October 9 – Jesus and Money
10:17 As he was
setting out on a journey, someone came running up and asked, “Good Teacher,
what must I do to share in everlasting life?” 18 Jesus answered, “Why do you
call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: No
killing. No committing adultery. No stealing. No bearing false witness. No
defrauding. Honor your mother and your father.” 20 The other replied, “Teacher,
I have kept all these since my childhood.” 21 Then Jesus looked at the person
with love and said, “There is one thing more that you must do. Go and sell what
you have and give it to those in need; you will then have treasure in heaven.
After that, come and follow me.” 22 At these words, the inquirer, who owned
much property, became crestfallen and went away sadly. 23 Jesus looked around
and said to the disciples, “How hard it is for rich people to enter the kin-dom
of God!” 24 The disciples could only marvel at these words. So Jesus repeated
what he had said: “My children, how hard it is to enter the realm of God! 25 It
is easier for a camel to pass through the Needle’s Eye gate than for a rich
person to enter the kin-dom of God!” 26 The disciples were amazed at this and
said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said,
“For mortals it is impossible—but not for God. With God all things are
possible.” 28 Peter was moved to say to Jesus, “We have left everything to
follow you!” 29 Jesus answered, “The truth is, there is no one who has left
home, sisters or brothers, mother or father, children or fields for me and for
the sake of the Gospel 30 who won’t receive a hundred times as much in this
present age—as many homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children and
property, though not without persecution—and, in the age to come, everlasting
life. 31 “Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
12: 13 Some
Pharisees and Herodians were sent after Jesus to catch him in his speech. 14
The two groups approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know you are truthful
and unconcerned about the opinion of others. It is evident you aren’t swayed by
another’s rank, but teach God’s way of life sincerely. So: is it lawful to pay
tax to the emperor or not? 15 Are we to pay or not to pay?” Knowing their
hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you trying to trick me? Let me see a
coin.” 16 When they handed him one, he said to them, “Whose image and
inscription do you see here?” “Caesar’s,” they answered. 17 Then Jesus said,
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and give to God what is God’s.” This reply
took them completely by surprise.
12: 38 In his
teaching, Jesus said, “Beware of the religious scholars who like to walk about
in long robes, be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, 39 and take the
front seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 These are
the ones who swallow the property of widows and offer lengthy prayers for the
sake of appearance. They will be judged all the more severely.” 41 Jesus sat
down opposite the collection box and watched the people putting money in it,
and many of the rich put in a great deal. 42 A poor widow came and put in two
small coins, the equivalent of a penny. 43 Then Jesus called out to the
disciples and said to them, “The truth is, this woman has put in more than all
who have contributed to the treasury; 44 for they have put in money from their
surplus, but she has put in everything she possessed from the little she
had—all she had to live on.”
Money
is a topic for which Christians catch a lot of flak. Either we get accused of
talking about money all the time (mostly asking for more of it), or that we
place a higher concern on a person’s money than on the person in the first
place. Let me be clear about my understanding about money: if the Christian
journey is about making our lives more transparent to the desire and presence
of God then that means our whole lives. That includes our money.
While
the scripture passages above have some pretty negative things to say about
amassing money, Marcus Borg nails the pertinent question underlying the whole
conversation: “A personal comment: don’t feel guilty if your life has turned
out well financially. Be grateful—it is something to be thankful for. But do
ponder what it might mean to take seriously God’s passion for a transformed
world—the kingdom of God—as seen in Jesus. The question for those of us who
have some wealth then becomes: how do we use the wealth we have been given to
further God’s passion for a different kind of world?” (Conversations with
Scripture, p.85)
Yes,
I have intentionally chosen this topic for the middle of our stewardship
campaign (the following Sunday will be when we make our commitments for the
coming year). But my intent is not to guilt people into giving. Rather, I want
to join Borg is asking the question, “How are we helping build the Kin-dom of
God?” How are we using our resources to reconstruct the hope of the world?
