who's boss?

Good evening friends,
Remember that at 7:30 tonight there's a great worship opportunity at St. Ambrose to hear the story of Jesus arrest and execution. It's a great way to get into the story of Jesus' last week. We'll have another great opportunity to enter the story as we celebrate a potluck supper on Thursday at 6 and continue with worship remembering Jesus' last night with his disciples. 


We see the conflict brewing between Jesus and the religious leaders in our passage tonight. The leaders want to trip Jesus up so they can arrest him. Jesus is honest and clever, as we see.

God bless,
Sam

Luke 20:20-26

²⁰So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. ²¹So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. ²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” ²³But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, ²⁴“Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor’s.” ²⁵He said to them, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²⁶And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.

taxes and inspiring others with faith

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Worship today will include a skit to reflect on the scripture for the morning. We won't be hearing this scripture, but we will be thinking about what is really important in life. I think you're in for a treat. I am hoping yesterday's wind dies down for my race this morning in Toronto. I'll hit the halfway point somewhere in the middle of worship, so prayer would be nice.

In our epistle readings we begin a new letter, this one to the church in Thessalonica. Paul writes that the faith of the Thessalonians is so strong that they are an inspiration for other churches throughout the region. In Matthew Jesus teaches on balancing our role as citizens and as people of faith. Citizenship in a democracy like ours is very different from being a subject in an empire in which one had no input as Jesus was. Still Jesus' teaching helps us remember that we are dual citizens.

God bless,
Sam

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

2We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake.



6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead — Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.



*Sunday

Matthew 22:15-22

15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?“ 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

taxes

Good evening/morning friends,
This is a helpful and challenging passage that deserves its own sermon. On the one hand, Paul reminds us that Christians and government generally serve the same goals and so we can work together. He also reminds us that it is our duty as citizens to obey those in authority. That's a good reminder that there is a bigger picture than our convenience; the community has needs that we ought to take account of.

What Paul doesn't say, but we know from his life, is that there are times Christians can't obey both God and those in authority. When the religious leaders ordered Peter and John not to preach about Jesus, they replied that they had to obey God, not human authority. The same held true for civil rights activists sitting in at segregated restaurants: when the law violates God's law, we sometimes have to disobey it. In all things we are called to follow Jesus who was faithful to God no matter what the cost.

God bless,
Sam

Romans 13:1-7

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; 4for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.


6For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. 7Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

temple tax

Good morning friends,
First, I'd like to remind you that there are still several tickets left for Saturday's Redwing's baseball game. The tickets are free thanks to Robyn Fitzgerald and her great knack of knowing how to ask for things. The game starts at 7:05 and will be followed by fireworks.

Today's reading is an odd one. Many of us are familiar with Jesus' response to the religious leader's question about paying taxes to Rome. In this case the question is whether or not he pays the tax to support the temple. Jesus enigmatically muses with Peter about whether it's appropriate for children of the temple faith to pay taxes. I'm not sure quite what Jesus is getting at here, but it sounds like a critique of the temple leadership. That conflict with the religious leaders is only going to get more intense as our story continues.

God bless,
Sam

Matthew 17:24-27
24When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” 25He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” 26When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. 27However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”

Caesar and God

Good morning sisters and brothers,
First, I want to remind everyone of the dinner and talent show at the church tonight. We'll be serving a fabulous spaghetti dinner at 5:30 for our neighbors. Everyone is welcome and the dinner is free. After dinner we'll enjoy a talent show featuring several different musical acts as well as our very own Adam Ozuna on the devil sticks. It should be a fun evening and a great chance to get to know our neighbors a little better.

This is one of the Jesus conflict stories most people know. The religious leaders are watching his every more to see if they can get him to slip up and give them an excuse to arrest him. They have tried many of the religious hot-button topics without success. Now they try to catch him in his political opinions. As a proudly and religiously independent people, paying taxes to Rome was a touchy subject for most Jewish people at the time. If Jesus says Jews shouldn't pay taxes the religious leaders can trap him with the Roman authorities. If he sounds favorable to Roman rule they can try to paint him as a sellout. Beyond his deft response, Jesus' answer keeps asking us a question: are we giving to God what is God's; are we giving to Caesar what is Caesar's?

God bless,
Sam

Luke 20:20-26

20So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. 21So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. 22Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 23But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, 24“Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor’s.” 25He said to them, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.