The Image of God

This is the manuscript of the sermon preached on October 15/16^th. The Gospel text is Matthew 22:15-22 and the Baptism of Elijah James Rice took place on the evening of the 15^th.

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.

The parable of the tenants (Matthew 21:33-44) revisited.

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. Not long after, a group of immigrants arrived seeking sanctuary and a place where they could practice their religion in peace. Seeing that the original tenants lived and worshipped in a different way, the immigrants took it upon themselves to instruct the tenants on how to live and worship in a proper manner and introduced the tenants to their religion. After much labor and misunderstanding and lack of perceived progress, the immigrants decided it would be easier to go on without the tenants. They seized the tenants and killed some, left others to disease and death, and moved others to the margins of the vineyard. The immigrants then took over the management of the vineyard, making decisions, driving work flow, extending the fences, depleting resources, and building more watchtowers, all under the mantra “All men are created equal.” The original tenants, and many groups of “other” immigrants, were left out of the decision making process and left to scratch a living off of what was left. The original immigrants struggled with their original goal of practicing their religion in peace because the management of the vineyard became their number one priority. Their religion stated that the two greatest tasks of people were to love God and love God’s people. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with the immigrants?”

We’ve had a number of parables thrown our way in recent weeks as the lectionary cycle works its way through another year. In light of Columbus Day, the parable about the tenants in Matthew 21:33-44 from a few weeks ago resurfaced when I was running at the gym. If you have a facebook account or other form of social media, or maybe if you opened a paper today, you know that Columbus day catches a certain amount of attention. I am not going to go into the argument of who or what Christopher Columbus is and how he has been treated in the collective minds of American, and more specifically, United States history, but I do want to take a moment to pause and look at how we are living now, and I think that the parable of the tenants, has something to say to how we are living our lives. I took the liberty to update the parable. Some of the words come from Matthew’s Gospel, the others come from me, but they come together and lift up a few questions. How are we walking through this world? What does a day like Columbus Day do in our lives? Does it move us to empty words, or does it ignite something deeper?

My friend Vance Blackfox, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, wrote an inspiring piece about building right relationships with native peoples. It’s this kind of inspiration that our world needs now more than ever.

Today presents us with a great opportunity to reflect on the past and present, and take steps into a future grounded in love. How are we building relationships as we walk through this world? Or better yet, how are we building relationships as we work in the vineyard?

Ride for the Brand

The Gospel text for this sermon is Matthew 21:23-32.

Has anyone here ever tried to plan a wedding? For all the excitement that is wrapped up in a wedding, the planning and months leading up to the event can contain a few frustrating moments. I remember during the summer of our wedding, one of the hardest pieces of the puzzle to put in place, was the guest list. We sent out our invitations with plenty of time to spare, and for the most part people responded. But some people just didn’t get back to us. Some people didn’t RSVP, and it seems that this phenomenon is becoming more commonplace.

Perhaps it’s part of our culture. With the birth of Facebook, many events are now planned online. The guest list on Facebook is a virtual RSVP list. I must confess that I am terrible at RSVP’ing on Facebook. For whatever reason, I just don’t do it. Sometimes I like to keep my options open, I don’t want to commit too early. I guess I have “commitment issues.”

Maybe that’s part of the problem, commitment issues. Maybe we are losing our ability to commit to things. Long gone it seems are the days of a person’s word being their bond and business being done with a handshake. Most of the time we don’t even have to look someone in the eye anymore and make a commitment, we just have to send an email or click a mouse. As the world becomes more virtual, will we continue to lose our ability to commit to something? What do you think?

In the Gospel this morning, the story Jesus tells invites us in to see commitment issues in action. A man goes to his two sons and asks them to work in the vineyard. The first son says no to work, then shows up anyway. The second says yes, and yet never shows up on the job. Each boy has an issue with commitment. But the question of Jesus seems simple; which one did the will of his father? What do you think?

The answer is pretty obvious, even the religious leaders know that it’s the first son who does the will of his father, even if it is after his initial no. The moral of the story seems to be about resolving commitment issues.

