O God, grant us
the will, the trust, and the strength to render unto thee our hearts, our
minds, and our lives; for all things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own do
we give thee. Amen.
One of the complaints that all of us are hearing, and maybe even making, these days is how everything is being politicized. Certainly, we’ve come to expect that in elections. But now things like masks and vaccines have been “politicized,” even Halloween is going to be swallowed up by divisive rhetoric and taking sides. What I think we have to understand about this is that we’re actually using the wrong vocabulary. “Politics” comes from the Greek word poliõ, which just means “city,” hence our neighboring Kannapolis means “The City of Cannon.” Politics is simply about the affairs and governance of the city, but the word doesn’t only apply to cities – churches have a politic, colleges have a politic, so do workplaces, and even families. Those rules, customs, and norms that drive the community, whether a household or a nation, are politics.
When
we bemoan that so many things become “political,” we’re not really lamenting
that we are in relationships with others, the frustration is that things have
become partisan. You can hear it right there in the word – “part.” Anytime we only
have a part of the whole, we are lacking. And that’s why partisanship is so unfortunate
– it’s about division and taking sides. Now this introduction is needed because
in Matthew, we encounter one of the most political statements that Jesus ever made.
And the only way to consider this passage is to consider politics. But I want
to be very clear, this passage is not partisan and likewise, this sermon will
be non-partisan. But our faith is deeply political and must always be. While we
can avoid falling into the trap of partisanship, there’s no way to avoid politics.
A religion that doesn’t deal with politics isn’t avoiding controversy, it is
avoiding duty and relevance. And as a minister of the Gospel, to avoid politics
just because it can be uncomfortable would be to turn a blind eye to our Lord
Jesus Christ, who died at the hands of the empire of his day. Separation of
Church and State might be a good idea for the Constitution; but for the
Christian, it is disastrous. But don’t take my word for it, let’s turn to Jesus
and see why this is.
As
I mentioned a few sermons ago, in Matthew 21 we enter the events of Holy Week when
tensions are high. Jesus’ own entrance into Jerusalem is a political statement,
as he enters the city in a parade that presents an alternative to the parades
of Rome. The palms branches that people lay on Jesus’ path are a Roman symbol
of victory. But you can’t very well kill someone for coming into the city on a
donkey. So as Jesus enters the Temple, various political and religious leaders
begin to question him, trying to get him to say something self-incriminating.
That’s
where the trap in today’s text comes in: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the
emperor, or not?” Notice that this question is asked by Pharisees, that is
religious leaders of the Temple, and Herodians, pagan supporters of the Roman
establishment. These are two groups that ordinarily were deeply opposed to each
other. But, as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Well, they’ve
found a common enemy in Jesus and come together to trap him. If Jesus says that
they should pay taxes, he can be accused of being a supporter of the Roman occupation
of the Holy Land – this would discredit his credentials as a prophet of God.
And if he says that taxes should not be paid, well, that’s sedition.
What’s
so helpful about this interaction is that Jesus is presented with two positions
– the Herodians and the Pharisees. And, to be clear, there were other parties
around, there were also the Zealots and Sadducees. But Jesus doesn’t fall into
the trap of binary thinking. The way our political system works is binary, and
Jesus helps us by showing us a faithful way out of such limited thinking. On
the ballots most of us will fill out, there will be two choices – this is true
for candidates, but also when referenda are on the ballot, our only choices are
“For” and “Against.” But it’s not just politics where we fall into binary
thought – so often we think of this or that, up or down, me or them. Life
though is non-binary, because the Kingdom of the Triune God always presents us
with an alternative.
Jesus’
response is absolutely brilliant. It’s not unlike the parables that we’ve been
reading over the past few months – as it becomes a trap that springs on us. It’s
hard to overstate just how prophetic and provocative Jesus’ response is – “Show
me the coin.” Why didn’t Jesus pull a coin out of his purse and say, “Look at
this coin and tell me whose image is on it?” Jesus didn’t do that because he
wasn’t carrying one. Remember, this encounter takes place at the Temple. As we
heard in the reading from Exodus a few Sundays ago, two of the Commandments are
“You shall have no other gods before me” and “You shall not make for yourself
an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” Well, the coin in question
violates both of these.
Thanks
to the work archeologists, we know what the coin looked like. It had an image of
the head of the Emperor on it, strike one; and there was in inscription which
read: Caesar Augustus Tiberius, Son of the Divine Augustus; strike two. Now, it
would be one thing to have that coin out in the streets, but in the Temple
where God alone is to be worshiped? Strike three. We miss this by reading the
text and not envisioning it. If we could witness this event as it happened, I’m
quite sure that their looks of contentment from trapping Jesus turned to
red-faced looks of embarrassment and outrage. When they produced the coin, they
trap has been reversed. It’s an immediate “gotcha” for the Pharisees – having this
coin in the Temple has already undermined their supposed religious purity and
exposed their corruption. If Jesus didn’t say anything further, the point would
have been proven – they are hypocrites who do not practice what they preach.