I do
believe that Jesus thought that wealth was problematic. The wealthy person in
the first story could not quite enter the kin-dom of God because of the grip
wealth had on him. This is not presented as a moral failing—he is presented as
doing all that was required to be an upstanding person in that society. Nor is
this a pronouncement that rich people cannot get in to heaven. Remember that in
Mark’s Gospel, the kin-dom of God is about the here and now and this world, not
an afterlife. It seems that Jesus is stating that wealth keeps this person from
“getting it.” Lots of commentary has been written about Jesus’ statement about
camels and needles. Honestly, there is no explaining away the image. Jesus
chose it because it is ludicrous. A camel cannot and never will thread a needle.
Wealth is a huge impediment to “getting it.” When our priorities are making
money and keeping money, we cannot focus on “God’s passion for a transformed
world.” A huge impediment for us, but nothing is impossible with God.
The
second story also asks where our priorities lay. This is not a story about
whether or not Americans should pay taxes to the government. Jesus’ opponents
are trying to make him say something they can use against him. If he says, go
ahead and pay the tax money to the Romans then he will alienate himself from
his peasant base. If he says no, don’t pay the tax, then they can accuse him of
sedition. Instead, Jesus forces them into an action which betrays their
allegiance. Jesus asks to see a Roman coin. When the Jewish leaders produce
one, Jesus asks whose picture is on it. Two things have happened here. One, how
come the Jewish leaders have such ready access to Roman coinage? The
implication is that they are paid by the Romans. They have already sold out. This
is reinforced by realization number two: the coin has Caesar’s picture one.
Caesar has declared himself Son of God, and a God himself. The Pharisees are
holding a graven image, an idol. They are breaking the most basic of the commandments:
to hold no other gods before God. When Jesus says to give to Caesar what is
Caesar’s but to give to God what is God’s it is clear that he understands that
he whole of Creation is already God’s.
The
third story has the clearest connection to the question about using wealth to
build the Kin-dom and reconstruct hope. Again in this story I find the
traditional interpretation inadequate. Jesus is not praising the impoverished
widow for giving all she had to the Temple. She is not a paragon of generosity.
Her pittance would likely not have fed her even for that day, much less support
her for any other needs. By giving away her last money, she admits that she is
destitute. She now has none to help her but God. And that is exactly the
problem that Jesus sees. Around this poor woman there were “many of the rich (who) put in a great deal.”
Jesus makes the point that they give from their surplus – what they don’t need.
In contrast, Jesus says that the widow “has
put in everything she possessed from the little she had—all she had to live
on.” Aye, there’s the rub. Widows have a special place of protection in
Jewish law. Widows, orphans, and strangers in the land are to be cared for. In Deuteronomy
10:18 God is described as the one who “brings justice to the orphan and the
widowed, and who befriends the foreigner among you with food and clothing.” Jesus
raises the question why the rich are contributing out of their surplus but allowing the widow to further impoverish
herself. Why aren’t they caring for her needs? This is not building the
Kin-dom. Jesus already said it in verse 40: These are the ones who swallow the property of
widows and offer lengthy prayers for the sake of appearance. The Temple
treasury gives us a vivid example. So this is not a story about giving until it
hurts. This is a story about using what we have to take care of each other.
For
Jesus, the question is not about how much money we have or how much money we
give. For Jesus, the issue is how we are participating in the construction of a
new and equitable reality based on God’s desire and dream for us. The present
reality has broken the dreams and hopes of billions of people in this world
(not to mention the destruction of the non-human world). How will we use
everything we have to transform this reality and reconstruct the Hope of God?
Good News: God’s passion (seen in Christ) is for a
reality where everyone is valued equally
Subject: Our money is one means given to us to help
transform our world into God’s dream
Igniting Desire: The desire to make a difference, that
our gifts mean something, can mean a great deal for those in need and for the
world in dire need of transformation
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