In Whose Likeness?
Sermon
Sermons On The Gospel Readings
Series II, Cycle A
Okay, teacher, you think you're so smart — is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor?
Talk about your loaded question!
If we're talking about the law of Rome, the law of the imperial government, the law of this part of the world, of course it's legal to pay taxes to the emperor -- it's illegal not to! And just in case Jesus was hoping to fudge a bit on the answer, there are among his questioners members of the Herodian party, supporters of the puppet king, toadies to the Roman government, here listening to his answer. If Jesus so much as hints that the taxes paid to Rome are out of order, the full force of the law will be down upon him.
However, he can't just say, "Of course, pay your taxes!" Because here with the Herodians -- odd bedfellows if ever there were -- are some Pharisees, the guardians of Jewish purity, of Jewish law and piety, sticklers for religious correctness. And there are serious religious objections to paying taxes to the pagan Roman occupiers; why, the very coin used to pay the tax bears a graven image, strictly against Jewish law, a graven image of the emperor. And the inscription upon the coin identifies that emperor as a divinity, son of the divine Augustus Caesar. How can any self-respecting monotheist pay tribute to someone who claims to be God? And how can a healthy Jewish patriot stomach paying taxes to occupiers anyway? If Jesus gives an un-Jewish answer, lacking in either theological correctness or patriotism, he will be completely discredited as a teacher of his people; he will probably also lose most of his popular support. It seems that no matter how he answers, he's in trouble. Which, of course, is exactly what his questioners want. Coming from these people, the question about taxes is not a faith or conscience query; it is a hostile question designed to make Jesus discredit himself. And it looks as if they have him over a barrel.
Is it right for the chosen people of God, citizens of Israel, who have no king but God and God's anointed, to pay tribute to an occupying pagan power whose emperor demands to be worshiped as a god?
Or again, is it right for citizens of a conquered nation to withhold taxes from their established government -- taxes from which come benefits like roads and aqueducts and a justice system renowned for its even-handedness?
Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?
The particular issues may be different for us, but the problem of thorny questions of allegiance is a familiar one. There are times when deeply held values and nonnegotiable realities seem to pull us in opposite directions: times when we feel as if, no matter what we decide, we will be wrong, and/or in deep trouble. Who among us hasn't struggled with how to respond to some situation in the wider world, or to a personal moral quandary?
For instance, a central question that all of us face in this society -- our central question of allegiance as Christians living in a consumer society, and especially in a consumer society existing in a poor and hungry world -- a central question for us is: do I live for my personal standard of living, or do I live for God's realm of integrity, justice, and peace? To whom, metaphorically speaking, do I pay my taxes -- and to whom should I? If you haven't pondered that one lately, you may be overdue. As citizens of a democratic nation, we bear a special responsibility not only for our personal choices but also for the life of our nation and the priorities of our government. So where, both literally and metaphorically, should our taxes go?
In response to the question, Jesus says, show me a coin. "Show me the coin used for [paying] the tax" (Matthew 22:19). Show me what it takes to get by in this world as it is.
The coin used for paying the tax is not a Jewish coin. It is not the historic currency of Israel, it is not the symbol of loyalty to God and God's values. Those coins are no longer in use, except for making offerings in the temple. With Roman rule came Roman money -- except in the temple. Roman coins were not suitable there, because of their idolatrous image and inscription. So there were moneychangers in the temple, to keep the Roman coins outside and to provide holy Jewish coinage for the treasury. But we're not in the temple right now. We're on the street. And out here, for day-to-day use, and certainly for paying the tax, what you need is Roman coins.
So somebody produces one. And I imagine they all stood around for a moment looking at the coin as it lay glinting in the questioner's palm: the symbol of so much tension among neighbors; a symbol of pain and shame for a conquered people, yet also a symbol of a mighty civilization and a cosmopolitan existence. A symbol of failure, a symbol of success. A symbol of resentment, a symbol of allegiance. So many conflicting feelings, so many issues, centered around this little piece of metal winking in someone's palm.
And Jesus breaks in on their reflections: "Whose portrait is on the coin? And whose title?" (Matthew 22:20 cf).
The emperor's. Call him a divinity, call him a demon, this coin belongs to the emperor. For better or for worse, we're under Rome.
Just as we may be inclined to say that, like it or not, we live in a consumer society. We have to abide by its values.
And Jesus says, yes, the coin belongs to Caesar. Let him have it. Give to God what belongs to God.
Now that may sound like a concession to the realities of this world, an acknowledgment that when in Rome you have to do as the Romans do. It may sound like a justification for living as unabashed consumers all week long, so long as we come to church and say our prayers on Sunday. Put the holy coins in the treasury, but live by the pagan stuff all week long.
Think again.
If the coin belongs to Caesar, if the likeness it bears is that of the emperor, to whom it should be given, then what should be given to God? What belongs to God? What is stamped with God's likeness in this world?