But
Jesus does not stop there. I’ll quote from the King James translation because
it’s how we best know the line: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which
are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” So whose side is he
taking? Ah, that’s the point, he’s not playing the same game as they are. Not
only has Jesus challenged the Pharisee’s in their imperial complicity, but now
he’s going to rebuke the claim of Herodian supremacy. It was Herod and the
Roman Empire that had the army, the wealth, and the power, but Jesus makes it
clear that these things are a lot of glitz and glamor that amount to nothing.
Here,
we have to understand the word that Jesus uses when he asks whose head is on
the coin. The word that Matthew records is eivkw,n,
which, you might guess, is where we get our word for icon. The first and most
important place this word is used in Scripture is found in Genesis 1:26 – “Then
God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image (our eivkw,n).’” This connection is one that everyone in the Temple
would have understood. So what things are made in the image of the Emperor?
Well, for the Jews living under Roman occupation and oppression, the Emperor
stood for burdensome taxation, for pagan festival, for violence, for profaning
the Holy Land. Give these sorts of things back to the Emperor is one sub-text
of “Render unto Caesar.” But Jesus is the master of plausible deniability – he said
give the coin to the Emperor, no accusations of tax evasion will stick.
But
Jesus doesn’t stop there. And he could have. Both sides have been put in their place.
But Jesus then speaks to you and to me, to his disciples: “Give to God the things
that belong to God.” The parallel of the coins bearing Caesar’s image being
rendered unto Caesar is clear: humanity is made in the image of God, therefore
humanity is to be given unto God. And for us Christians, if Genesis isn’t
enough, at our Baptisms, when we are anointed with holy oil, it is said over us
“You are marked as Christ’s own forever.” There’s no getting around this one –
we belong to God. So give to God what belongs to God.
Now,
at this point, I could pivot and talk about stewardship and the important of
giving to God financially through the work of God’s Church. And that’s
important. You all have received pledge cards and if you haven’t, you can find
information on how to pledge on our website. And if you’re not yet a member of
St. Luke’s, maybe you don’t even live in Salisbury, but you’ve connected with online
us during this pandemic, one way of responding in faith and thanksgiving is to
support the ministries that happen here. But Jesus was thinking more broadly
than money, and so I’ll follow his lead.
We
are made in God’s image, and so our lives are to be used not for seeking after
our own pleasures, not for our own glory, but for God’s. And, of course, God
wants and wills good things for us, and so when we align ourselves with our
lives with the image in which we are made, we do find abundant life and a peace
that passes all understanding. It’s not as if we have to choose between living
for ourselves and living for God – those can be one in the same as long as God
is where we place our allegiance and trust. As Jesus said, “No one can serve two
masters." Our actions, our words, our money, our skills, our devotion – these things
are to be given to God because they belong to God and flow from God’s grace and
love to us.
“When
the people heard this, they were amazed,” Matthew records. Are we amazed when
we hear “Render unto Caesar,” or do we say “Oh, yeah, that. I get it”? I think this
is a phrase that we’ve become too familiar with and are no longer amazed by it.
Jesus is not arguing for the separation of Church and State, he is not differentiating
between the secular and the profane, he is not saying that there are two kingdoms
that compete for our loyalty. Instead, Jesus is problematizing what it means to
be his followers in this world.
And here’s an easy
way for us to know whether or not we’re being faithful followers of Jesus or
not – if we are not aware of the problems with being both a citizen of the
United States and a Baptized Christian, then there’s a big problem. If we think
that “Render unto Caesar and render unto God” gives us clear marching orders on
how to navigate life as a Christian living in society, then we’ve missed the
point. Instead, if we are aware of the tension and problems of how faith and
politics are intertwined, then we’re in a good place. In other words, if we don’t
see the problem, that’s a problem.
And the thing is, Jesus
doesn’t solve the problem for us. He doesn’t say that we get to ignore Caesar nor
does say that Caesar is in charge. The path of discipleship is more complicated
and more problematic than we want it to be. There is no resolving this tension,
only learning how to faithfully navigate it. Everything belongs to God, this we
know. But there are some things which God has given into our collective care as
stewards – this includes our budgets, our calendars, our choices, our planet, and
our political arrangements. The question is not how we balance the scales
between our duties to God and our duties to society, that’s a zero-sum game.
The question is how do we live and move as image-bearers of the Almighty in
those other spheres of our world? And that is the work of discernment, of collaboration,
and of repentance. I can’t give you the answers, but I’m committed to asking
the questions together in faith, and in hope, and in love.
There’s
a line from an ancient prayer that I ran across recently that I found to be
quite helpful. It comes from St. Augustine of Hippo – “O Lord, let me distrust
myself and put my trust in thee.” Let me distrust myself and trust in thee. I
think that prayer can help us to navigate the choppy waters of politics – we distrust
ourselves and instead trust in God. We might want to vote one way, we might
have certain political leanings, we might think certain solutions are the way
forward. But let’s distrust those as not much more than our flawed and sinful
thoughts and motivations. Let’s distrust what we think is right. Instead, we
pray that we can have the courage and the openness to trust in God. And what
does that look like?
Well, when Jesus was asked what this looks like, he said “There are two things you have to understand: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” That is the political agenda of the Kingdom, and as those who bear God’s image, this is the love is what we are to render unto God in all things.
