A Cornucopia of Blessings

I will always remember my mother-in-law’s Thanksgiving dinners.  Being a child raised on the mission field, potluck suppers at the church were the only meals that even came close.  But those meals were mostly rice, with a variety of curries to put on top… and the curries were mostly liquid with tiny chunks of chicken and some cut-up vegetables floating in them.  The chicken had usually spent its life running around it’s owner’s property, escaping from humans, dogs, and other predators, so it was very lean.  Just to boost the flavor of the curry, all parts of the poor chicken were usually cooked in the broth.  Over time, I got used to the sight of a chicken foot popping up when the curry was served. 

My mother-in-law’s Thanksgiving dinners were always overflowing cornucopias of food.  These meals always began with chips or cold vegetables and a dip, along with assorted nuts to munch on.  Since the meal was usually in the mid-afternoon, we were always hungry when we arrived, so we munched on these snacks.  Big mistake!    When the main meal was served, there were usually three meat dishes:  ham, turkey, and smoked pork.   There were too many side dishes to count:  sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, green beans cooked with smoked pork, corn on the cob, peas and carrots, mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, regular stuffing, baked potatoes with sour cream and chives, creamed corn, green bean and onion casserole, deviled eggs, hot cornbread, hot rolls, real butter, tossed salad, jello salads with layers of sour cream, pickles and olives, and the list went on and on.  Then, to top it all off, there were usually five different pies for dessert: pumpkin pie, apple pie, lemon meringue pie, pecan pie, and some whipped chocolate confection.  I can tell you that, even though seven adults and several children gathered for this feast, we did not make a dent in the food.  I do not know where my mother-in-law stored all the leftovers, but I do know that we all took some home with us… usually enough for at least two more huge meals. 

Where did this tradition come from of cooking an excess of food, and stuffing our bodies to the point of painful indigestion on Thanksgiving?    I am fairly certain that the pilgrims did not have so much food on their tables.  But Thanksgiving is one of the true feast days of American tradition.  This annual harvest festival is a day when we celebrate all the bounty that God has shared with us… and, sometimes, the incredible excess is… shall I say… excessive?    But then, is there anything in this country that we do in a small way?    Our theme parks have more rides than you can ride in a day.  Our music festivals have more music than you can listen to in a day.  Museums and art galleries have more art than you can view in a day.  Buffets have more food than you can possibly eat in one meal… or two… or three.  Shopping malls have more stores than you can shop in a day.  Movie theatres have more movies than you can watch in a day.  Universities offer more courses than you could take in a lifetime.  Television offers more channels than you can possibly view in a day.  There are more magazines than anyone could possibly subscribe to and read.  There are more catalogs than anyone would want to receive… filled with more knick-knacks, clothes, and shoes than anyone would want cluttering up in their homes and closets.  And the list goes on and on. 

In this country, we have been blessed with abundance.  We may not always demonstrate wisdom in the way in which we use the abundance that we have… and, as a society, we may spend too much time chasing after things which, like my mother-in-law’s Thanksgiving dinner, are here today and gone tomorrow… but the fact remains that this nation has been blessed with abundance. 

We, as individuals, have also been blessed.  What are the gifts that you have received from God’s great bounty?    I invite you to take a pencil from the pew rack in front of you and begin jotting down, perhaps in the margin of your bulletin today, all the gifts that God has given to you and your family just this year.    While you do that, I will continue to talk.   As you write, I want to stretch you beyond the things that you normally think about when you think about our blessings.    You see, we tend to think about our material possessions first… and I don’t want you to leave them out.  I just want you to think beyond those things to all the other gifts that God has given to you.    Include the names of family members and friends.  Include the opportunities that have come your way… opportunities to try new things… to see new things… to experience life in a new way.  Include the times you have narrowly averted disaster… or found a friend to walk with you in the midst of your pain.  Include the gift of physical health… or mobility… or the gift of your senses.  Include the talents that God has showered upon you… your organizational abilities… your musical ability… your mathematical ability… your ability to lead others… your ability to welcome strangers… your ability to cook… your ability to comfort others… and so on.  Also include the gift of time that you have spent with your family… with your friends.  Include the time you have had to work on your hobbies… or go fishing… or hunting… or work in your garden.  Include the time you have had to enjoy a special event… a soccer game… a football game… a television show… a garage sale.  Include the gift of this community with its rich diversity of parks, rivers, pastureland, and sunshine.  Include the hospital… the medical expertise… the stores… the restaurants and other amenities of life.  I could go on and on.  