We all, if we think about it, know the answer to that, just as surely as Jesus' hearers did. Way back in the first chapter of Genesis it tells us, "God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness ...' " and so "God created humankind in [God's] image, in the image of God he created them, male and female [God] created them." And God then set the human beings as God's agents in the world, to exercise stewardship over the creation on God's behalf (Genesis 1:26a, 27, 26a, 28).
We are the coin of God's realm. God's likeness stamped on us declares that we belong wholly and entirely to God.
Next to that, who cares who owns the penny? All the power of human love and thought and action belong to God -- and if these are properly rendered, if we actually give to God what belongs to God (all the love of our heart and soul and mind and strength, issuing in a love of neighbor as strong as our love of self) -- if these powers of human love and thought and action are properly rendered, the coin is a non-issue. Human beings who are wholly given to God will not fail to use their money in a God-honoring, Kingdom-building manner, no matter whose picture is on it.
To live as Christians in a consumer society is no easier and no harder than to be faithful Jews in a Roman-ruled one. God knows we have to play by the rules of the occupier, and Jesus' answer acknowledges that. But playing by the rules is completely different from buying into the game. Yes, we need to go to work and earn money so we, and our families, have a decent standard of living. But we will not think only of our families in the way we spend our money, we will also care for the needs of others less fortunate, and we will support those who work for justice. Yes, of course we will dress the way the people with whom we associate dress -- but we will be sure that we purchase our clothing as much as possible from employers that provide fair wages and healthy working conditions. Yes, we will drive similar cars to our neighbors -- when we cannot walk, that is, out of deference to the fragility of God's creation. We will participate in the normal life of our society -- but not uncritically or without thought to its impact on others both here and abroad, for we are citizens of God's realm, and we share God's concern for all of humanity and the whole of creation. We will not be overly concerned to keep up with the Joneses, because we have someone much greater to keep up with: Jesus Christ, who counseled would-be followers to cut off whatever might come between them and God, be it their wealth or their arms and legs, so that they could be wholeheartedly dedicated to embodying God's reconciling love in the world (Philippians 3:14; Luke 18:22; Matthew 18:8; Matthew 5:38-48; 2 Corinthians 5:18).
Jesus reminds us, by his answer to the question about taxes, and by his own life and death in full obedience to God, that we are, body and soul, the people of God, created in God's likeness, living here as stewards of earth and ambassadors of God's reign.
We are the coin of God's realm. May we each remember, each day, in whose likeness and for whose purposes we are created. Amen.
Talk about your loaded question!
If we're talking about the law of Rome, the law of the imperial government, the law of this part of the world, of course it's legal to pay taxes to the emperor -- it's illegal not to! And just in case Jesus was hoping to fudge a bit on the answer, there are among his questioners members of the Herodian party, supporters of the puppet king, toadies to the Roman government, here listening to his answer. If Jesus so much as hints that the taxes paid to Rome are out of order, the full force of the law will be down upon him.
However, he can't just say, "Of course, pay your taxes!" Because here with the Herodians -- odd bedfellows if ever there were -- are some Pharisees, the guardians of Jewish purity, of Jewish law and piety, sticklers for religious correctness. And there are serious religious objections to paying taxes to the pagan Roman occupiers; why, the very coin used to pay the tax bears a graven image, strictly against Jewish law, a graven image of the emperor. And the inscription upon the coin identifies that emperor as a divinity, son of the divine Augustus Caesar. How can any self-respecting monotheist pay tribute to someone who claims to be God? And how can a healthy Jewish patriot stomach paying taxes to occupiers anyway? If Jesus gives an un-Jewish answer, lacking in either theological correctness or patriotism, he will be completely discredited as a teacher of his people; he will probably also lose most of his popular support. It seems that no matter how he answers, he's in trouble. Which, of course, is exactly what his questioners want. Coming from these people, the question about taxes is not a faith or conscience query; it is a hostile question designed to make Jesus discredit himself. And it looks as if they have him over a barrel.
Is it right for the chosen people of God, citizens of Israel, who have no king but God and God's anointed, to pay tribute to an occupying pagan power whose emperor demands to be worshiped as a god?
Or again, is it right for citizens of a conquered nation to withhold taxes from their established government -- taxes from which come benefits like roads and aqueducts and a justice system renowned for its even-handedness?
Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?
The particular issues may be different for us, but the problem of thorny questions of allegiance is a familiar one. There are times when deeply held values and nonnegotiable realities seem to pull us in opposite directions: times when we feel as if, no matter what we decide, we will be wrong, and/or in deep trouble. Who among us hasn't struggled with how to respond to some situation in the wider world, or to a personal moral quandary?
