Matthew 22:15-22
15
Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16
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. 17 Tell us, then, what
you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" 18
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me
to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax."
And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, "Whose
head is this, and whose title?" 21 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." 22 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."
- Concern over giving to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's is long-standing. It encompasses taxes, laws, military service, and even where people live.
- At this time, there is a great controversy going on in a city I used to live in. In the city of Houston, Texas, a number of pastors are up in arms and loudly protesting a political situation in that city on the Gulf of Mexico.
- According to many news reports, the city government has subpoenaed a number of the city's pastors, requiring them to submit their sermons to the city before preaching them in their pulpits on Sunday. They were also to turn over copies of all communications regarding this ordinance and the person of the mayor.
- The concern is over a city ordinance against discrimination over homosexuality and gender identity. The sermons in question may or may not be about those issues and were demanded because they might be in violation the city ordinance. This is further complicated by the fact that the mayor of Houston is a woman who is quite open about her sexuality and is in a relationship with another woman. The pastors in question are known for their support of more “traditional” understandings of sexuality and have preached on this before.
- This is a touchy situation. Does the city government have the right to vette a pastor's sermons for any reason? Does a pastor have a right to preach what would seem to be a discriminatory message? Time will tell how this will play out.
- Pastors have often preached unpopular sermons and many have gotten into a lot of trouble over what was said. Jesus himself suffered for what he said in opposition to the powers of his day. John the Baptizer and all of the apostles suffered for their preaching and only John the Evangelist is said to have escaped martyrdom. Christian history is full of examples of Christians suffering for the sake of their conscience and the Word of God – John Chrysostom, Jan Hus, and Martin Luther come to mind. Closer to our own time, we find Dietrich Bonhoffer and Martin Luther King.
- This question is never an easy one. When ever this question come up, there seems to be no common ground between what God asks and what the powers of this world ask. Things are simple when what is asked of a Christian is obviously sinful or wrong. It is always the grey areas that hold the controversy.
- In the reading today, Jesus is responding to a trap laid by the odd alliance of the Pharisees and the Herodians, two groups that normally would have nothing to do with each other. They ask about the lawfulness of paying the Roman tax. If Jesus says “yes”, he'll be known as a collaborator with the Roman occupation. If he says “no”, he is in rebellion against Rome, an action with brutal and bloody consequences.
- He asks for the coin used to pay the tax and then asks who's image is on the coin. Upon hearing that the Emperor Tiberius' image and title is there, he says -in effect- “Since it's his image, give it to him. Just remember in whose image YOU are made.”
- There is the point of the story. If the coin is the emperor's because of his image there, let him have it. Where is God's image? According to the Book of Genesis, WE are made in God's image, and his image is on us all. It is to God that we all ultimately belong.
- Beyond that, we are in many ways God's tangible presence in the world. It's been said that a Christian might be the only glimpse some people get of God. Beyond that, God is often hidden in the natural world and God can and does use the people, events, and moments of history to bring about his will. Our reading from Isaiah speaks to that, even to the point of calling the Persian king, Cyrus, the “anointed one” of God. He's the one who liberated the Jewish people from their exile in Babylon.
- So God is not entirely separate from what he has created. His grace in our lives is one sign of that. The most powerful sign of God's entry into our world is the incarnation of Jesus. In this wonderful event, our God not only influences our history, but becomes part of it.
- In preaching, we uphold and proclaim grace. To say that all we are and all we will be is a result of grace let's us remember grace. We also remember grace when we proclaim our creation in the image of God and our salvation in God's Son. All government on earth derives it's authority from the one whose word is law and salvation.
- We will always live in some sort of tension between God and Caesar. However we live in some sort of tension each and every day since we are both saint and sinner, since we live under Law and Gospel, since God is revealed AND hidden, and since our saviour is both Divine and human. With those powerful tensions in place, what is one more?
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