What About Money?
After hearing several parables from Jesus that were accusative of the religious authorities, we now hear them trying to discredit Jesus. The first group is the Pharisees. They try to entrap Jesus by discrediting him in the eyes of the people or get him in trouble with the political authorities with question. They are not arguing from a religious position or challenging Jesus about who he claims to be. They are asking a question in hopes of dispensing with the problem of Jesus completely. We are all familiar with their question about taxes and Jesus’ answer. We also note that Jesus’ response would not work as well in our day. Whose picture is on the coin you pay taxes with? It is probably not a coin but your debit card. While his answer quiets the Pharisees it does not give us much help in answering that question for ourselves. Not necessarily the question about should we pay taxes, we live in a democracy founded, in part, on the concept of, “No taxation without representation.” While we may argue over the amount of taxes and who should pay, we accept that principle. But that is not the question that we need to answer here. That question is, “What is God’s?”
The short answer is, “Everything.” We are reminded of this by the offertory prayers we pray during liturgy. “Merciful Father, with joy and thanksgiving we offer to you what you have first given us, ourselves. Our time, and our possessions,” and “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, maker of all things. . . with them we offer ourselves to your service.” Since all things are God’s we are called to use those gifts to serve God. What does that mean for you? We have some examples in the other texts we read for today. In our text from Isaiah we read about God’s call to Cyrus. Even though Cyrus was not an Israelite, he was chosen by God to free them from their captivity in Babylon. The example of Cyrus gives us two aspects of serving God. First, God calls people to help set free those who are in bondage, and second, that God calls individuals to specific tasks. Who else but Cyrus could have freed the Israelites? The psalm gives us several other ways to serve God. The psalm calls us to sing a new song to God, – a call to turn our life around – praise him, tell of his salvation, extol his creation, and declare his glory to all. Paul gave these same examples in his introduction to first Thessalonians with one more example – to be imitators of Jesus.
That certainly is a broad almost too general list. It is a good starting point to decide how you are to share the gifts you have received from God. It is not just about how you plan to spend your money it is also how you plan to spend your time and how you shape your life. This call comes to you because of the sacrifice Jesus did for you. It comes because God loves you and is giving you a task in the vineyard so you do not end up sitting idly by. Your task that God calls you to is one that you are able to do – God has given you everything you need to perform it. It may include your money. It never is only your money. Look with thanksgiving on all of the gifts God has given and with Jesus discern what God is calling you to do with them. Imitate Jesus, answer God’s call, and proclaim his salvation in all that you say and do.