In our text today, the Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus in a treasonous statement, insuring his arrest and imprisonment by the Roman authorities and, thereby, his removal from their sphere of influence.  Too chicken to do it themselves, they sent their disciples to Jesus to ask him whether it was lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not.  Jesus, quite aware of their effort to trap him, said to them, “You hypocrites, why are you putting me to the test?”    Did they not know that God was watching them and testing them by their actions every day?    I guess not.    So, Jesus asks them to produce a coin and then asks who image and title appears on it.  “The emperor’s,” they replied.  And then they heard Jesus say something that amazed them.  “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.”  Left without a leg to stand on, the disciples of the Pharisees left him and presumably went back to their masters to report what had happened. 

Verse 21 in this text... the “render unto Caesar” passage… has often been quoted out of context to support the concept of a separation of church and state.    But think about that for just a moment.    Does the concept of a separation of church and state find a place anywhere in God’s message to us through scripture?    Do you honestly believe that God wants us to compartmentalize our lives, putting God in one compartment and the rest of our lives in another?    As the Apostle Paul would say, “By no means!”    Our God is not a God of only one compartment of our lives.  If we are truly disciples, we have made God the Lord of our lives… not withholding anything from his authority. 

And this is the power of Jesus’ answer to the disciples of the Pharisees… the depth that they did not see… and the implication that went right over their heads.    Jesus said, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”    The question we have to ask ourselves is this:  What things belong to the emperor… or, in our case, our government… and what things belong to God? 

Uncle Sam asks us to pay our taxes… a not insignificant portion of that which we have earned through our labor.  Our government spells out exactly what that dollar amount is each year.    But then, we are also to give to God the things that belong to God… not withholding anything from the bounty that God has given to us.  It is true that, in the Old Testament, the offering we were asked to give was more clearly defined.  God asked of Cain and Abel the first fruits of their harvest.  So, are we also asked for the first fruits of our… of our what?    What belongs to God?    Is it a tithe… the magic ten percent of our income?    Did Jesus specify the amount that we were to give to God?    Of all the gifts that God has given to us, does God only desire ten percent in return?    And is it only our income that is a gift from God?    What about our time… our talents… our gifts… our family… our friends… our very lives?    What belongs to God?    And what portion of it do we give to God? 

Here, again, is the power of what Jesus said to the disciples of the Pharisees on that day… the message that escaped them completely.  Jesus said, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”    He did not say, ““Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God ten percent of your income.”  He said, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

I believe that what God asks of us is total commitment… total submission to God’s will.  Just as God demanded from Abraham the sacrifice of his son, Isaac, as a demonstration of his total commitment, God also asks of us the totality of our lives.    We are to give to God all that God has given to us… all the gifts that we have received, whether those gifts are in the form of the income we have received… the talents we have been given… the family and friends who share our lives… the time that we walk on this earth… and our very lives.     We are to give them all to God for God to use as he sees fit… trusting in this God who loves us and desires the best for us to shape and mold us into the true reflection of Jesus Christ, our Lord.    You see, God did not take Isaac away from Abraham… quite the contrary.  God blessed Isaac with long life and many children and grandchildren.  But Abraham’s willingness to give everything to God was the level of commitment that God asked of him.  It was only this level of commitment that would allow God to work wonders in his life.    And it is only this level of commitment will free us to be the children of God we were created to be.    This level of commitment will change your life and how you see the world around you. 

I will never forget the day that I gave my son, Julian, to God.    I wish I could say that I gave him to God the day he was born, but I didn’t.    Like Hannah with Samuel, I selfishly kept him to myself for several years.  But, on the day that I gave Julian to God, I let go of all my expectations of his future… and all my selfish desires of what his life might be.   I know that God has a plan for his life and that plan may or may not include me.  But, for that plan to come to fruition, I have to step out of the way.    Do I still love Julian?  Yes, with all the love that a mother can have.    Do I hold on to him?  No.    For he does not belong to me… he is gift from God.    And, since that day, many, many years ago, God has blessed his life… and mine… beyond my expectations. 

What are you holding on to today?    To whom does it belong?    “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.”   All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above.  God is the giver of all that we have… of all that we are.  We are to give to God the things that are God’s… everything that we have… everything that we are.    How strong is your faith?  Will you trust the God who loves you… and give to God the things that are God’s?  Amen.

Matthew 22:15-22