This is the manuscript of the sermon preached on October 15/16th. The Gospel text is Matthew 22:15-22 and the Baptism of Elijah James Rice took place on the evening of the 15th.
Have you been keeping up with politics lately? It’s hard not to. Every time I turn on the news there seems to be a dozen updates on who said what and what everyone else thinks about it. With all the candidates jockeying for position, the pace of politics these days is anything but slow. I heard a week or two ago that we may even see our first primaries starting up as early as December, talk about getting an early start on the 2012 elections.
Now if you listen to the political hopefuls, what’s one of the driving issues of any platform? Right, taxes. Regardless of what political ideology you claim to hold, taxes are always in the middle of the debate. We need to raise taxes. We need to cut taxes. The chants seem to be never ending and always seem to go back and forth, but never forward. We can’t escape the tax debate, and it seems that Jesus couldn’t either.
Yes, it seems that even two thousand odd years ago, even Jesus couldn’t escape the debate over taxes. In today’s Gospel we once again find Jesus teaching in the temple. His long string of parables is interrupted by a question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” How do you feel about taxes Jesus? Where do you stand?
The question comes from a new group of people, fresh to the scene at the request of the Pharisees. These new folks are the Herodians, a priestly group who had gotten their power from alliances made to the Roman Empire. The Herodians supported the political aspirations of the Herod family, the rulers of the Judean region of the Rome. They’re another sect of leaders in the religious and political landscape of Jerusalem.
“Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth.” Their initial greetings to Jesus are full of kind words and flattery. The big smiles and gentle dispositions seem genuine. They’re just students of life seeking the advice of a respected teacher. They’ve come to Jesus with a practical question, “Tell us then, what do you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”
It’s a practical question to all those in attendance, Jews and Gentiles alike. Everyone knows life in the Empire is hard, especially the Jews. They pay the taxes of a conquered nation, their minds at their mention. Taxes, Rome gets its money, even when we don’t have enough to make ends meet. With hungry bellies and empty tables we turn out our pockets and give money that would put food on the table and perhaps quench our hunger. And in the face of that, it’s against our religious beliefs as Jews to give money to Rome since they hold that the emperor is divine. It’s against the very law of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes Jesus? What do you say?
The Herodians are just seeking sensible advice. They just want some direction on an issue that has plagued the people for years. They seem nice enough, but even wolves can look good in sheep’s clothing.
“Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?!” Jesus senses the trap before it can be sprung. He knows that if he tells the people not to pay the tax to Rome, then Rome will take him out for starting a political revolution. He also knows that if he tells the people to pay the tax to Rome, he will lose credibility with some in the crowd who see the tax as oppressive and an unlawful slap in the face to Jewish law. He knows that the question is well crafted to trap him in his own words. So Jesus cleverly takes the third option.
“Show me the coin used for the tax,” he says, let’s see the subject of your question. Ironically one of the Herodians pulls the small silver coin from his pocket and shows it to Jesus. “Whose head is this, and whose title,” Jesus asks.
“The emperor’s,” they answer. It’s true, the image of Tiberius Caesar is the focus of the coin. In fact the denarius is loaded with both political and religious propaganda written in favor of the divinity of the emperor. Jesus takes a look at the coin and gives his response, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” If the emperor’s face is on the coin, then it’s clearly his coin, by all means give it back to him Jesus says.
Jesus doesn’t get caught up in the debate. He simply makes a logical statement, while along the way pointing out the hypocrisy of the Herodians, who ask about the very taxes that they have no problem paying. Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and give to God the things that are God’s Jesus says. It’s that simple. But what exactly is God’s?
What do you mean Jesus, what exactly is God’s? For that answer we have to go all the way back to the beginning, all the way back to Genesis. Do you remember the sixth day? After darkness and light, land and waters divided, green upon the earth, then what? On the sixth day, God creates the animals of the earth, covering the lands with creatures. And then in the afternoon, God takes a handful of clay and works it with his hands. God breathes life into humankind. In God’s image we are created. We bear the very image of God. So if we follow the logic of Jesus, then we surely must belong to God. If we are to give to God what belongs to God, then we must give ourselves to God.
Now notice who initiates this action. It’s God who chooses to create us in the image of the divine. It’s God who initiates the divine/human relationship. God wants to be in a relationship with us. It’s out of love that we are created. We bear the image of the one who loves us, and God does not forget the craft of his hands. This idea of giving to God what belongs to God is a powerful statement about our identity.
At the heart of this statement is the challenge to live out our lives with the knowledge that we bear the image of God. Jesus tells us through this statement that taxes are a nonissue. Pay the tax and move on with your life. The tax is only a small portion when your whole life belongs to God. And if your whole life belongs to God, then live like it. If you see your neighbor struggling with hunger, reach out and help them to put food on the table. If you see someone who is lonely, provide them with companionship. If you see someone one who is grieving, provide them with comfort and a place to rest their sorrows. These are the actions of the God who created us. These are the actions that brought our world into being. These are the actions that point us to what God looks like in our world. They’re the very image of God. The image in which we were created, the image in which we are called to live. The image of God is a nurturing, sustaining, life giving love that is written into our bones by the God who loves us.
Today we come together to celebrate this life giving love. Today we come together to celebrate with joy the truth God that wants to be in a relationship with us. In no place is this desire for a relationship more clear than in the sacrament of Holy Baptism. Today we gather around the font and celebrate the sign that God gives us to hold on to for our whole lives, our Baptism.
In Baptism we are invited into a covenant relationship with God. Through ordinary water and God’s life giving promise we are joined into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our sins and all that separate us from God are drowned in the waters and we emerge as new beings in our life together with God. It’s God’s promise that we cling to. It’s new life that we receive.
Today we celebrate with Elijah James Rice as he sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Jesus Christ forever. We surround Elijah with love, promise him our support in his journey of faith, and are reminded that he, just as you and I, bear the very image of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment