Give to God the Image of God
An old proverb states, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. This is the kind of logic used against Jesus by the Pharisees in our Gospel reading today. The Pharisees are no friends of the Herodians, but since Jesus is a common enemy to both, they found a way to work together. So representatives of both groups come to Jesus with a trick question.
The Herodians were a faction at the time that was loyal to King Herod and they wanted to play nice with Rome. King Herod embarked on numerous impressive building projects, which included building cities for the pagan population living in the area. Herod even erected a golden eagle at the entrance of the temple, which was a symbol of Rome’s dominion. He also spent lavishly on gifts for Roman officials. The Herodians embraced this kind of politicking. They saw it as practical, and as the way to live with Rome.
King Herod did not impress the rest of the Jewish population. Erecting pagan buildings in the Holy Land was not making him any friends among his own Jewish people. Neither was placing a golden Roman eagle at the entrance of the temple. The Pharisees, along with others, were very critical of Herod for many reasons.
The issue of paying taxes to the Roman Empire was one of those lightning rod issues of the day. If you wanted to start a fight, you started talking about that issue. For us those issues would be issues like abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and in Alberta’s economy we could talk about oil pipelines, fracking, the oil sands, and maybe vegetarianism. I’m sure a few of us felt our heart jump just at the mention of the topic. In Jesus’ day, this discussion around taxes was one of their issues. The way you answered put you on one side or the other.
A representative of the group comes to Jesus under the guise of having a genuine question. They ask, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matt 22:16-17). They are asking if the Law of Moses allows for this kind of tax. They know full well that this question puts Jesus in a very difficult spot.
If Jesus says, “no, it is not lawful to pay taxes to Caesar” then Jesus seems to be siding with the revolutionaries- the violent zealots. It was precisely this issue that resulted in a revolt by Judas the Galilean when Jesus was just a little boy. The revolt was violently put down and those who were part of that revolt lost their lives on crosses. If Jesus told them “no, it isn’t lawful to pay taxes to Caesar” the Herodians would make sure King Herod heard about it and Jesus would then be seen as dangerous to the stability of the region. That answer would probably bring Jesus favor with the people. Though, his life would be in danger.
On the other hand, if Jesus says, “Yes, it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar”, then Jesus will seem to be a traitor to the people. He is siding with the oppressive Roman forces. It would be like a Palestinian saying they should accept new Israeli settlements in the West Bank. It would seem like Jesus is siding with the Romans rather than God’s dominion. They are occupied by Pagan forces and they cannot see that as being their destiny as God’s people.
It is a very binary trap. Pick A or B. … Either way they get Jesus in trouble. Either he’s in trouble with the political powers of the day as a rebel, or the people reject him as a prophet and teacher. So what is Jesus going to do?
First, Jesus points out that he knows they are trying to trap him.
Then, he asks for a coin used to pay the tax, and they give him a denarius. (It’s important to note that Jesus doesn’t have one of these coins on him.) Jesus then asks whose image and inscription is on the coin. They reply that it was Caesar’s image and inscription.
The coin itself is interesting. Caesar Tiberius would have been the face on the coin. Keep in mind that this whole conversation is happening in the temple courts. A graven image like the face of Caesar would have been a violation of the 10 commandments. … Then, we look at the inscription which reads “Tiberius Caesar, son of divine Augustus”, which implied that Tiberius is claiming some kind of divinity, since his father is divine. …. Another inscription read, “pontifex maximus” and meant that Caesar was the high priest and highest religious figure in the empire.[1]
To have something like that on the grounds of the temple would have turned the stomach of most Jewish people. After considering the coin it would have looked like a dead rat to them. They would have probably felt uncomfortable touching it, and they definitely wouldn’t want it on the temple grounds. Having such a coin, not to mention valuing it, brings them dangerously close to idolatry.
The implied question back to them is, “why do you have such a thing with you?” “Why do you value such a blasphemous thing?” … The Emperor controlled the production of gold and silver coins in the empire, and they were officially his property. So Jesus says, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's”. Give Caesar back that filthy thing. Why would you want to hold onto it? …
Of course Jesus knows that all things ultimately belong to God. And in that sense, nothing belongs to Caesar. If God is “Lord”, then everything comes under God’s sovereignty. There is no such thing as a separation of politics or economics and religion. Though there is some measure of authority given to political powers, and due respect is to be given so long as it doesn’t contradict your life with God. As St. Paul says, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Rom 13:7).
The second part of Jesus’ answer is important. “Render to God the things that are God’s”. Caesar’s image was imprinted on the coin. … But, we are made in God’s image according to Genesis 1:27, “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Like the coin, we bear an image- God’s image.
Enough about Caesar. What does God want from us? What do we owe God? … Our whole selves. If God is our Creator, Sustainer, Saviour, and Sanctifier, then how can we owe God any less than all of our very self. … And that is much more demanding than the taxes Caesar asks.
