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Matthew 22:15-22 | New Revised Standard Version
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.
Jesus says pay to Caesar what is Caesar’s. What else could you do? Let’s be clear. The sunrise and paying your taxes were on a very similar schedule in ancient Rome. Folks were going to pay taxes and there was no way around that.
But Jesus says you can choose to give yourself to the Divine and live for that empire. Notice the comparison. The coin’s had someone’s image on them, what is the analogy here? What could belong to God that bears God’s image?
People. We bear the image of God in in a similar way money bears the image of the leaders of whatever country printed the money. We give ourselves to God. To give to God what is God’s is to say that we belong to the Kingdom of God, regardless of where or when we live.
More importantly, what was it that Jesus did, that everyone knew Jesus did, that demonstrated he was living to give to God what is Gods? Jesus lived giving to God what is God’s by loving the people the around him! Jesus did not play the game of who is best, who is winning, who counts the most. Jesus loved each person, recognized and saw each person for the good and beloved person they were.
So, we can do the same. We absolutely participate in the time and place we live, and I encourage you to vote if you haven’t already. We are here and a part of this just as much as those earliest followers who lived in the Roman Empire. We will pay our taxes and go to city council meetings and maybe run for office and work in our neighborhood groups and help out our school systems.
But all of that is still done because we are giving to God what is God’s. We love our neighbor because they are God’s. We tend to creation because that is God’s. We build the beloved community because we are God’s.
May our very lives bear the image of God so faithfully that future generations can look and see that Divine Image and know who we belonged to.
See you in church!
Rev. Chesna Barcroft
Minister to Children, Youth, and Families
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