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1 St. John's Episcopal Church 61 Broad Street Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201 The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Proper 24A October 16, 2011 A Sermon by the Rev. Joe Parrish “Giving God a Chance” The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 22:15-22 The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they 2 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. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "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 3 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." When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. May we give to you, Lord, our hearts, our hands, our money, our talent, and our time, for then you will bless each of us and our church. Amen. While Christians differ about what we should “render to Caesar”, there has been 4 unanimity among Christians that certain activities belong to God. Sabbath observance was long practiced in the U.S. and Canada, and so-called “blue laws”, promoted Sabbath observance, rest, and a cessation of commercial activities on Sundays. The use of the adjective “blue” probably refers to the 17th century activities of Oliver Cromwell’s supporters in England who were referred to as “blue stockings”, rather than to the notion that such laws were originally printed on blue paper. Only recently, in the last few decades, 5 have such laws been relaxed, with the resumption of commerce and the sale of alcohol on Sundays. There are still some corporations, such as the “Hobby Lobby” stores, which practice Sunday closing as a corporate standard. Some conservative ministers have seen themselves as the arbiters of correct behavior. J. Nichols Adams, an American Baptist pastor and author of LectionAid, had a Scottish friend who told the story of being on holiday and sitting out on the porch of his Bed and Breakfast (hotel) cleaning his hiking 6 boots on a Sunday, when his hostess came out and said “The Minister says would you please stop working on the Sabbath.” “Where is he?” my incredulous friend asked. “Oh, he’s over on the other side of the lake there, but he has a telescope,” the woman answered. [Fear not, I am not going out to buy a telescope!] No doubt you have heard Benjamin Franklin’s famous dictum, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” In today’s gospel passage we see that Jesus would disagree with the old 7 gentleman from Boston. Jesus says, far more certain than either death or taxes is the Torah’s teaching that the God who created this world and us has a far greater claim upon each one of us than either death or taxes. In July, 1846, Massachusetts resident and famous poet Henry David Thoreau was arrested and sentenced to jail for refusing to pay his poll tax. Strongly anti-slavery, Thoreau believed that a moral citizen should refuse to support a pro-slavery government. Also, like all abolitionists of the time, he opposed the 8 War with Mexico, which abolitionists regarded as a means to extend the range of slavery in the United States, Mexico prohibiting slavery and Texas allowing it. Sentenced to remain in jail until he paid his tax, Thoreau was upset when an anonymous citizen paid his poll taxes the very next day, which led to the dissenter’s release. Three years later Throeau wrote his essay in which he reflected upon his reasons for withholding his tax and challenging readers to place their conscience and God above any loyalty to a state they 9 deemed unjust. “The Essay on Civil Disobedience,” largely ignored during the author’s own lifetime, was to achieve worldwide influence through Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Our Diocese has begun reading a new book, “Becoming an Anti-racist Church” written by Joseph Barndt, a Lutheran pastor, who led one of our earliest Antiracism Trainings in our Diocese. His book, published this year, points out the effects of White Privilege, which we who have white skin just take for granted, but which continuously puts 10 down anyone with non-white skin. Dr. Brandt notes that the United States was founded on principles that did not include the issue of slavery as being a gross injustice in the land at the time of the writing of the US Constitution. And our nation has suffered much harm in the subsequent centuries and decades as a result. Coming to terms of what it will mean to have an anti-racist church and an anti-racist society is both our challenge and our incessant desire. During the anti-war protests of the Sixties some conservatives began to 11 display bumper stickers and lapel buttons that proclaimed “America, Love it, or Leave it!” The backlash against protestors was based on the belief that America was such a great nation that any criticism of it was unpatriotic, especially during a war. In their hearts Caesar and God were intermingled, or identical. After 9-11, artist Aaron Fine noted that the American flags, which were often prominently displayed on people’s bumper stickers, over time became very faded so the colors finally were only shades of white. This observation started 12 him on a ten year project that would emphasize the similarities of all 93 nations of the United Nations and downplay their differences—noting that we are all cut from the same cloth of humanity regardless of our national origins. His display of the 93 pale white large flags of all world nations was moved from Vassar College to James Chapel in Union Theological Seminary earlier this year and may be seen hanging from the rafters of that lofty worship space beside Colombia University. Peace would surely be more likely to 13 prevail if we all understood our common humanity better. http://www.whiteflags.net Pastor Robert Kopp quotes an anonymous author in his May sixteenth, 16, nine hundred and ninety nine, 1999, article entitled, "When Patience Runs Out." The writer says, "We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences but less time. We have 14 more degrees but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to our life, not life to our years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space. We've cleaned up 15 the air, but polluted the soul. We've split the atom, but not our prejudice. We have higher incomes but lower morals. We've become long on quantity, but short on quality. These are the times of tall men and short character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition. These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes." What we need is a better example. 16 Jesus Christ is that example. Jesus set priorities straight. He put the horse before the cart. Jesus gave us a guideline of how to order our lives. We are not to ignore government, but neither are we to ignore God who gave us all that we have. As we give God God's due, we put our lives into the harmony of creation and of the eternal. “Ascribe to the Lord the honor due his Name; bring offerings and come into his courts.” Decide today whom we will serve. Amen. 17