Sermon: Whose image is on you, and whose likeness? (Oct. 19, 2014)

Pentecost 19A/Lectionary 29

October 19, 2014

Matthew 22:15-22

            Last week I was in New York City at a banquet celebrating the 100^th anniversary of an organization called the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, or ALPB. Over the years, the ALPB has

The stewardship tract

done various work, but in their earliest years, one of their projects was to develop tracts and resources for Lutheran churches. One stewardship tract from circa the 1960s, had the eye-catching title, “I was an embezzler… and didn’t realize it!” It goes on to tell the story of how this man realized he had been stealing “company” money (God’s money) all his life by keeping it for himself, but how he then came to be generous, and hence a true partner in God’s work, no longer an embezzler.

            Well, it certainly has shock value! Not sure that is the particular language I would use now in talking about stewardship, but I suppose it gets the point across. And come to think of it, this approach isn’t unlike our Gospel lesson this morning, which causes us to reflect on what and whose money we keep, and what we give back, and why.

Jesus is approached by the Herodians and the disciples of the Pharisees. They have set up a trap for him, you see. Here’s a little background to help you understand the significance of this: First of all, these two groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians, are not friends. The Herodians were followers of Herod, collaborators with the oppressive Roman government. And the Pharisees were the very religious Jewish leaders, who were being oppressed by said government. The only thing they could agree on was that Jesus was trouble, and so they devise this trap for him, first flattering him and his teachings, and then asking him if it is lawful to pay taxes to the emperor. It’s a good trap: if he says no, they shouldn’t pay taxes, then the Herodians will brand him an embezzler, of sorts, and a revolutionary, and get him for breaking the law and rising up against the Roman government. On the other hand, if he says yes to paying taxes, he will be a traitor to the Jewish people who are being oppressed by this very tax. Either way, Jesus is toast.

            Except, Jesus is too clever for their trap. First he calls them out, tells them he knows what they are trying to do. Then he tells them to take out a coin – and in doing so, he spins the situation against the accusers. “Whose face is on it?” he asks. It is Caesar’s – and in admitting that, the Pharisees are caught red-handed. Merely by having the coin in their possession, they have broken the first commandment to have no other gods, and pledged allegiance to something and someone other

than God. In the context, this “gotcha” moment would have been clear to all involved.

            Still, Jesus goes on to explain. Caesar’s face is on there, he says, so it’s his. “Give back to the emperor what is the emperor’s,” he says. His response is so contemporary – though of course we no longer have an emperor, our minds substitute for that our own government and tax system, in which the law requires we give money to the government, to our own “Caesar.” We need not get into a conversation about tax policy here and now – I think it is clear enough that the mere reality of putting a significant portion of our income toward taxes, and our agreement or disagreement about how that money is used, strikes enough of a nerve to get the point across.

            In fact, the issue of paying taxes hits so close to home, that sometimes we miss the real climax of this passage, which comes in Jesus’ next words: “and [give back] to God what is God’s.” Though controversial, the concept of giving back to Caesar is fairly clear-cut, but this statement about God leaves room for question. What is God’s that we should give it back?

            The clue is actually back in the first part of Jesus’ statement, as he explains what should go back to Caesar and why. The currency used to pay the emperor his tax is a coin, specifically a coin with the emperor’s head engraved on it. So when Jesus has them pull out one of the coins and asks, “Whose image is on this coin, and whose likeness?” it is very obvious to whom that coin belongs, to whom it should be returned.

So, if a coin is the currency by which we give back to the emperor, what is the currency by which we give back to God? If we are to follow the same logic, it is that which bears the image and likeness of God. What could that be?

 “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness. … So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God, he created them.” It’s right there in the book of

Hand of God, Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo

Genesis: We are the currency, you see, by which we give back to God. We are – our hearts, our minds, our strength, our souls, all that is in us, all that God first gave to us – we are the means by which we give to God. From our very creation we have borne the image of God in our very being. In our baptism we were marked again with this image when a cross was traced on our foreheads with the words, “You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” God is our being. Christ is engraved upon us. When we give to God, we give all of us – our selves, our time, and our possessions.

            Often when we think of stewardship we think only of money, but that is only one way that we give back to God. So this year for our stewardship focus, we hope to help you see how you might give your whole image-of-God self back to God as Jesus commands. By now you should have received a pledge sheet in the mail, which outlines five areas by which you can give back to God what is God’s through Bethlehem/St. Martin Lutheran Church: 1) Worship, which is the central activity that we as the church do, and our designated opportunity to offer thanks and praise to God for all that God has given us; 2) Growing in faith, which includes taking advantage of the various offerings of this church to help you think deeply about your faith and your relationship with God, so that it may grow; 3) Participating in mission, which is God’s charge to us, to love and serve our neighbors; 4) Showing gratefulness to God through financial giving, which is a concrete, physical way for us not only to support the mission and ministry of this church, but also a way to live out our total dependence on and gratitude to God for all things; and 5) Tell others about faith, which is but one important way to share the good news of Christ and the joy that it brings us.

On the pledge sheet you received, there are several ways listed that you can participate in each of these areas. These are all ways that we can “give back to God what is God’s” – in terms of our selves, our time, and our possessions. I hope that you will think about ways in each area that you can give, and thoughtfully and prayerfully fill out your sheet, and after you return it, to remember and hold yourself accountable to fulfill this promise you are making. (Maybe make a copy and put it on your fridge, or by your bed, so you see it every day and remember the promise you have made to God.)

As surely as Caesar’s image is stamped and engraved on a denarius, the image of God has been stamped upon you, upon your heart, upon your life. May we take seriously Jesus’ command to give to God what is God’s, understanding that it is with our whole selves that we respond in grateful thanks and praise for all that God has given to us.

Let us pray… Lord of all, you have created us in your image and marked us with the cross of Christ. Help us to live out this image in the church and in the world, guiding each of our decisions and actions toward your praise. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.