For instance, a central question that all of us face in this society -- our central question of allegiance as Christians living in a consumer society, and especially in a consumer society existing in a poor and hungry world -- a central question for us is: do I live for my personal standard of living, or do I live for God's realm of integrity, justice, and peace? To whom, metaphorically speaking, do I pay my taxes -- and to whom should I? If you haven't pondered that one lately, you may be overdue. As citizens of a democratic nation, we bear a special responsibility not only for our personal choices but also for the life of our nation and the priorities of our government. So where, both literally and metaphorically, should our taxes go?
In response to the question, Jesus says, show me a coin. "Show me the coin used for [paying] the tax" (Matthew 22:19). Show me what it takes to get by in this world as it is.
The coin used for paying the tax is not a Jewish coin. It is not the historic currency of Israel, it is not the symbol of loyalty to God and God's values. Those coins are no longer in use, except for making offerings in the temple. With Roman rule came Roman money -- except in the temple. Roman coins were not suitable there, because of their idolatrous image and inscription. So there were moneychangers in the temple, to keep the Roman coins outside and to provide holy Jewish coinage for the treasury. But we're not in the temple right now. We're on the street. And out here, for day-to-day use, and certainly for paying the tax, what you need is Roman coins.
So somebody produces one. And I imagine they all stood around for a moment looking at the coin as it lay glinting in the questioner's palm: the symbol of so much tension among neighbors; a symbol of pain and shame for a conquered people, yet also a symbol of a mighty civilization and a cosmopolitan existence. A symbol of failure, a symbol of success. A symbol of resentment, a symbol of allegiance. So many conflicting feelings, so many issues, centered around this little piece of metal winking in someone's palm.
And Jesus breaks in on their reflections: "Whose portrait is on the coin? And whose title?" (Matthew 22:20 cf).
The emperor's. Call him a divinity, call him a demon, this coin belongs to the emperor. For better or for worse, we're under Rome.
Just as we may be inclined to say that, like it or not, we live in a consumer society. We have to abide by its values.
And Jesus says, yes, the coin belongs to Caesar. Let him have it. Give to God what belongs to God.
Now that may sound like a concession to the realities of this world, an acknowledgment that when in Rome you have to do as the Romans do. It may sound like a justification for living as unabashed consumers all week long, so long as we come to church and say our prayers on Sunday. Put the holy coins in the treasury, but live by the pagan stuff all week long.
Think again.
If the coin belongs to Caesar, if the likeness it bears is that of the emperor, to whom it should be given, then what should be given to God? What belongs to God? What is stamped with God's likeness in this world?
We all, if we think about it, know the answer to that, just as surely as Jesus' hearers did. Way back in the first chapter of Genesis it tells us, "God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness ...' " and so "God created humankind in [God's] image, in the image of God he created them, male and female [God] created them." And God then set the human beings as God's agents in the world, to exercise stewardship over the creation on God's behalf (Genesis 1:26a, 27, 26a, 28).
We are the coin of God's realm. God's likeness stamped on us declares that we belong wholly and entirely to God.
Next to that, who cares who owns the penny? All the power of human love and thought and action belong to God -- and if these are properly rendered, if we actually give to God what belongs to God (all the love of our heart and soul and mind and strength, issuing in a love of neighbor as strong as our love of self) -- if these powers of human love and thought and action are properly rendered, the coin is a non-issue. Human beings who are wholly given to God will not fail to use their money in a God-honoring, Kingdom-building manner, no matter whose picture is on it.
To live as Christians in a consumer society is no easier and no harder than to be faithful Jews in a Roman-ruled one. God knows we have to play by the rules of the occupier, and Jesus' answer acknowledges that. But playing by the rules is completely different from buying into the game. Yes, we need to go to work and earn money so we, and our families, have a decent standard of living. But we will not think only of our families in the way we spend our money, we will also care for the needs of others less fortunate, and we will support those who work for justice. Yes, of course we will dress the way the people with whom we associate dress -- but we will be sure that we purchase our clothing as much as possible from employers that provide fair wages and healthy working conditions. Yes, we will drive similar cars to our neighbors -- when we cannot walk, that is, out of deference to the fragility of God's creation. We will participate in the normal life of our society -- but not uncritically or without thought to its impact on others both here and abroad, for we are citizens of God's realm, and we share God's concern for all of humanity and the whole of creation. We will not be overly concerned to keep up with the Joneses, because we have someone much greater to keep up with: Jesus Christ, who counseled would-be followers to cut off whatever might come between them and God, be it their wealth or their arms and legs, so that they could be wholeheartedly dedicated to embodying God's reconciling love in the world (Philippians 3:14; Luke 18:22; Matthew 18:8; Matthew 5:38-48; 2 Corinthians 5:18).
Jesus reminds us, by his answer to the question about taxes, and by his own life and death in full obedience to God, that we are, body and soul, the people of God, created in God's likeness, living here as stewards of earth and ambassadors of God's reign.
We are the coin of God's realm. May we each remember, each day, in whose likeness and for whose purposes we are created. Amen.
