sermons

Light bearers (Sermon November 9, 2014)

Matthew 25:1–13 (NRSV)

The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

Lamp of Wisdom Waterperry Gardens Oxfordshire, Great Britian

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

There is something special about weddings. Yesterday I had the privilege to attend a wedding of a good friend and his now wife. It was a traditional wedding, nothing super special about it except for a couple of things. First it was a good friend’s wedding and I got to help with the celebration. Second the minister did something that was pretty profound, he asked those that gathered who is the most important people at the wedding. There were several answers, the funniest was when someone said Jesus and the pastor said that is a good answer but not right. I was sitting there wondering where he was going with this question and he turned to the crowd and started naming off names of the children and asked each child, including Albert to come up to the front. As the children gathered he said these children are the most important people at this wedding because it is these children that will look at the love story being played out before them and if the couple loves deeply and correctly it is the children in that room that will benefit the most.

I was amazed by that short little part of the ceremony. That is one of the most profound and correct things about marriage that I have ever heard. It is not only about the couple, but it is about the community. Encouraging and strengthening the community as a whole through the love that each family shares with each other. I spent the rest of the evening just thinking about that, that one statement changed everything I thought I was going to say today. We join together in marriage for the children of the community not out of love, not out of the potential for more children, but to strengthen the understanding and to become examples of the love God has for each person to those already in the room.

As I considered that statement, I reexamined this parable of the ten virgins through a different perspective. Often I read this passage and get stuck focusing on the wise women and the foolish women, but I think those women are just illustrations for something much deeper, something that goes down to the very heart of humanity as a whole. Often we get caught up in a narrow view of marriage, we get too focused on the family and fail to see how our commitment to a spouse strengthens families and communities in areas we may never know. I think I have missed this before because I look at this story through the lenses of our culture, and fail to understand what marriage meant to a Middle Eastern culture two-thousand years ago.

The first thing we need to understand is why there are ten virgins heading out to meet a bridegroom. I am almost embarrassed to say that most of my life I assumed that the bride groom was choosing his bride from these ten women, but that is not at all what is going on. In the ancient customs of marriage the community was very involved in every aspect of the ceremony. Negotiations were made between the families, prices were set, and debating going on between the parents of those to be wed. When all of the negotiations were settled, the bridegroom would be able to take his wife into his home. For many of us we see this as a terrible situation because it seems to treat women like property and not equals, but we are looking at things through cultural lenses instead of reality. The negotiations were made not only for the transfer of wealth but as a sort of insurance policy. Although the wealth was transferred into the man’s house the woman had the final say in how that portion of their combined wealth could be used. In many cases, the women would carry this wealth on their head coverings, hanging coins from their veils for all to see. If the woman’s wealth was used it was often scandalous, because this wealth was similar to what we know as life insurance, it was to be used in emergencies or if the husband died.

But that does not tell us why the ten women were out there getting the bridegroom. These women are what we would now call bridesmaids, their job in the ceremony was to go to the bridegroom’s house to escort him and his family to the bride’s house where the wedding feasts would begin. So these bridesmaids are told that the negotiations have been settled and the feast can begin, so they gather their lamps and go to the man’s house to bring him to collect his bride. So these ten virgins are not the bride, they are only representatives sent by the bride.

As always the characters in the stories that Jesus tells have important things to say to us. The bride is the church, the bridesmaids are those who minister in and through the church. I bring this up because often we see our personal relationship with God as being the most important thing about the Christian life, but that is not exactly the case, it is the church that is the bride not us. We are the bridesmaids. We are the representatives sent out by the bride to escort the bridegroom and his family to her. Yes our personal relationship with God is import but that is not the whole story.

Jesus goes on to say that there are different types of women in this group the wise and the foolish. The wise virgins grab their lamps as well as a flask of oil, where the foolish only grab their lamps. The lamp is an important illustration. In the days before street lights nights were very different. Only the moon and the stars provided light to illuminate the darkness unless you had a lamp to cast light. In the ancient cultures women would tend the lamps, and they would keep them burning all night often waking throughout the night to add oil so that the flame would continue to burn.

