| Psalm 96:1-9 Isaiah 45:1-7 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Matthew 22:15-22 |
In Jesus’ day these "dues" were assessed not only to the members of the organized society, but to everyone who fell under the organization’s control. The Jews never applied for membership in the Roman Empire, yet here they were having to pay "dues" even though they did not enjoy the privileges of membership in the Empire. When the Pharisees sent their disciples and the Herodians to Jesus with a question about Jews paying taxes to Caesar, it was a loaded question. If Jesus said that Jews should pay taxes, he would be befriending the enemy. On the other hand, if he said that the Jews should quit paying taxes, they could turn him over to the Roman authorities for advocating a tax rebellion.
The coin that they showed Jesus had the head of the emperor stamped on it along with the inscription, Tiberious Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, great high priest. He tells them that since the money bears the head or image of the emperor that the money belongs to the emperor and they must pay the taxes demanded by him with the money.
One could conclude at this point that we must pay taxes because our own currency bears the portraits of past presidents, and among other inscriptions it has "The United States of America" stamped or printed on it.
But like Jesus, my sermon this morning is not on paying taxes. It is about who owns what. Jesus told the disciples of the Pharisees and Herodians, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s."
This statement by Jesus reminds me of a humorous story about the preacher who was asked how he determined how much of the Sunday collection belonged to God and how much belonged to him. "Quite simple," he replied, "I take the money in the collection plate and throw it up into the air. God takes what he wants and whatever falls on the floor is mine."
Is that how we determine what belongs to God?
What did Jesus mean, give to God the things that are God’s? The coin that he was given had the head or image of the emperor on it – and that is our clue. In the Genesis story of creation there are three statements that say humans beings were created in the image of God. Verse 26 of chapter one says, "Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…" And verse 27 says, "So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female…" What this says to me is that each and everyone of us here this morning, in fact everyone in the whole world, bears the likeness or image of God.
I remember studying the story of creation as a child in Sunday school. At that time I had a real hard time understanding how all of us in the Sunday school class could be made in the image of God because we looked so different. I wondered if God had that many faces, or was it that only one of us really looked like God and the rest of us were aliens from another planet.
Needless to say, I have come to realize that each of us has been created in God’s image even though we do not look alike or act the same. I must pause for a moment to say that we, meaning everyone in the world, do not all act like God because he has given us the free will to embrace his image in us and be godly or rebel and reflect the image of other worldly gods.
Just like the surgical implant of an organ can be accepted or rejected by the physical body, so the divine implant of God can be accepted or rejected by each of us.
What does this likeness or image look like? I turn to Paul’s Letter to the Colossians to help discover what it looks like. Paul writes, "He (referring to Jesus) is the image of the invisible God…" Paul was not referring to the physical body of Jesus, he is talking about the presence of God, the very essence of God, embodied in Jesus Christ. Not flesh and bones, but God was in Jesus, or as Jesus told his disciples, "I and the Father are one."
Image does not refer to what Jesus looked like or what we look like, but rather to that which God has placed or planted in us. It is described as his essence or the Holy Spirit.
At baptism we acknowledge the presence of this image. The questions during the examination of the candidate and the prayers for the candidate are all focused on helping to enable the pre-existent image of God shine forth in the person being baptized. I believe this image is confirmed when, as I anoint the person with holy Chrism oil, I say, "You are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own for ever."
Ah! The inscription. Do you have it? It doesn’t matter whether holy Chrism oil was used or not. When you were baptized God put his claim, his inscription on us – Harold, Bob, Jim, Barbara, Jack, … all of us have an inscription that says we belong to God.
"Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s."
Jim will probably squirm in his seat at this – God does not want your money! He wants you! He wants each and every one of us because we are his. We are his because, whether we see it or not, whether we reflect it or not, whether we believe it or not, we are bearers of his image with the inscription, "Made by God. When finished return to God."