Matthew 22:15-22 (New International Version)
15Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him
in his words. 16They sent their disciples to him along
with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we
know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the
way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed
by
men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17Tell
us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes
to Caesar or not?”
18But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You
hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the
coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius,
20and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And
whose inscription?”
21“Caesar's,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar's,
and to God what is God's.”
22When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him
and went away.
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This story is from an unknown author.
I’m assuming it’s true.
It’s called the Christmas Spirit:
“It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the
branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification,
no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our
tree for the past 10 years or so...
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas---oh,
not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects
of it-overspending...the frantic running around at the last
minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder
for Grandma-the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't
think of anything else. Knowing he felt this way, I decided
one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so
forth. I reached for something special just for Mike.
The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who
was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the
school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was
a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city
church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that
shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together,
presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue
and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the
match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was
wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed
to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag
team obviously could not afford.
Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight
class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he
swaggered
around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street
pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside
me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could
have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential,
but losing like this could take the heart right out of
them."
Mike loved kids - all kids-and he knew them, having coached
little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That's when
the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to
a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of
wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to
the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope
on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done
and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest
thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.
For each Christmas, I followed the tradition---one year sending
a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game,
another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose
home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas,
and on and on.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was
always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our
children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed
anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree
to reveal its contents.
As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical
presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.
The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost Mike last year
due to dreaded cancer.
When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief
that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me
placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was
joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknown to
the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their
dad.
The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further
with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed
anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.
Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be
with us.
This story is a touching tribute to the Christmas Spirit
we all seek. It is also a wonderful story of stewardship.
Stewardship is a word within Christian jargon that usually
causes people to roll their eyes and think—“Oh,
he’s going to talk about money!”
A lot of people have problems with sermons that talk about
money. That’s very interesting because Jesus talked
about money quite often.
There was the time he was challenged by the Pharisees as
to whether they should pay taxes to Caesar and the time the
rich young ruler went away not being able to carry out what
Jesus requested of him.
Jesus taught the parables of the Talents, the Hidden Treasure
and the Pearl, the Widow’s Mite, the Lost Coin,
the Rich Fool, the Good Samaritan, the Shrewd Manager,
the Wise
and Foolish Builders, the Unmerciful Servant and the
Workers in the Vineyard.
All these stories and parables either have to do with money
directly or have money as an important part of the parable.
Money—its use, people’s reactions to it and
need for it was a part of everyday life in Jesus’ time.
Many people in our day continue to think money is what makes
the world go round. It was very much grist for our Lord’s
mill and for ours. So preaching on money is really fair game—but
when we think of stewardship, money is really only a part
of the whole.
You see, stewardship has to do with money but the concept
is much, much broader than that. Christian stewardship
teaches that all our blessings come from God. Everything—our
money, our possessions, our time, our talents. We have
received all these things from God and we have them in trust.
They
are not completely our own.
We are given money, time and talents so that we can share
with others. What we have is not to be hoarded—it
is to be shared. Sharing is a way to say thankyou to
God.
We are called by God to be good stewards—responsible
for the proper use of what we have been given even as
a steward looks after the possessions of his employer or
master.
Stewardship and discipleship are closely entwined. They
are connected in that both are constant issues when it comes
to living the Christian life.
We seek to learn and follow the Lord throughout life as disciples.
We seek to receive and share what the Lord has provided to
us throughout life as stewards.
After the service we will be having our Annual Meeting.
It is the time when we emphasize finances. We review
last year’s budget and we approve a budget for this
year. The Annual Meeting is very oriented to finances.
But we do our ministry here an injustice if we see it only
in terms of budgets and spreadsheets. A Church budget is
always a stewardship paper.
Living as Christians means sharing and serving—sharing
with and serving our family, friends, neighbours, community
and world. It’s a calling from God. It’s a calling
that takes the Christmas spirit and truly makes it a year
round influence for us. It’s a privilege to be gifted
such that we can share.
Please stay for the Annual Meeting. Your gift of the next
couple of hours of your time is an important one as we continue
to plan our ministry for the upcoming year.
(1208)
© The Rev. Dennis Cook, St. Timothy’s Presbyterian
Church, Ajax, ON, Canada