Well these women were waiting on the bridegroom to come, because he was delayed, they grew tired and fell asleep. I want us to reflect on this for a bit. They were holding their lamps but they fell asleep allowing the light to diminish, they stopped tending their lamps as they should and were caught off guard for the announcement. This is where our personal relationship with God becomes very important.

There are several interpretations of what the lamp and the oil mean throughout the history of the church. But through each of those interpretations there is a common theme. Salvation means something more. If the bride is the church, and we are the brides maids our job is to be light bearers we are to carry the lamps filled with oil to escort Jesus, and the community to the bride. We are to bear the light. There is something very profound in that, to bear light means that there is work that has to be done. We must tend the lamps, keeping the wicks trimmed so that smoke does not overcome the light, and we must keep the oil filled. Throughout Christian history they have said that this is a balance between works and faith. The oil is our faith and the filling of the oil is our personal relationship with God, because it is God’s spirit that is the oil and it is the oil that burns creating the light. The Lamp that we carry is the ministry and the works that we do to carry the light of Christ within us out into the community.

Jesus makes mention of half of the virgins as being wise and half foolish. Both the wise and the foolish carry lamps. But some neglected to bring oil with them. All people can do good works, all people can minister to other and shine light, but eventually their stocks of oil will run out and the light will fade away. Those without oil will cry out to the others but they will not have enough to go around so they will have to run to find it. Those that have oil will tend to their lamps and will escort the community to the feast.

This is interesting, because both groups of women were tired and asleep, and suddenly brought back to awareness. We never know when we will be called into action, but are we prepared to carry the light? God will use those that are prepared. Often we get caught up in carrying lamps of service only to find ourselves burning out, or we are focused on stockpiling oil but never carrying the lamp. Both cases we are not in a position to be bearers of light, at least for long. This is where discernment is very important, and the only way to have this sort of discernment is if we participate in the holy rhythm of life that Jesus taught us. Making it our custom to worship together, withdrawing to isolated places to pray, and going out into the community to minister and serve. The worship together ignites our passions and sets our heart ablaze. It is during worship where our wicks get trimmed and together we can encourage one another to continue on. These gatherings may not always look the same, passions that ignite our hearts can come in many different forms, we can be ignited to burn for the environmental movement, or for tax reform, or any other ministry that promotes our communities, but if there is not an adequate supply of oil the lamp will burn down and eventually fade. That is where a disciplined life of pray comes in. it is in those times of prayer, study, and mediation where we are filled and gain reserves of the oil of the spirit.

You might argue with that statement and say but we are filled with passion during worship, but what happens if you miss a day or several meeting for worship? If we are not personally engaged in a life of prayer eventually our reserves will diminish. When we do not actively engage a life of prayer when tough times hit us we cannot bear light because we cannot see because the oil is gone and we are burning a dry wick. Worship gets us excited to serve, Pray gives us discernment on where and when we are called to serve, but we are not bearers of light if we do not get out of ourselves to carry the light to those around us. Just like that minister said in the wedding that my family attended last evening, the bride and groom bear the light of love to the community so should we be bearing that light, the light of God’s love to our community.

If we neglect this holy rhythm, we will one day be called to minister and we will have nothing to offer like the foolish virgins without the oil. We will be forced to run out to find the oil we need but in the process we will lose the chance to become bearers of the light, we lose the opportunity to celebrate in the joys of the wedding feast. All because we were too focused on other things, we had our lamps but they were empty.

This parable struck me hard this week. It speaks of priorities and passions, it speaks of discipleship and discernment, and it speaks of the joys of service. It has caused me to look at what I have been doing and made me wonder if maybe I am not as wise as I would like to think. But then I saw little children gathered around a couple dressed in white, looking them in the eyes, hoping for a chance to see love played out before them. I began to ask myself, what are we as a community really showing the world around us? Are we bearers of light, or just another smoldering smoky wick?

