Sunday, October 18, 2020

Sunday Sermon - October 18

October 18, 2020
20th Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 45:1-7
Psalm 96:1-9 (10-13)
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22


Please pray with me,

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable and suitable in your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen.  

Alright, friends, it’s another wonderful gospel reading this Sunday. 

As we first read it at our weekly clergy Bible study, we all shuddered just a bit to think about how to preach the good news of Jesus Christ that we hear shared in this text. 

So, let’s get to that good news, shall we? 

It’s going to take a little bit to get us there, but we will get there, together. 

We are still in the Gospel of Matthew and now the Pharisees and the Herodians are trying to entrap Jesus…so they pose this question, that is exactly that: a trap. 

The question, is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not? 

If Jesus says it’s lawful, then he is siding with and supporting the Roman control at the time. 

If he says it’s not lawful, then he’s not following the rules of the land. 


It’s a no win, really.


As General Akbar says in Return of the Jedi, It’s a trap! 

No seriously…it’s a trick question. 

They are trying to entrap Jesus…to find a way to snare him. 

In the words of the Beastie Boys, listen all y’all it’s a sabotage! 


They are looking for a way to catch Jesus off guard, to make him say something that gives them reason to arrest him, to turn him over to authorities and to stop his preaching and teaching. 

But Jesus doesn’t fall for it. 

He doesn’t skip a beat. 

He shifts the conversation on a sharp pivot. 

Leading them to leave amazed…probably thinking what just happened? 

We were asking him about taxes and the emperor…and now we need to think about what is the emperor and what is God’s? 

He sends them of…heads spinning, minds whirling, and thoughts set on fire. 

 

And maybe after initially hearing this passage from the gospel that’s where you are too. 

You heard the words - entrap, Jesus, taxes, hypocrites…maybe other words jumped out for you and you heard them and just started pondering, your head starting spinning, your mind started whirling…and you’re not sure what the right answer is to the question asked of Jesus and what is the gospel lesson about anyway!?! 


Let me stop you right there…because guess what? 

It’s a trap! 


As they ask this question of Jesus, he realizes…I mean he already knew, but here Jesus names that the temple, the holy space, God’s house, is being occupied by the values of the world. 


Let me say that again…the image of the world…through coins, and emperors and taxes are finding their way into the church, and this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, Jesus pushes back. 


Jesus pushes back, as Jesus always does. 

Against the ways of the world that wiggle their way or drive their way into God’s holy space.

 

Jesus pushes back, as Jesus always does.

Against the ways of the world that wiggle their way…or drive their way into God’s holy space. 


In case you didn’t hear it yet, Jesus pushes back…

Against the ways of the world…

Against evils of the world…

Against the devil and all the forces that defy God…

Against the powers of this world that rebel against God…

Against the ways of sin that draw us from God…


Did those last three sound familiar? 

They might have. 

They come straight out of the baptismal liturgy. 


And the cool thing about today?  There will be a baptism, yup. 

Following the service, with just immediate family, to maintain the health and wellness of the littlest among us, we will welcome Owen Henry Brown into the body of Christ…

into the family of God….

into a community of faith that seeks to live out our baptismal calls daily…

into a community of faith, that like Jesus works to reclaim church as a holy and sacred space. 

But to do that…I mean really do that; we need to work together. 


So, let’s work together, right now to claim the holiness of this space, the Body of Christ, the church, gathered together, today. 


Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God? 

If so say, I renounce them.


Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?

If so say, I renounce them.


Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw us from God?

If so say, I renounce them. 


Yes…for this space to be holy and sacred…we must remember to constantly cleanse our hearts and our minds as we are drawn together each week. 


And when this space is sacred…

And when this space is holy…

We are able to actively respond to God’s word and God’s call in our lives and in our world. 


When we are able to gather together in a holy and sacred space, we are able to talk about things that weigh on our hearts and our minds in a place that is guided and guarded by God’s love and grace. 


When we are able to gather together in a holy and sacred space, we are able to listen to and respond to challenging questions, enter into difficult dialogue and work together for the sake of the gospel being at work in the world. 


Friends, if this sacred space doesn’t allow us to hear God’s call for justice and peace…

If this sacred space doesn’t allow us to wrestle with our faith and how to be a faithful Christian in the world today, then the evil is still here…and the devil is at work.


But, big but, BUT….when we gather, on holy ground….open to the world of God and how it may challenge us or comfort us or call us…or do all three to any number of us on a Sunday morning, then we are church together. 


When this ground is holy and sacred, the work of God can be done. 

When this ground is holy and sacred, together, we can live out our baptismal vows. 


Together, we can…

live among God's faithful people,

hear the word of God and share in the Lord's supper,

proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed,

serve all people, following the example of Jesus,

and strive for justice and peace in all the earth. 


That my friends is our response as we were washed in the waters of baptism…

That my friends is who we are called to be, together.

That, my friends, is who we are able to be when we gather on holy ground…

With ears to listen to one another…

With words to respond out of care and compassion to one another…

With hearts to love one another…

And with actions that live out God’s love and God’s grace in the world around us. 


Together, we come to this space. 

Together, we are washed in the waters of baptism.

Together, we are called into the Body of Christ, to live out our baptismal calling. 


Together, we are called to reclaim this place as holy and sacred space…where the cares and worries of the world can be civilly discussed, prayed about and acted upon as we respond to a world in need with God’s love, forgiveness and grace. 


Together, we are church…in the world, where a message of love, forgiveness and grace is so desperately needed. 


Together. 


And now may the peace, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen. 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment