Don't Be A Pharisee (Stewardship Sunday)
Matthew 22: 15-22
2 Corinthians 9: 6-8
Who would want to be a Pharisee?
We don’t need a degree in theology to know that the 1st-century sect known as the Pharisees don’t come off too well in the Bible. It’s strange in some ways; they were the ultra-religious. They believed the right things – immortality of the soul, resurrection, and afterlife and emphasised ritual purity... trying to obey their interpretation of God’s laws, and calling on others to do the same. You would have thought that they would welcome Jesus.
But Jesus was not the sort of Messiah they were expecting - and the gospels tell the story of the increasing tension and conflict.
· The Pharisees are generally depicted in the gospels as opponents of Jesus, critical of his behaviour, hostile in their questions. Their meticulous observance of rules led to pride, and contempt or condemnation for the less observant. Their piety is attacked as hypocritical, their spiritual leadership declared bankrupt. Surely no one would choose to act like a Pharisee now?
But perversely, it can seem an attractive way of life. Perhaps it is because we like everything tied down, knowing what the rules are (and looking for exceptions!)
That’s not the good news Jesus came to bring, and so it’s not surprising Jesus and the Pharisees fell out...
Turning to our gospel reading.
The background to this is that Jesus and the people lived in an occupied land – Judea was under Roman rule. Roman authority shaped the government and political life, and imposed taxes. This was not popular!
Here we have two groups of people involved: the Pharisees and the Herodians.
· The Pharisees: ardent nationalists, opposed to Roman rule.
· The Herodians: we know little about them, other than, as the name suggests, they supported the Roman rule of Herod.
Not what you would call natural allies, yet now, the Pharisees enlisted the help of the Herodians to try to trap Jesus. After some thinly veiled flattery, they ask their question, hoping to draw Jesus into saying something indiscreet:
“Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
(Matthew 22: 17 NIVUK, 1984 )
This was not an innocent question.
Israel was occupied by the Romans:
· Israel hated foreign rule - some Jews flatly refused to pay the tax, believing that payment was an admission of the Roman right to rule.
· And not everyone had to pay it; only the ‘subject’ peoples, not the Roman citizens. Some translations call this a poll-tax. Think back to Margaret Thatcher’s disliked ‘Community Charge’ in this country, which became known as the ‘Poll Tax’ and resulted in riots in the 1990’s.
· And the image on the Denarius coin was regarded as idolatrous – on one side the head of Emperor Tiberius, on the other (in Latin “Tiberius Emperor Augustus, son of the divine Augustus” – claiming divinity for the emperor.)
To say this tax was unpopular was an understatement.
“Is it right to pay the poll-tax to Caesar or not?”
(Matthew 22: 17 NIVUK, 2011)
This was a “lose-lose” situation:
· If Jesus said “no”, then the Herodians would report him to the Roman Governor as a troublemaker and rebel. He might even be executed for treason.
· If he said “yes”, supporting the tax, the Pharisees would denounce him to the people as disloyal to his nation. Unpatriotic
The question has no right answer
· ‘No’ is politically dangerous,
· ‘Yes’ is religiously offensive,
Jesus recognised it as a trap; his answer is brilliant:
Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’ They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’
‘Caesar’s,’ they replied.
Then he said to them, ‘So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’
(Matthew 22: 19-21 NIVUK)
An answer that the Herodians could not argue with; the tax should be paid.
But by distinguishing clearly between the Emperor and God, he challenges the false and idolatrous claim on the coin and cannot be accused by the Pharisees of being disloyal to his nation.
When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
(Matthew 22: 22)
But if we leave the story there, we come away with Jesus as a brave, insightful and clever person, with a good way with words, but we can miss the real truth in what he says.
We can take 2 truths from Jesus’ words:
1. Pay Your Taxes
There is a Biblical basis for loyalty and obedience to the state. Our Monarch’s head is on our coins and notes, so pay to His Majesty what His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is due. Don’t evade tax. Just pay. In this country, if we don’t like the amount or how it’s spent, then we can vote for someone else.