Love God with All You Have and All You Are (Sermon October 26, 2014)

Matthew 22:34–46 (NRSV)

The Greatest Commandment

(Mk 12:28–34; Lk 10:25–28)

Dallas Willard RESOURCES http://www.dwillard.org Renovation of the Heart

³⁴ When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, ³⁵ and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” ³⁷ He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ⁴² “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,

⁴⁴    ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

⁴⁵ If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” ⁴⁶ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Last week we were faced with one of the hardest realities that we must face as followers of Christ. The idea that all that we have really is not ours is something very difficult to consider. That concept that I am sure most of us would rather not dwell on because it goes against much of what we have grown to accept in our cultural identity. There is a reason that it is necessary to bring that concept to light again and again as we traverse the pathway toward eternity, because only when we begin to recognize the reality of stewardship over ownership can we begin to see beyond ourselves to see the image of Christ that is in all people. That one concept defines who is Lord in your life, and I admit that I struggle with that concept daily. I want to own, I want to call something mine, I want to be in control of my own destiny, and to blaze the trail of my own life. I want to be lord… I want to be lord.

Do you see why this simple concept of stewardship verse ownership can be dangerous?

The Pharisees came to Jesus asking Him questions and testing His teachings against their understanding of the Law. They liked how He silenced their opponents in the influence over people. But they needed to determine if He should be considered an ally or an enemy. So one of their leaders, a person that knew the Law intimately, came forward and asked, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” This question is one that is very similar to the concept of ownership verses stewardship, because at the heart of the question is the idea of control and lordship. What commandment is most important? They ask this question so that I can make sure that one thing could be covered allowing them control over every other aspect of their lives. This question is very important and speaks deeply into the spiritual condition of the first century culture in which Jesus made His advent. There has been a shift from the traditional and historical understanding of faith to something a bit more secular. A few years ago we watched a video called, “Everything is Spiritual” and in that video we were given a view that in ancient Israel there was not a division between that that is spiritual and that that is natural. That true spirituality is holistic incorporating every aspect of who we are as human beings. But this question the Pharisees ask shows an emergence of the compartmentalized human. There is an emergence of an idea that one can separate out and personally own one aspect of our lives and still be considered holy as long as we follow the most important commandments. Where did this foreign concept come from and how did it gain ground among a people set apart for the glory of God? This concept came from the western world, the Greek and Roman influence over the people. This idea of a compartmentalized man comes from the polytheistic culture where one can live as you want as long as you bring sacrifices to the temple to appease the gods.

Jesus answers them saying, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Have you really considered what that command is actually saying? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind? In the Gospel of Mark and Luke the same conversation is recorded and they add one other phrase, “with all your strength.” This concept is not new to Jesus but has always been the law, a concept alluded to at least three times in Deuteronomy, but what does it really mean?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart. The concept of the heart is one with very deep spiritual significance, and there is a reason that it is the first in the list every time this concept is alluded to in scripture. The heart was seen as the center of the man, that core or the very essence of who you are. The heart is the rhythm or the beat to which your life revolves. The wisdom of Solomon says guard your heart with vigilance for from it flows the springs of life. Protect the heart, guard it with vigilance because that is the core or the source of who you are. Now they did not have the medical knowledge we have today, but they knew that there was something very important about the heart because when the heart stopped everything else did as well. The ancient understanding of the heart was that all or our hopes and dreams, our passions and our temptations came from that central beat of the heart. It was necessary to guard our heart not because it was the source of evil but because what we allow deep in the core of our being will be pumped throughout. Love the Lord your God with all your heart means make God central above everything else, allow the spirit of God to course through the veins and capillaries of your life, saturating every aspect of who you are. Letting the rhythm of God become the beat by which you live your life.

Love the Lord your God with all your Soul. The concept of the soul is one of spirit or breath. So love God with every breath. May the love of God will every word that we speak, and may the love of God be a fragrance that we inhale and exhale. It is the breath that connects us to the world around us, it is the air that is filled with the spirit of God from the ancient Jewish point of view. That is why the law required their clothing to have a fringe to represent a connection to the spirit that was surrounding them, plugging them into the essences of God.

