"To Whom or to What Do YOU Give Your Ultimate Allegiance?"

As I sat down to compose this sermon, I found it hard to compose myself. You see, I'm acutely aware that the United States is 17 days out from an election that feels rather existential. For a long, weary time now, we've been watching as many of our immigrant neighbors are brutally arrested and deported without due process. We've also witnessed efforts to erode women's rights, LGBTQ rights, the right to free speech, and the freedom of the press, as well as the widespread defunding of the arts and sciences. At the same time, we've found ourselves choking on a veritable firehose of lies, even as greed and corruption run rampant, and vanity coins and monuments multiply.... And based on conversations I've had with several of you, I know that you, too, are recognizing the rollback of environmental protections, as well as experiencing the rollback of health insurance and health care options. In addition, prices are up, income isn't keeping pace, and on top of that, even before we vote, we're being warned that the outcome of our election may be challenged!... But from where I sit, the most distressing thing of all has been witnessing how God's holy name is being coopted to support the worldly agenda of empire… The dragon of empire is thrashing violently, friends, and I can't help wondering: Is anyone else's head spinning these days? [show of hands, if you feel it, too….] Yeah, I figured I wasn't the only one!

So, here's the thing: As I reflect on Jesus's encounter with the Pharisees and Herodians in today's gospel reading, I realize that his teaching isn't meant only for them, it's also meant for you and me and all who would be his followers. Since I'm not qualified to examine the sliver in anyone else's eye, I'll focus my attention on the log in my own eye and prayerfully ponder Jesus's instruction: "What does it mean for me to 'render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's?,,, I invite you to join me in this exercise of reflection and self-examination, as we consider these pivotal questions: How are we living our lives? Are we truly trading in God's divine currency of grace and forgiveness and abundant life for all? Or have we become deeply invested in empire's earthly currency that profits some at the expense of others?

BUT since context matters when interpreting Scripture, before we dig any deeper into Jesus's saying and how it applies to us personally, I want to give you a quick refresher on the setting for his encounter with the Pharisees and Herodians. Who exactly are these guys who come into the temple determined to entrap Jesus? I think most of us know that the Pharisees are powerful religious leaders, but we may be less clear as to who the Herodians are. The very designation "Herodians" implies that they're supporters of Herod, the Jewish puppet king who was put in place by the Roman occupiers. In any case, Matthew the Evangelist tells us that these unlikely bedfellows, the Pharisees and the Herodians, have forged an unholy alliance to try to entrap Jesus because both groups perceive him to be a threat to their power and privilege. Matthew 22 describes them as approaching Jesus with flattery, but Jesus sees right through their smarmy compliments to the scheming malice beneath.

In response to his opponents' question, "Is it lawful [for Jews] to pay taxes to the emperor or not?," Jesus asks them to show him the coin used for the tax. When they produce a denarius, he asks, "Whose head is on the coin, and whose title?" They reply with the obvious answer, "The emperor's." Without missing a beat, Jesus quite logically, yet also rather enigmatically concludes, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's and to God the things that are God's...." Matthew the Evangelist tells us that Jesus's adversaries are stunned by his brilliant answer. But at the very same time, it's pretty clear they've been publicly humiliated. So, even though Jesus may have wriggled out of their noose this time, we can bet they'll be back with a vengeance!... And here's another bit of info to help us better understand this encounter: While the simple act of fishing out a coin might seem totally innocent, for a first-century Jew to bring a Roman coin into the temple would be tantamount to idolatry. You see, the image on the denarius is that of Tiberius Caesar, and the Latin inscription on the coin is translated, "Tiberius Caesar, august son of the divine Augustus, high priest." In other words, the coin claims that the emperor is the "son of God"; therefore, it's blasphemy for Jews to carry such a coin into God's house of worship!... If Jesus' opponents were truly concerned about idolatry, they would've been careful to exchange the Roman coin for a Jewish shekel before entering the temple...

At first glance, I find it intriguing that Jesus seems to be telling his Jewish audience to go ahead and pay the tax that funds the foreign military occupation of their own land. But when I sit back and look through the wider lens of the whole conversation, I wonder, "Is that really what Jesus is saying here?... I mean, returning the coin with its graven image- an idolatrous object - to an emperor who is himself an idol speaks volumes, does it not?! Besides that, anyone who worships the one true God, Creator of all that is, seen and unseen, should know that ultimately everything belongs to God!..."

Yesterday afternoon we held a memorial service for Dan Pottratz here at Zoar. Near the beginning of the sermon, I said this about Dan: "[The most important you need to know about Dan is that he] was, is, and always will be a beloved child of God. From the very beginning, when God knit him together in his mother's womb, Dan was made in the image and likeness of our loving and gracious Creator...." Friends, the same thing is true for you and me and for all human beings! Indeed, Genesis 1:26 declares that we're� created in the image and likeness of God.... Since God has stamped us with God's image - inside and out - we belong to God. And when we connect our God-given identity with the words of Jesus, it's clear that we are to give our whole selves - all that we have and all that we are - to God. The words of a favorite offering song spring to mind, "We lift our voices, we lift our hands, we lift our lives up to you: We are an offering… All that we have, all that we are, all that we hope to be we give to you, we give to you…"

My friends, it occurs to me that giving our whole selves to God l.?. a great blessing, but it's also a difficult and humbling thing. As image-bearers of our Creator, we cannot isolate our political choices and actions by adopting the attitude of so many of our fellow Christians who say, "The end justifies the means." No! You and I are a people called to live in the Way of Jesus, and so, the way we live- that is, the "means" - is intertwined with the "end," and it all belongs to God. To say it another way, our political and spiritual lives must be in synch with each other and aligned with God's ethics...Continuing this thought, you and I are image-bearers of a loving, forgiving, and gracious God, who calls us to participate in the ongoing work of blessing our neighbors by extending to them the same grace and generosity we have first received… When it comes to our political and spiritual lives, Jesus teaches us to follow in his way of courage, compassion, humility, and self-giving. May each of us stand up and speak out for justice, and may we leave the door open to reconciliation, wherever it seems possible.

Again, what I said about Dan, is also true of you and me: We are, first and foremost, beloved children of God, and no one can ever separate us from the love of God revealed through Christ Jesus. So, as we go about our political lives here on this earth - whether paying taxes, protesting, or exercising our right to vote within the next 17 days-- we can give the emperor his very limited due, while also remembering that our first loyalty is to a kingdom that will remain long after earthly empires rise and fall. Biblical commentator Debie Thomas offers this fitting conclusion:

"Caesar's" realm is limited and temporal. God's reign is eternal and all-encompassing. Give to God what is God's. In short: give God everything.¹

And let the people of God say: "Amen!"

1 Debie Thomas, "What Belongs to God," www.journeywithjesus.net. 11 October 2020.

"To Whom or to What Do YOU Give Your Ultimate Allegiance?"