So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, or give back to HMRC what is HMRC’s.
What is a far more important truth is...
2. Give to God the things that are God’s
What does it mean to give to God the things that are God’s? We can give many things to God – our time, our talents - but here we are talking about money.
There is an expectation in the Bible that Christians will give money; the Old Testament talks about offering tithes and giving ‘the first fruits’ of a harvest. But it’s the ‘Pharisee’ in us that tries to pin this down to percentages with arguments over how much? 10%? Net or gross? What about “benefits in kind”? We can put a monetary value on them; the Inland Revenue does.
I am not advocating a Pharisaic approach; rather than looking to calculate an amount of money, there seems to be a principle of generosity in the Bible. In the early church in Acts, we read:
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
(Acts 2: 44-45 NIVUK)
Part of the good news of Jesus in the early church is that there shouldn’t have been a needy person among them!
There is a call to generosity, to be lavish, giving to any who have need, rather than to an amount.
Jesus is getting people to think bigger. Stop trying to give the least you can get away with; everything is required.
Giving to God the things that are God’s requires us to give him our love, our total love, and to love those around us too. Everything else flows out of this. Suddenly, giving to God the things that are God’s seems a much bigger requirement than giving a coin.
Is this reasonable? Why should this be the case?
Through Jesus’ death on a cross, we have a solid reminder of how much God loves us. Of what he was prepared to do to enable our relationship with him to be restored. Of what he has given us. We are only giving back to him a fraction of what he has given to us.
· It’s the Pharisee in us that says, ‘What’s the least I can do?’, rather than because God has offered so much to us, we offer so much back to him.
· It’s the Pharisee in us that says, ‘If we’re generous to God, perhaps he’ll be generous to us’, rather than because God is generous to us, we cannot help being generous to others.
To be generous is to reflect the heart of a generous God.
Today is Stewardship Sunday, when we think about our financial giving to the church. I know many also give money elsewhere, but today I am talking about giving to the church.
As a church, we are responsible and set a balanced budget.
Whilst we have some income from rentals, interest and tax rebates (Gift Aid), most of our income comes from giving from the congregation.
We have a few legacies which pay for projects, like the heating, and the new projector, screen and sound desk that are coming.
But we use our day-to-day income to cover our day-to-day expenses – the church gas, electricity, insurance, repairs, office expenses and cleaner. And giving to the Diocese to pay for the vicar. We cover these costs, apart from the vicar - me! We have made big steps forward in covering this and hope to cover 90% of the costs of a vicar next year. The Diocese covers the rest, although it cannot really afford to do so any more.
About this time last year, we made an appeal for people to reconsider their giving, focussing on the PCC commitment to cover all the costs of having a full-time vicar when we are able to do so. I’m taking a ‘lighter touch’ approach to previous years. We’re not doing anything formal this year, but I do ask you to consider what you give to the church and to make any changes you choose.
We’re not a big church, and many give generously. But I have maintained since day 1 that our aim should be to cover our costs, including the cost of a vicar. But that is not the limit of my hope. I want us to ‘think bigger’. I want us all to pray that St Barnabas will grow - in numbers and generosity –
· So we cover the cost of the vicar
· And give more on top to allow the Diocese to subsidise churches in areas where funding a vicar is not possible, even if those in the church give everything they have.
· And maybe fund a children/families/youth worker.
· And give to other charities and mission organisations.
St Barnabas did this in the past; I hope it will again.
My aim is not to induce guilt or put a burden on anyone here. I just ask you
· To pray.
· To look at how God has blessed you.
· To consider how your circumstances have changed since you last decided to give, or not.
· To consider your other commitments; God expects us to look after our families.
· And to consider your support of St Barnabas so we can cover all our costs and be a blessing to others.
Most of us bank online, so standing orders can be set up or changed there, or there are forms in the foyer. And do Gift Aid if you can.
Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
(2 Corinthians 9: 6-8 NIVUK)
Revd Kevin