Love the Lord your God with all your mind. The word translated as mind means thoughts, intentions, and purposes. So to love God with our mind means letting our all of our thought and actions be directed by the wisdom and spirit of God.

So Love the Lord your God with all your Heart, Soul, and Mind literally means every aspect of your life should be devoted to honoring God. Honoring God from your very core, your thoughts and actions and with how you connect with the world around you. Jesus is telling the Pharisees that they have corrupted the faith, they have brought in foreign concepts of religion into a lifestyle of devotion to God, and that the first thing that they must do is God back to the faith of their fathers. Live, breath, and become a holistic person made complete in the relationship with God.

We live in a culture that likes to compartmentalize our lives. We like to be able to have our business life, family life, religious life, social life each aspect of our life divided up into nice little boxes where that are easily managed. We like to be lord. Jesus is telling us that that kind of existence is contrary to the life God intends for us to live. That type of life is disconnected and dead, there is no rhythm, no breath, and no mind. This is the very thing that the early Friends saw when they rebelled against the Church of England, a life that was disconnected and compartmentalized. Where people could have facades that they would wear into the steeple houses that were religious and then a totally different face when they went out and lived the other six days of the week. So they said that all of life should be a sacrament, holy and devoted to God.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your Mind. But that is just the beginning. The Pharisees asked for the most important commandment, Jesus gave them two because they are connected. Love your neighbor as yourself. I want us to stop and consider this along with the idea of loving God with all that we have and are, and connect it to the concept of ownership and stewardship. If we are lord the core of what we do is devoted to building ourselves up, but if God is at the core of who we are then the things of God would then be the purpose of everything that we do. Last week Jesus taught us to give the emperor what is the emperor’s and what is God’s to God. It was mentioned last week during our time of open worship that the image of the emperor was stamped on the currency but the image of God is stamped on the human. That image is stamped on every human. So if God is at the core of all that we have then we give all that we have to honor His image that is in every human around us.

Think about that for a bit. Let the laws of God flow through your mind, the dietary laws, the laws about mildew on clothing and in buildings, and the laws of hospitality and fair treatment of even the aliens living among the tribes of Israel. Every aspect of the law is devoted to honoring and preserving the image of God that is present in every human life. Take care of the body, take care of the dwelling places, take care of those around you, honor God with everything that you have because all that you have is not yours but God’s, because everything we have is stamped with His image.

This leads us to a very difficult questions, do we do this? Do we nurture and feed that which is God in ourselves and honor that which is God in those around us, not that we ourselves are divine but because we have the image of God within us. Do we divide our lives up into nice little manageable portions in which we can lord over or do we allow the Spirit of God to course through our veins and become the very essence of who we are and what we do? Do we hoard up the things of this earth stamping our image on them and saying that they are our own or do we allow the image of God to seen on every aspect of who we are? Are we living our lives, every aspect of our lives, our work, family, our community, environment, and our faith, as a sacrament and sacrifice to God? Are we honoring the image of God in our neighbor, even if that neighbor is different than us in some way?

These are very tough questions and if we are honest we each would have to say no. No. Each one of us in some way has failed to love God completely. Each one of us has failed to allow God to completely weld every aspect of our lives together so that we can completely honor God and love our neighbor. But there is hope. Jesus came because we as humans cannot do this alone, all have fallen short, but Jesus who is fully human and fully God did it for us. He took on our humanity, lived the perfect human life for us so that those that call on his name can be joined into his humanity and stand complete before God, not by ourselves but in Him. And if we seek to join Him in His life He will empower us to be made more like Him, molding us to become the people we were created to be, complete in him to love God completely and to love our neighbor. We join Him in his life by making it our customer to worship to or to acknowledge that we are not God. By taking time to withdraw from our daily grind to join with him in prayer in an isolated place speaking to the Father and being filled and directed by the Spirit, breathing in the very breath of God and connecting with Him so that we can then be directed to love and to live the love of Christ with others. That rhythm of life, that holy rhythm shown to us by Jesus Himself is where we will find the strength and the power to live our lives as a sacrament fully devoted and saturated by God. It is in that lifestyle that we can be covered with the life of Jesus where it is not ourselves but Him that people will see, and we give back to God what is his.

