperor but we do have people and entities that compete for our ultimate loyalty. The economy- money – consumerism – all have begun to trample on the image of God in each person by turning us into commodities to be bought and sold. And as good consumers we act and react through a lens that sees our money, our life, our decisions as just that; ours. We earned it, or inherited it, and as a result we are the ultimate arbiter of how it will be used and spent. Autonomous consumers whose only restraint is the amount of money and credit we can obtain. But as Christians we must reject this sort of thinking which divides us into autonomous individuals who bear no responsibility for one another.
The God we know in Jesus Christ welcomes all people to come and follow. But this invitation is not without responsibility. As followers of Jesus the way we live and the decisions we make about money is always a spiritual issue. If we are able to put a little away for ourselves and give a little for Gods work it will mean we will be less able to participate in the consumptive madness of our age. But more importantly it will help us to change our focus and relationship with money. Even in tight times – the symbolism of saying I will save this little bit and give this little bit for God’s work – is a sign of defiance to the powers that want us to continue, thoughtlessly, to be consumers of the next thing.
And since there is a bit of talk these days about taxes, if I did not say something about it I suppose it would be irresponsible. I am not maker of policy and as a minister, preacher, I do not have a suggestion on the right way to deal with taxes. However, I do have something to say. As followers of Jesus we need to enter that conversation from a different angle. Our support or rejection of tax policy cannot be based on primarily how it affects us. As Christians we cannot enter this conversation from a selfish perspective. Instead we must always begin with how this affects the widows, orphans, aliens; the most vulnerable in society. As we seek to be good stewards and reorder our lives we must be ever vigilant for the struggle being waged for our loyalty. God has created us to be more than consumers, we are children of God and as such it is my prayer that we will be transformed each day as we struggle against the powers that keep us from living faithfully in our whole lives, especially with money. Amen? Amen!
October 19th 2008
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“God and Taxes”
Stewardship Season: Reordering Our Lives
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22
For the next six weeks we are going to talk about the last sacred cow for Christians in North America. That topic is money. When preachers and I included myself, usually talk about money we do it a setting that has something to do with the churches operating budget – our annual campaign. I believe this is a grievous injustice because it does not truly help us to grasp the radical nature of stewardship. When we connect stewardship with funding our operating budget we are at risk to faulty thinking. The first problem is that we begin to believe stewardship is about giving our money to keep the church running. Connected to this is the belief that Westminster doesn’t really need the money because we have an endowment. As a result one of the basic spiritual disciplines of Christianity is neglected.
The spiritual practice of giving is really under assault in our consumer culture. In a consumer culture we expect something in return for our generosity, or for our dollar. In a consumer culture when we give we expect that our wants will be cared for appropriately. When this does not happen in the marketplace we will demand that management make it right. If we do not get what we order we have the right to demand restitution. There is nothing wrong with this in the marketplace but you might be able to see how this could cause problems in a community of faith. In this consumer culture we need to spend far more time reordering our understanding to become imitators of Christ.
When writing to the church at Thessalonica Paul is speaking about the basics of faith which are founding on practice of imitation. It is an imitation which begins with Jesus and continues throughout the community of faith. Paul praises this community and reminds them of the importance of continuing with the basics. The faith we share in Christ is founded on gratitude which is nurtured through prayer, bible study, worship and serving others. In other words, it begins with the knowledge that all we have and all we are is a gift from God. It is a radically different message than what we are nurtured in our consumer culture. The praise that Paul offers for the community goes beyond their faithfulness and extends to their faithfulness witness. By their imitation of Paul, others can see how their lives have been transformed. Nowhere is this more evident than in Jesus encounter with the Pharisees.
“Is it lawful to pay taxes?” It is a trap that is set up for Jesus. It is like asking: “When did you stop beating your children?” There is no way to answer the question which does not get you into trouble. If Jesus says “yes” then the crowd will consider him just another sell out to the empire. If Jesus says “no” then he will become an enemy of the state and subject to death. It is not an easy place to be. But it is the sort of question which divided those in positions of power and the majority of the people. So instead of answering the question Jesus changes the conversation. He challenges those entrenched on both sides of the issue to imagine that the world is not so fixed.
“Give me a denarius.” And Jesus begins the lesson, like any skilled educator, with a question. ‘Whose head and whose title is on this coin?’ His testers do not catch the trick in his question because they answer as if it is simply one question. The face on the coin is indeed Caesars but the title says that Caesar is God, sovereign. And it is on this point that everything changes. The religious leadership have become so tied to the power structures that they no longer notice the money they use is blasphemy. The title given to this political figure is to be reserved for God alone. And Jesus reveals this with his simple words: “give to God what is God’s and Caesar what is Caesars.”
Jesus words are so astounding that his detractors leaves speechless and impressed. Unfortunately his words do not really resolve the issue of whether or not we should pay taxes. For that matter he does not give a clear answer for how to sort out what belongs to the emperor and what belongs to God. What Jesus does do is to put the question back upon the crowd, and back upon us to decide where the boundaries of each realm.
To venture an understanding of all of this we have to begin with the simple truth that Jesus does not answer many questions for those of us living in a democratic state. The best of our tradition has helped us navigate these waters by beginning with the knowledge that human beings bear the image and likeness of God and as such we belong to God. As such our ultimate loyalty is always reserved for God. Nothing can come before God, not even the emperor. That is why Christians must always be wary of politicians of any stripe, they want our ultimate loyalty and as God’s children we cannot give it. So while Jesus does not answer the question about taxes he does answer the issue of ultimate authority and ultimate loyalty.
We no longer have an emperor but we do have people and entities that compete for our ultimate loyalty. The economy- money – consumerism – all have begun to trample on the image of God in each person by turning us into commodities to be bought and sold. And as good consumers we act and react through a lens that sees our money, our life, our decisions as just that; ours. We earned it, or inherited it, and as a result we are the ultimate arbiter of how it will be used and spent. Autonomous consumers whose only restraint is the amount of money and credit we can obtain. But as Christians we must reject this sort of thinking which divides us into autonomous individuals who bear no responsibility for one another.
The God we know in Jesus Christ welcomes all people to come and follow. But this invitation is not without responsibility. As followers of Jesus the way we live and the decisions we make about money is always a spiritual issue. If we are able to put a little away for ourselves and give a little for Gods work it will mean we will be less able to participate in the consumptive madness of our age. But more importantly it will help us to change our focus and relationship with money. Even in tight times – the symbolism of saying I will save this little bit and give this little bit for God’s work – is a sign of defiance to the powers that want us to continue, thoughtlessly, to be consumers of the next thing.
And since there is a bit of talk these days about taxes, if I did not say something about it I suppose it would be irresponsible. I am not maker of policy and as a minister, preacher, I do not have a suggestion on the right way to deal with taxes. However, I do have something to say. As followers of Jesus we need to enter that conversation from a different angle. Our support or rejection of tax policy cannot be based on primarily how it affects us. As Christians we cannot enter this conversation from a selfish perspective. Instead we must always begin with how this affects the widows, orphans, aliens; the most vulnerable in society. As we seek to be good stewards and reorder our lives we must be ever vigilant for the struggle being waged for our loyalty. God has created us to be more than consumers, we are children of God and as such it is my prayer that we will be transformed each day as we struggle against the powers that keep us from living faithfully in our whole lives, especially with money. Amen? Amen!
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