Sermon: Matthew 22:15-22 Proper 24A
16 October 2005
Christ Church Riverdale (139th anniversary)
The Rev. Robert C. Lamborn, Rector
NRSV Matthew 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap [Jesus] 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.
“Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.” Do you get the sense that Jesus is being buttered up here? In my service as a priest I’ve many times been thanked profusely, complimented excessively, even called “bishop,” by people who wanted something–usually money. My guess is that the Pharisees and Herodians are using the same strategy with Jesus–butter him up so that he’ll be off guard when they get to the real point. “Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” That is, is it in agreement with Torah?
This is a highly-charged political situation, because Pharisees and Herodians were on opposite sides when it came to Judea’s occupation by the Roman Empire. The Pharisees hated it, and thought it was against God’s will, but the Herodians had accommodated themselves very well, thank you. Just like a group of Republicans and Democrats asking, “Should Harriet Miers become a Supreme Court Justice, or not?”, there’s no one answer that will satisfy both sides to the question, “Does it agree with Torah to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Come to think of it, it’s looking like no answer to the Harriet Myers question would satisfy even a group just of Republicans!) If Jesus says it is OK to pay the taxes, then he’s legitimizing the government that oppresses his own people. If he says it’s not OK, he’s committing treason against Rome. It’s the perfect trap!
Jesus, though, has a gift that he uses time after time--a knack for answering the question he wants to answer even when it’s not the question he’s asked. “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” Now Jesus knows very well what’s on that coin (and the Roman tax had to be paid in Roman money). If the coin is fairly recently minted, it has a picture of Tiberius Caesar, saying that he’s “son of the god Augustus, high priest.” Now for most of the people of the ancient Mediterranean world, who have lots of gods already, calling Caesar a god isn’t much of an issue, but for Jews, who say there’s only one God, it’s blasphemy! As one of the people trying to entrap Jesus holds the blasphemous coin, Jesus asks, “Whose image is on it; whose title?” “Caesar’s.” “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
Whew! How can you really argue with that--it makes sense, and at the same time is ambiguous enough to get Jesus out of the jam. But, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s,” does a lot more than get Jesus out of a bind. Remember how in buttering him up the Pharisees and Herodians called Jesus teacher? They didn’t actually want him to teach them, but Jesus ends up doing just that. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” – this silver coin with Caesar’s image on it, “and to God what is God’s.” So what does belong to God? What has God’s image on it? Oh, yeah! Genesis! Humankind made in God’s image, and . . . now that you mention it, God created everything else, too. So if we’re to give to God what belongs to God, hmm . . . .
You and I live in a throwaway society where getting us to buy more and more things – to spend more and more money – is valued very highly. Does the company care if you actually get into shape after you buy their fitness machine that promises to change your life? Maybe this other fitness machine will do the trick – only six easy payments! Yet; yet, in this throwaway society, we belong to God. No matter how good a job we have, or not, we belong to God. No matter how much or little money we make, we belong to God. No matter how ripped our abs are, or not, we belong to God! One of the reasons Christ Church Riverdale and other churches exist is to help people know not only in their heads but in their hearts, that we belong to God, and then to express it through their lives.
Let’s go back to the coin for a minute. The coin has Caesar’s image on it; the Greek word is eikon. Long before there were computer icons, the church had icons, pictures that you look not at, for their own sake, but that you look through, to see God. When you look through Caesar’s icon on the denarius, you see the Roman Empire more fully–domination, commerce, taxes. It’s been said that the lives of Christians is the only Bible most people have ever read. So as images or icons of God, our stewardship–how we live the fact that we belong to God–is a big part of how well can people to look through us to see God.
On vacation this summer, Amy and Caroline and I stayed near the site of something else people look through--what purported to be the world’s largest kaleidoscope. I have no reason to doubt that it was, and since the signs said “great for kids,” we took Caroline in one day. The world’s largest kaleidoscope, great for kids, turned out to cost something like $15 for adults and $7 for kids, and Caroline couldn’t go by herself. Not only that, it was surrounded by a large gift shop of small breakable glass items. We didn’t do the kaleidoscope, and I didn’t breathe easy until we were out of there without breaking anything.
As we observe the 139th anniversary of our founding, one of the things we celebrate is that in a society full of changes, we offer a witness to something enduring. In 1866 Andrew Johnson was President, and our nation had just finished a civil war growing out of the injustice that slavery had been lawful in much of this country. In 1866, our sister Church of the Mediator in Kingsbridge turned 11 years old, Riverdale was a part of the town of Yonkers, and the five boroughs would not become the City of New York for another 28 years. In 1866 there were no automobiles, much less the Henry Hudson Parkway, and our church address was on Riverdale Avenue.
As we continue to witness on this same piece of property, in this same building, and in our lives as we go from here, as we continue to witness to a faith more enduring than the slavery of human beings, more enduring than the governmental boundaries of New York, more enduring than no-win questions about taxes, of course we have changed and adapted and grown in Christ in order to proclaim that same message effectively in a changing world. It is an enormous privilege to be an icon, for people to look through us to see God, and so as people read the Bible of our life together as a church, may we offer them not a bunch of fragile items to be scared of breaking, but reach out as a living, breathing, loving Body of Christ, 139 years young, with faith in the best kind of news –that God’s image is on human beings; that we belong to God, no matter what!