What does it mean to give God ourselves? It means that there is no part of our life that stands outside of God’s loving rule. If we truly call God “Lord” then there can’t be any part of our life where God doesn’t have the final word.
God guides our ethics. God guides our politics. God guides our relationships. God guides our parenting. God guides our driving. God guides us in our spending. God guides us in how we spend our spare time. … There is no part of our life that we say is off limits to God.
We might have questions about how God guides us in all these areas of our life, but the first step is a matter of willingness. … If we knew what God’s guidance was in all these areas, would we really allow God to guide us? … If we aren’t willing to say, “yes” then we have to stop calling God “Lord” because it’s just not true.
St. Paul says it this way, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers [and sisters] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:1-2).
The life we are asked to live as Christians is a life of extreme dedication- so extreme that it looks like a living sacrifice. Which in some ways is harder than giving ourselves over to a sacrifice where we die- We only need to make that decision once. But, to be a living sacrifice means we have to give ourselves over again every morning.
There was a little boy who fell out of bed one night and his father asked him, “How did you fall out of the bed?” The boy answered, “I guess I slept too close to where I got into bed”. We are called to a deeper walk with God. If we stay too close to where we got in, like the boy, we might fall out of bed. We will fall back to the old ways of the world- Instead of the ways of the Kingdom. …
Ultimately, this demanding call is not a call to drudgery. It is a call to joy. God calls us to this because He knows that this is where our joy will be fulfilled. As St. Augustine said to God, “Our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you”. And as the 2nd century St. Irenaeus said, “the glory of God is a human being fully alive”. What God desires is for his image embedded in us to shine brightly into the world. And, while it is a demanding call, it is also a call to a life marked by deep and profound joy.
To have something like that on the grounds of the temple would have turned the stomach of most Jewish people. After considering the coin it would have looked like a dead rat to them. They would have probably felt uncomfortable touching it, and they definitely wouldn’t want it on the temple grounds. Having such a coin, not to mention valuing it, brings them dangerously close to idolatry.
The implied question back to them is, “why do you have such a thing with you?” “Why do you value such a blasphemous thing?” … The Emperor controlled the production of gold and silver coins in the empire, and they were officially his property. So Jesus says, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's”. Give Caesar back that filthy thing. Why would you want to hold onto it? …
Of course Jesus knows that all things ultimately belong to God. And in that sense, nothing belongs to Caesar. If God is “Lord”, then everything comes under God’s sovereignty. There is no such thing as a separation of politics or economics and religion. Though there is some measure of authority given to political powers, and due respect is to be given so long as it doesn’t contradict your life with God. As St. Paul says, “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed” (Rom 13:7).
The second part of Jesus’ answer is important. “Render to God the things that are God’s”. Caesar’s image was imprinted on the coin. … But, we are made in God’s image according to Genesis 1:27, “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Like the coin, we bear an image- God’s image.
Enough about Caesar. What does God want from us? What do we owe God? … Our whole selves. If God is our Creator, Sustainer, Saviour, and Sanctifier, then how can we owe God any less than all of our very self. … And that is much more demanding than the taxes Caesar asks.
What does it mean to give God ourselves? It means that there is no part of our life that stands outside of God’s loving rule. If we truly call God “Lord” then there can’t be any part of our life where God doesn’t have the final word.
God guides our ethics. God guides our politics. God guides our relationships. God guides our parenting. God guides our driving. God guides us in our spending. God guides us in how we spend our spare time. … There is no part of our life that we say is off limits to God.
We might have questions about how God guides us in all these areas of our life, but the first step is a matter of willingness. … If we knew what God’s guidance was in all these areas, would we really allow God to guide us? … If we aren’t willing to say, “yes” then we have to stop calling God “Lord” because it’s just not true.
St. Paul says it this way, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers [and sisters] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:1-2).
The life we are asked to live as Christians is a life of extreme dedication- so extreme that it looks like a living sacrifice. Which in some ways is harder than giving ourselves over to a sacrifice where we die- We only need to make that decision once. But, to be a living sacrifice means we have to give ourselves over again every morning.
There was a little boy who fell out of bed one night and his father asked him, “How did you fall out of the bed?” The boy answered, “I guess I slept too close to where I got into bed”. We are called to a deeper walk with God. If we stay too close to where we got in, like the boy, we might fall out of bed. We will fall back to the old ways of the world- Instead of the ways of the Kingdom. …
Ultimately, this demanding call is not a call to drudgery. It is a call to joy. God calls us to this because He knows that this is where our joy will be fulfilled. As St. Augustine said to God, “Our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you”. And as the 2nd century St. Irenaeus said, “the glory of God is a human being fully alive”. What God desires is for his image embedded in us to shine brightly into the world. And, while it is a demanding call, it is also a call to a life marked by deep and profound joy.
Another amazing free from Reverend Chris! So thankful for being able to read his homilies. The Gary and I slept in and missed service this morning, so doubly thankful today😬
ReplyDeleteThank you.. go ahead
ReplyDeleteHappy new year 2018