Aware of their malice -10/18/20

Call to worship:

L: Bring yourselves before the Lord!

P: We offer our faithful works, our loving labors, and our constant hopes to the glory of God.

L: Bring yourselves before the Lord!

P: We await the gospel, in word and in power, in the Holy Spirit and in full conviction!

Opening Hymn: I Sing the Almighty Power of God #152

1. I sing the almighty power of God,
that made the mountains rise,
that spread the flowing seas abroad,
and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
the sun to rule the day;
the moon shines full at God's command,
and all the stars obey.

2. I sing the goodness of the Lord,
who filled the earth with food,
who formed the creatures thru the Word,
and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how thy wonders are displayed,
where'er I turn my eye,
if I survey the ground I tread,
or gaze upon the sky.

3. There's not a plant or flower below,
but makes thy glories known,
and clouds arise, and tempests blow,
by order from thy throne;
while all that borrows life from thee
is ever in thy care;
and everywhere that we can be,
thou, God, art present there.

Opening Prayer:

O God, we hear a distant voice calling. Draw closer, visit us; grasp our hand and lead us, that we may know that it is you, our Creator, who knows our name. You will open doors to us never before opened; you will unlock gates that have always been closed. Then we will know it is you, and no other, who goes before us.

Epistle Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.

2 We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because 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. 6 And 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, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For 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. 9 For 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, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

Hymn: When Morning Gilds the Skies #185

1. When morning gilds the skies
my heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer,
to Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

2. The night becomes as day
when from the heart we say:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
The powers of darkness fear
when this sweet chant they hear:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

3. Let all the earth around
ring joyous with the sound:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
In heaven's eternal bliss
the loveliest strain is this:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

4. Be this, while life is mine,
my canticle divine:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this th' eternal song
through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

Prayer of Dedication:

You are God. There is no other. Created by you out of nothing, we return to nothing. You are the wind that lifts the wings of the birds; you are the wave that carries the salt to the sand. You are the song that bears glad tidings of joy; you are the voice that whispers across prairie and mountain. You are the God who does these things; truly, there is no other.

Gracious God, let us move according to your will, and we will come alive. Amen.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 22: 15-22

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16 So 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. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21 They 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.” 22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

Sermon Title: Aware of their malice (video)

One day, there was a minister, a priest, and a rabbi were out playing golf and during their game they were trying to decide how much of the money collected at their services should go to charity. The minister said that they should draw a circle on the ground, throw the money up in the air and whatever lands inside of the circle is what they should give to God. The priest then says no, that they should draw a circle on the ground, throw the money up in the air and whatever lands outside of the circle should be given to God. Then the rabbi says, no, no, no, we should just throw the money up in the air and whatever God wants, he keeps.

This is just a little snippet from the movie, Short Circuit, in which a robot was struck by lightning, and then came to “life.” Steve Guttenberg’s character told the robot the joke to see if he was really alive (if he would actually find humor in the joke and then laugh). In this movie, nobody believed that a hunk of metal with wires and circuits running through it could really be alive, so they spent most of the movie endeavoring to prove that he wasn’t.

In like manner, the Pharisees couldn’t, or perhaps wouldn’t, believe that Jesus was in fact the Son of God. On the other hand, they knew that the people held Jesus with honor and respect. Even if they were not quite aware of His special lineage, they knew that he was a very special figure in their faith journey and he was giving them messages that they needed to hear; namely messages of hope.

And so, in this, the first of three stories, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day intensifies. Right off the bat, in the first sentence, we read that the Pharisees were plotting against Jesus to end his popularity with the people so that they would mindlessly follow them again. (You must understand, that in this era, the church and its leaders were more powerful than anybody, including the government.) So all of these struggles are about gaining or losing power.

In this story, the Pharisees tell their disciples (those who are being trained by them) to go and ask Jesus whether it is lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not.

But Jesus, who was well aware of their malice (a name which describes the devil) knows that they are only asking these questions in order to get him to slip up and say something that will condemn himself in a court of law. So he calls them out, “Why are you testing me?” and he asks for the coin that they are considering to be used for the tax. He asked them who’s head is pictured on the coin and they told him that it was in fact the emperor’s head. This meant that the money in question was put out by the government and was thusly property of that same government. And so he answered them that whatever is the emperor’s should be paid to the emperor and whatever is God’s should be paid to God.

Jesus’ clever answer avoids the whole either/or question that his opponents were seeking. But keep in mind that the two clauses are not equal. Taxes are paid without being a vote of support for Rome. However, when disciples give money in the name of God, they are loyal to God above all. All things, all people, all missions. It is God above all or God above nothing. We are committed to God’s empire which will eventually destroy Rome. But for now, the disciples of Jesus will live an alternative existence marked by faithful, non-violent resistance to what was previously thought to be the way to do things.

Keep in mind that they had been doing things their way for thousands of years while they kept telling and hearing the stories of a coming Messiah. Many generations passed before Jesus showed up on the scene and several other “jesus wanabees” had come before him.

But while their hesitancy to believe is somewhat understandable, it must also be noted that Jesus came at the time that was foretold by the prophets and they were all given the signs.

This information leads us to wonder if when Jesus comes again, a time for which we have been told the signs, will we unquestioningly accept Him or will we doubt and bring up our own agendas. Will Jesus have to be aware of our malice?

The time is now to accept the grace that Jesus gives to us as a gift. We must accept the Salvation that He sacrificed Himself for so that we would be able to reconcile with Father God and eventually be able to go home to heaven.

Amen.

Closing Hymn: Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken #731

1. Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God;
God, whose word cannot be broken,
formed thee for his own abode.
On the Rock of Ages founded,
what can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation's walls surrounded,
thou mayst smile at all thy foes.

2. See, the streams of living waters,
springing from eternal love,
well supply thy sons and daughters,
and all fear of want remove.
Who can faint while such a river
ever will their thirst assuage?
Grace which like the Lord, the giver,
never fails from age to age.

3. Round each habitation hovering,
see the cloud and fire appear
for a glory and a covering,
showing that the Lord is near!
Thus deriving from our banner
light by night and shade by day,
safe we feed upon the manna
which God gives us when we pray.

4. Blest inhabitants of Zion,
washed in our Redeemer's blood;
Jesus, whom our souls rely on,
makes us monarchs, priests to God.
Us, by his great love, he raises,
rulers over self to reign,
and as priests his solemn praises
we for thankful offering bring.