The Grace of Giving: Show Me the Money!

The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Fall Stewardship Series – Week 3

October 22, 2023

Matthew 22:15-22

 “The Grace of Giving: Show Me the Money!”

Did you know that I once lived across the street from Tom Cruise? It’s true! He was a retired federal worker who was legally blind, but his name was the same as the much better-known actor. It’s about the only claim to fame that I have, and it’s not even the Tom Cruise that everyone thinks of, but it sounds good, right? One of the many movies that Tom Cruise has done is “Jerry Maguire,” which came to the screen in 1996. “Jerry Maguire is a slick 35-year-old sports agent working for Sports Management International (SMI). After criticism from an injured player's son triggers a life-altering epiphany, he writes a mission statement about perceived dishonesty in the sports management business and his desire to work with fewer clients to produce a better, more caring personal relationship with them” (Jerry Maguire - Wikipedia). One of this new clients is played by Cuba Gooding, and there’s a scene in the movie that gave rise to a well-known and much-used phrase: “Show me the money!” In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus tells the religious leaders to “show me the money” as they ask about whether it’s lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Our Fall Stewardship series, “The Grace of Giving,” continues today under the theme, “Show Me the Money!” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

By way of review, our key Scripture verse for this stewardship series comes from Paul the apostle. Let’s read this verse together: “But since you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you – see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7). Two weeks ago, we considered Jesus’ parable of the tenants in the vineyard (Matthew 21:33-46), affirming the truth that Christian stewardship doesn’t begin with us, but with God, who is the Maker and Owner of heaven and earth. We are just the caretakers and tenants of what belongs to God. Last week, we considered Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1-14), and the importance of responding to the gracious invitation that we have received from our King to come to the banquet which he has prepared. Our King even gives us the right clothes to wear – the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10a) dipped in Jesus’ own blood that covers all our sin. This 4-week series comes to a close next week on Reformation Sunday, October 29, when our commitments for ministry in 2024 will be dedicated to the Lord.

It's Holy Week and Jesus has already driven the money changers out of the temple after entering into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday. Tension is mounting as the religious leaders try to figure out what to do so that the iron first of Rome doesn’t come crashing down on their heads. They shower praise upon Jesus: “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances” (Matthew 22:16). But it’s all a set-up to trap Jesus in his own words and arrest him. They present Jesus with an impossible question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17). Either way, Jesus is going to incriminate himself. If he says yes, you should pay taxes, then he is a collaborator with the hated Romans who ruled over Judea. If he says no, you should not pay taxes, then he is guilty of treason against Rome. It’s a no-win situation. Have you ever been in such a situation – on the horns of a dilemma – where no matter what you say it’s not going to end well? “Show me the money,” Jesus says. After the leaders identify that it’s Caesar’s likeness on the coin, Jesus utters truth that has come down through the ages to us today: “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). Jesus’ enemies are silenced, at least for now.

It's not really about the money at all, though, is it? It’s about something much deeper and far more important. It is as Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). In and of itself, money is a lifeless entity; it is neither good nor evil. It just is. It is the value that we assign to it that renders it for good or for evil. So what is the treasure in our own lives? The question that Jesus put to the religious leaders is a good one for us to ponder: “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” (Matthew 22:20). As Pastor Martin Schultheis, Chief Ministry Officer for our Southeastern District, wrote this past week: “[Jesus] asks this question regarding a mere coin. How much more powerful is this question when it is asked about us? Whose likeness and inscription do you bear? Look into your reflection in the baptismal waters and see the truth for what it is. Made in HIS image. Inscribed with HIS name. And of greater value than all earthy coins and treasures. We render unto Him only that which He already possesses” (SED Connect email, 10/18/2023).

The Lord Jesus rendered his very life for us on the tree of the cross, giving all for us and for our salvation. How do you set a price on human life? In a world where life is demeaned and devalued in all sorts of ways, we think of the price Judas Iscariot received for his betrayal of Jesus – thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15; 27:3, 9). Judas came to despair over this, so much so that he took his own life. When it comes to the price Jesus has paid to set us free from sin and death, it cannot be measured in monetary value. “Show me the money” doesn’t work here. It is as Luther wrote in his Explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death…”

How do we express our gratitude and thanks to God for the blood-bought redemption that Jesus has won for us? By the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, we strive to excel in the grace of giving. From a perspective of Christian stewardship, there is an element of “show me the money,” not based on the church’s need to receive, but based on the believer’s need to give, all in response to what God in Christ has done for us. We are moved to return to the Lord a portion of what already belongs to him through our tithes and offerings. We do so not under compulsion or guilt, but given willingly and gladly to support the work of Christ’s church. One week from today on Reformation Sunday, we will dedicate our commitments for ministry in 2024 for the Lord’s kingdom work in our congregation, community and world. Rather than operating from a mindset of scarcity, let us remember that we worship and serve a God of abundance who is more than able to provide for all our needs. Let our commitments for ministry be an offering of the first-fruits from our lives, not the leftovers after everything else has been taken care of. Let our tithes and offerings, together with our very selves, our time, and our possessions reflect the grace of giving that God has shown to us in the life, death and resurrection of his own Son.

May the Lord be honored and glorified through this grace of giving, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.