Let us now enter into this time of open worship, seeking to Love God with all of our heart, and with all of our soul, and with all our mind, and be directed in how we can love our neighbor as ourselves.

Who is Lord? (Sermon, October 19, 2014)

Matthew 22:15–22 (NRSV)

The Question about Paying Taxes

(Mk 12:13–17; Lk 20:20–26)

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.

There is an interesting phenomenon that happens in religious groups, something that happens with nearly every type of religious group no matter what the religion is. They make images of a god that meets their personal or corporate desires. In the pagan cultures there were gods of war, goddesses of love, gods of death, and gods of the harvest each of these gods represented facets of our human desires for hope in a seemingly hopeless situation. Around each of these gods cults developed with religious rites and activities that one could participate in to gain favor with whatever deity they needed help from. You may say but that is pagan, in our Judeo-Christian culture we do not have a pantheon of gods like that, we worship one God. There is a problem with that statement because often we focus on an aspect of God more heavily than other aspect and even in our monotheistic faith we have set up images of God that often resemble personal ideologies.

I bring this up because faith and culture seems to be highlighted in the media constantly. For many of us we find this to be a great comfort, for others we find it discouraging. Our response has a lot to do with the image of God that we have idolized. But guess what this is not new in the history of religion. Similar situations like the ones we find ourselves in today have cycled throughout history. It was a cycle such as this that brought about the emergence of the Religious Society of Friends from which our church is rooted, it was a cycle like this that brought about the reformation of the church in the days of Calvin and Luther, it was a cycle such as this that separated the east from the west, it was a cycle like this that the first century Jewish culture in which Jesus lived and ministered to found themselves. These cycles are uncomfortable, they make us question everything about our society and the future of the world as we know it, but it is during these cycles that God brings about a new era and revival.

God is about to do and is doing great things around us. The kingdom of God is about to expand in a way that will lead us into a new era of the Church. But as time cycles on those of us caught in the whirlwind of history are left wondering what He is about to do. We look at the world around us questioning if this is the end or a new beginning. The answer can be found in the image of God that you have based your faith.

The first century, in which Jesus lived, was a social and political hot spot, war was always electrifying the very air that the people breathed, thunder bolts striking at any random moment as the energy ignited. There were groups of people drawn together by common goals and ideas, each of these groups would argue and fight over which was right and if for a moment you did not toe the line you would become a threat and an enemy to the common good as seen in their eyes. In today’s passage we meet two of those groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians, but they are not the only two groups by any stretch of the imagination.

It is important to note these two groups because they are not often seen in the same circles. The Herodians were a faction of people within Israel that supported the royalty of the Herod family. This is important because we often see rule of Herod as being a puppet of Rome, so we often think of the Herodians as being those that supported the rule of Rome. But that is not exactly the full truth. This royal family can trace back to the rebellion of the Maccabees which brought the nation of Israel to independence for the first time since their exile in Babylon. Herod the Great gained this kingdom and title by marrying the last heir of the Hasmonean Dynasty. So although he was a king under the rule of Rome, those that supported his rule and the rule of his heirs were not exactly happy with their overlords, but sought an earthly kingdom of Israel.

The Pharisees are a group we are more aware of, but often our view of them is skewed. The Pharisees wanted to bring about a spiritual and pure nation devoted to the books of the Law and teachings of the prophets. They were missionaries that actually converted gentiles into the Jewish faith. The Herod family was one of those gentile families that converted. The Pharisees set up schools, built synagogues, and took the faith out of the temple and into the communities where people spent their daily lives. But they were strict in their teachings. If you were a member of their synagogues you had to follow strict rules or face consequences.

The Pharisees promoted a theocracy and the Herodians promoted a monarchy. The Pharisees promoted a kingdom based on their teachings, while the Herodians promoted a kingdom based on cultural heritage. Both opposed outside influences from the polytheistic empire that ruled over them.