The leaders wait for the confirmation of their response. Jesus moves to speak. They get ready for the yes from Jesus and the word that they should follow through with their commitments, but Jesus has something else to say. “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.” When John the Baptist came, with his cloths of camel’s hair and fiery preaching of repentance, you did not believe him. You stood on the sidelines and watched as the tax collectors and prostitutes lined up for baptism, but you remained stuck in your ways. You did not change your minds. You have commitment issues far greater than being able to say yes or no.

You are the “Yes men” is what Jesus is clearly telling the religious leaders, you are the second son. You say yes to God with your lips, but do not follow through with your lives. You think you are living right, but your commitment is in the wrong place. You commit to the ways of the empire, not to the way of Jesus. Its harsh words for the leaders who think they have all the right answers, who think their commitment is true. Yet instead of listening to these words and taking a good hard look at where their commitment lies, they withdraw to the edges and plot Jesus’ death. They miss the point completely.

Commitment is the heart of the issue here, but it’s not as simple as just following through on what you say. It’s where your commitment lies that seems to get the attention of Jesus. Yes when we don’t follow through on our commitments, when someone drops the ball on us, those actions hurt, relationships are broken, but it’s not the whole issue. There are persons, companies, and even nations very committed to their causes, but their causes are not founded in love. Their commitments are to money, greed and power. They work hard to keep to their commitments and succeed a great portion of the time, but people still get hurt, relationships still get broken, and the kingdom is still absent.

Even when we follow through on our commitments, we can still find ourselves in broken relationships. It turns out that our ability to follow through on our commitments is only part of the equation.

When I was a kid I grew up with the phrase, “Ride for the Brand.” It’s a line from a Red Steagall poem about cowboy values and commitment. Each ranch had its own unique brand, distinguishing it from another. A brand could tell you a great deal about the ranch, the values of the owner, the way they treated their stock, and their workers. The point of the poem is about riding for a particular brand and the cowboy’s commitment to that brand. If you’re going to ride for a brand, you need to put your heart and soul into it, you need to “protect it like it is your own.” You commit to its values, and your life is lived through those values. Or better yet, the world can see those values, through the way you live. That’s what it means to ride for the brand.

Jesus stands in the temple today, just days from his death and begs the question, where does your commitment lie? He looks to the leaders and tells them that their commitment to the empire won’t cut it. He tells them that the very ones whom they cast to the margins as sinners are going into the kingdom first, because their commitments are with the kingdom of God. The tax collectors and prostitutes have heard the call of John, they’ve looked at where their commitments were, and they’ve turned to God and recommitted themselves to new life in the kingdom. The brand of the empire has left them spurned and broken. Their commitment to that way of life leads only to death. They’ve heard the call of the coming kingdom. They’ve chosen to commit to God. They’ve chosen to ride for God’s brand.

Jesus tells us through his life and ministry that God is not looking for “Yes men” and women. God is not looking for lip service. God is looking for commitment to the values of the Kingdom. In a world run wild with lifestyles that seek power and status, God is looking for us to live lives that show the world that God’s kingdom is full of love and mercy. God is looking for us to ride for God’s brand.

God’s brand is not something that we have to earn. Our labor and works contribute nothing to the gift that is the love of God. Grace means that we are a people born into the promise of God’s love precisely because it’s the will of God. We are already set free. We are baptized into this love. Through water and the word we are wrapped in the love of God and we bear this love as we walk through this world. We come out of the waters of baptism marked with “watery crosses,” the brand of the kingdom of God.

Can you see them? Can you see the “watery crosses” on your neighbors, your brothers and sisters in the journey of faith? I can. The witness of these “watery crosses” is strong in this place. As we come together to worship, we are filled up to once again be sent out. We come together to be reminded of the values of the kingdom of God, and inspired to show the world those values through our lives.

This world can be troubling, full of distractions that look like good places to put our commitments. But Jesus comes into our lives to remind us of who is committed to us, of who will be there to cover our bets. Our call in this life is to commit our lives to the kingdom of God. Through his life and ministry, Jesus shows us what it’s like to live for the kingdom. “And the more of it I understand, the more I think we’d all be better off, if more people would ride for God’s brand.”