(Lectionary 24A)
Isaiah 45:1-7 • Psalm 96:1-9, (10-13) • 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 • Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 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. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" 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." When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Is there anything that does not belong to God? (repeat) It seems that is the question that Jesus’ words have for us.
It turns out also that his actions as much as his words here pose this question of whether anything does not belong to God. The coin that is given to Jesus by disciples of the Jewish authorities and the followers of King Herod does not just show a picture of the emperor. It would have had this inscription on it: “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, Augustus.” Here is Jesus, the Son of God, holding a coin that says Caesar is the Son of God! How much more ironic can Jesus get?! Jesus sets up a choice between who will be our God: the empire's god, or Jesus' God? He makes the distinction very clear for us: nothing can truly “belong” to Caesar...there is only one God of all, only one to whom all things belong, and that is above all earthly powers, and that is Jesus' God. The emperor, the president, the CEO, the boss...whomever the most powerful person is we can think of...this God is bigger...and Jesus asks us to live as if everything belongs to God.
The strategy that these opponents of Jesus try to use is to put him on the defensive. If they can just get him to admit he does not support that charged five letter word—taxes—they would have what they needed to execute him for treason to the empire. But Jesus refuses to fall for their paranoid, self-justifying bait. He calls out their malice, and recognizes it is these questioners who are themselves caught between the God they worshiped and the “god” the empire demanded they worship.
Why is it that we too find our sense of stewardship--our sense of what belongs to God--coming up short? Why does our practice of stewardship come out of this same defensive place as these questioners of Jesus? Perhaps our caring for and serving all the various aspects of our lives comes out of a belief that what we give to God can appease God. We think, “if I can just give x amount of time, or money or energy to this...then God will be satisfied.” “If I can just give x amount of time, or money or energy to this...then I can be done with it, and God won’t have to bother with these other parts of my life.” Or, we give of our selves out of obligation--because we’re supposed to. No matter what kind of defensive posture it is, it’s all the same underlying motivation: it’s giving out of an obligation that believes our stewardship is a transaction giving us permission to retreat from God.
Why do we get so defensive with God? We can become pretty good at it. It can become so hard for us believe...our whole lives, and our whole world...are all truly a gift. Maybe it is because there are some things we don’t want to belong to God. We don’t want God to have everything. We protect what is scary or shameful for us. We would rather have our own mess, our own stuff for ourselves rather than to let God have God’s way with us, our loved ones, our church and our world.
What can help us in this real struggle to be faithful to God who asks for our all--who wants not just to connect with one part of our lives, but every part of us? What guides us out of this barrier called defensiveness and into the life of generosity that God intends for us? This fence we put around parts of our lives looks different for each one of us, but we’re all trying to protect something that’s keeping us from giving to God what belongs to God.
What breaks that fence is the gospel of Jesus--the same gospel of Jesus--the gospel that he embodies in this encounter with these scheming questioners, and the gospel he embodies in his encounter with each one of us. He takes our defenses away. Jesus takes our resistance away and lets in God’s compassionate , forgiving and redeeming generosity into every part of us and our world. Jesus takes away any consequenses that could threaten fences being torn down between us and God. He shows us that behind the fences we put up is the heart of God...that does not beat with demands and manipulations...but with freely given love that’s better, and more powerful, that’s more inspiring than anything we’ve ever been given. Jesus doesn’t divide, carve and slice up our lives. Jesus makes our lives whole. His love gives every ounce of himself...to redeem every single aspect of our lives. Jesus shows we cannot divide the world into sacred and secular, Ceasar and not Caesar’s, public and private, ours and God’s. The reach of Jesus’ redemption runs through straight through these fences, through his cross, into the whole world.
We have been imprinted...not with an image of a leader on a coin...but the name that is above all names...of the one who is our God. We've been imprinted by Jesus, whose gospel comes to our whole selves and gives us
eyes...to see his vision of justice
hearts...to feel his love
ears...to hear ourselves called by our true names
hands...that we can open to receive and give his blessing and care
feet...that take us to places we didn’t believe God’s compassion could reign.
With our defenses down, we no longer have an obstacle blocking our eyes, hearts, ears, hands and feet from belonging to the generous life God wants us to have...the life of giving to God what belongs to God. With our defenses down, we’ve been given such good news that it is now our job to exercise that love by sharing it... With no reason to defend ourselves from God...we see that God is bigger than any power or superpower, bigger than any government...bigger than any one political party...and yet more gracious than all of them combined. Without our defenses, we can no longer contain God into a God of our own making...an idol who gives according to our ways...
Without defenses at our side, we are left weak, and open to attack, however. There is much malice, violence and greed that threatens a defenseless, generous life. But vulnerability and risk are where Jesus’ gospel meets us most...it’s in those places where Jesus met and redeemed us on the cross, and it’s there where he protects his children—and we as his church--to stand for what he stood for: generosity, charity, justice, speaking truth to power, and mercy. God comes in Jesus to stand with us rather than against us, to walk beside us as his brothers and sisters who belong to God.
What of God’s things have we been holding back from giving to God in our lives? What broken relationship, what time, talent or treasure, what commitment are we willing to break open and give over to the generous compassion of God working through us? Imprinted with Jesus’ compassion, what will we render unto God? It’s not easy to to. Our defenses will surely try to come up. But Jesus’ life, death and resurrection destroy those defense’s power over us. That’s why we will never stop witnessing to such generosity, and advocating for it with our every breath. It’s the only way our lives can give back to God the things that belong to God.
Amen.
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