These two groups usually at odds with each other found common ground in their opposition of Jesus, because Jesus did not meet either groups’ ideologies. So they decided to put Him to the test. Notice how they approach, “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.” They acknowledge that there is truth in what Jesus has to say, yet they reject his teaching. This speak to the image of God that each of the groups hold. They say that He speaks truth because Jesus taught straight out of scripture, but he did not put the same twist on the words that they did. They did not know how to handle his indifference to their idolized images of God. Because He refused to judge people in the same way the Pharisees did He was seen as an enemy of God, and because he did not show partiality to position as the Herodians did again he was seen as an enemy of God. Each group had an image of what God regarded as important and what the anointed messiah would be. The problem with Jesus is that he did not fit in their image.

“Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”  Remember this is a question from the first century not today. Although we can see parallels due to the cyclical nature of history. Is it lawful to pay taxes to a government that you oppose? The conversation continues, “’Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax. ‘And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ 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.’”

I want each of us to really contemplate this discourse, let it soak down into marrow of your being. This exchange speaks deeply to our image of God and His relationship with mankind. It leads us to question where we draw the line between what is holy and what is common. It speaks to our understanding of sacred and secular, spiritual and material. It asks, “Who is the lord of our lives.”

This was not an answer that they expected. Both groups wanted Jesus to take a political stance supporting an independent Israel, but Jesus stepped around the question and made them face the reality that their image of God was nothing more than an idol. Jesus looked them in the eyes and told them that their view of God was in error, that they were chasing after the things of man and totally missing what was important in the eyes of God.

So often we equate success and wealth with God’s favor, but it is what we do with what God has given us that matters. These two groups opposed the government that ruled over them, and justified their rebellion in their religious fervor, but what they were actually supporting was not Godliness but greed. That is why Jesus asked to see the coin, and that is why Jesus asked whose image was on the coin. They wanted to keep their worldly wealth to themselves maybe throwing some out into some charitable cause but ultimately they were living in rebellious greed. They wanted the benefits of living in a system that provided their wealth but rebelled against the demands that system required. We could sit on this for some time debating, but we need to move on.

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” What is the emperor’s and what is God’s? Our image of God, the image that so often times is skewed to justify our own actions, will dictate our answer to this question. But there is an inference In Jesus’ statement that is shocking, “You own nothing!” There can be only one ruler over mankind, man or God, and all that we are and all that we have belongs to one those rulers.

I know we do not like to hear that, especially in America. To speak those words makes me sound like a communist, but it is the truth. How can I say such a thing? I say this because where does all the fruit of our labors go in the end, we ourselves do not take anything with us when we go beyond the veil. All we have will be left to others.

We own nothing but are stewards. A steward in ancient cultures did not own the property they managed but was given the authority to make investments for their lord. So when Jesus says, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” He is asking, “Who is lord?” Are we ruled by the ways of man or are we ruled by God? Do we invest the wealth that has been entrusted to us in the things of man or do we invest in the things of God? Are we building empires of man or expanding the kingdom of God?

How are we answering those questions? Be careful because it may reveal something about our image of God. I hope that it has made us a bit uncomfortable. I hope that these words have caused us to consider, even for a moment, that we might be wrong. I hope that in that discomfort we will be driven to seek an answer.

These were the questions that those of first century faced, and they are questions that we face today. This is the very reason why Jesus came at that moment, because it is in moments like these that the answers shape the future for the next generations. Jesus came to reveal God to us. He came to show us what is important to God and how to live a holy rhythm with Him. He not only show us by the example He has given but provides for us the way to live that life, through Himself. And He is calling each of us to join Him in that life of worship, prayer, and service. Through that holy rhythm we discern how to invest in the kingdom though investing in the lives of the people He has called us to minister to. If we choose to neglect that rhythm we are then ruled by the empires of man.

We own nothing, but are stewards. Are we stewards of man’s empire or of the Kingdom of God? As we enter into a time of Holy Expectancy let us consider this, struggle with the discomfort that it gives us, and consider who our Lord really is. And as we answer that question, ask your lord for wisdom as you invest in the kingdom you choose to live.