Sermon for Joyful Sunday

10/16/2005 * 22 Pentecost * Proper 24

St. Luke’s Church, Jamestown, NY

Eric M. Williams

The things that are God’s.

Today is “Joyful Sunday” at St. Luke’s.

It is not called that because USC beat Notre Dame last night,

(though this rector is certainly rejoicing)

but because this is the day we bring our pledges to the altar,

our joyful offering of time, talent and treasure.

A few years ago our stewardship preacher was Bishop Joe Fricker.

He called this, “Up Your Pledge Sunday,” and celebrated by telling people,

“I upped my pledge. Up yours!”

We decided (in the interest of good taste) not to use that slogan this year.

Instead we focused on “What St. Luke’s means to me.”

And we heard and read the reflections of several of our fellow parishioners.

I was moved and inspired by their words

and by the impact this church has had on their lives.

Today I will share with you what St. Luke’s means to me.

And I want to do that by first looking at the Gospel for today.

How fitting that this famous story is our lesson for Stewardship Sunday.

It contains one of Jesus’ very best lines--

a perfect zinger for the Pharisees.

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”

On the face of it, it seems so simple.

Caesar has his domain and God has his.

To be a good believer and a good citizen

you just have to keep both sides happy.

It is a struggle we still face today.

Life puts so many demands on us—for time and for money.

We want to honor God, but there are so many more urgent demands.

Susan and I struggle to tithe, but it is not always easy.

We face the same financial issues that everyone does.

We worry about the future and we want to have enough money.

We watch our money go to taxes and to the rising cost of living.

We weigh our generosity against this reality and our goals for the future.

Some day we would like to own our own house.

Some day we would like to send our kids to college.

And some day we would even like to retire.

How much of our money should go to Caesar and how much to God?

Jesus tells us, however, that this is not an either/or situation, not a competition.

He did not give us a spiritual calculator for a mathematical answer.

Instead Jesus invites us to see things from God’s point of view.

Ultimately, nothing belongs to Caesar, or to us, for that matter.

It all belongs to God.

After all, who is Caesar? Food for worms.

A dead emperor of a dead empire.

He had his day,

but God is the eternal ruler of the universe.

I get in trouble when I forget that everything belongs to God.

You see I forget that a lot.

I may not look like Caesar, but there is a little Caesar in me.

I want to be in charge…

in charge of my life, my possessions, my family and my future.

And when I try, when put myself in the place of God, everything falls apart.

But when I let go of my need to possess and control,

when I remember that it is all God’s anyway,

then I am set free.

You know that coin that Jesus was talking about.

It was worth something only because it had the image of Caesar stamped on it.

You and I are precious because we have stamped on us

the image of God himself.

I desperately need to remember that I am not the owner, but a steward, a caretaker.

I am not responsible for everything that happens.

All I can do is to try to do what God has called me to do

with the things he has given me.

· To take care of myself—my body, my mind and my spirit—through healthy choices and a healthy lifestyle;

· To take care of my family in the limited ways that I am able, by being a faithful husband and father;

· To take care of my money and possessions by striving to be both generous and responsible;

· To take care of this world by living more simply and responsibly, by seeing the impact my lifestyle has on others.

It’s a good thing that I am not the one ultimately in charge,

because I can’t even do these things as well as I should.

I have to confess that I fall short in every single one of these areas.

In other words, the responsibility I have

is more than enough for me to handle.

I don’t need God’s job as well.

And that, more than anything else, is what St. Luke’s means to me.

St. Luke’s is the place where I come to put the pieces of my life together.

St. Luke’s is the place where I remember that I bear the image of God.

St. Luke’s is the place where I come to meet Jesus.

I meet him in the Scriptures on Sunday and in weekly Bible study.

I meet him in the sacraments of Eucharist, healing, and all the rest.

And I meet him in each one of you as we pray together,

work together, study together and have fun together.

My participation in St. Luke’s reminds me over and over again

that in everything I do I must put God first.

To be a responsible steward, care taker of myself, my family,

my possessions and my world,

I must remember to give to God the things that are God’s.

St. Luke’s is where I practice that stewardship every day,

where I make my mistakes and try again,

where I am inspired by the examples of so many of you—

faithful, generous, loving people.

St. Luke’s is where I remember that my money, my life, my family

are not really mine at all.

They all belong to God.

And when I finally surrender to that truth

then I know in fact what Joyful Sunday is all about.

Today I invite you to join me in surrendering to God.

I invite you to remember that you are precious

not because of how talented, smart or rich you are,

but because you are stamped with the image of God.

I invite you to taste the freedom of turning your life over to God,

all of your life,

letting go the need to control, to be in charge, to possess.

When we dedicate these pledge cards on the altar today,

may they truly be symbols of ourselves, our whole selves,

offered to God in joy and thanksgiving.

May God bless our offering, not only of our money,

but of ourselves.

Just as he transforms the bread and wine

into the living presence of Christ,

may he continue to transform us

into the living presence of Christ.