St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN
Year A - 20 Pentecost (Proper 24) - October 18, 2020
It’s no secret that this world values money… money from trade (the buying and selling) drives the economy and the economy drives wealth and world position and from wealth and position comes power. And if I could quote Voltaire, or possibly spider-man (who knows) “with great power comes great responsibility.”
Money is the world’s scorecard or marker, and people that don’t have it, want it… and people that have it want more of it. No wonder the scripture says, "where your treasure is… there your heart will be also." We tend to spend money on the things we value, the things that are important to us, the things that we need, and even the things we think we need.
I helped lead a youth retreat some years back and it had pictures of people from different places in the world posed out on the front lawns of their homes with all their possessions. It was shocking to say the least, to look at pictures from impoverished countries that had a few bowls and pots a bedroll and two goats and a bedroll…
And then you look a the family from the United States… with so much STUFF in the yard, you couldn’t see the family…
Money and possessions, drive some of the biggest political issues and cause some of the biggest arguments and problems of our day. Money and possessions and fighting over control of money and possessions cause war and violence and hatred…
Money and possessions… No wonder how you use or treat money and possessions is mentioned over 800 times in Holy Scripture. Yet, the way some folks argue about what is in scripture and what isn’t you would think that sex or something else would top the list.
Jesus is confronted by 2 groups this morning, the Pharisees and the Herodians… The Pharisees we know are the religious elite. They were the ones who walked around “holier than thou” and thought they were keeping every letter of the law. They actively opposed the Roman Empire…
The Herodians on the other hand worked within the Roman Empire and supported Herod, who was the Jewish King but was basically Caesar’s puppet… The two groups were ideologically and politically opposed to each other, but had one thing in common… they both were out to get Jesus…
So they come up with a scheme to try to get Jesus to use his words against himself… After buttering Jesus up with praise for his regard for truth and no partiality they ask Jesus a question to try to trip him up…They ask, "is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" They thought they had him… but Jesus quickly catches onto their scheme…
And Jesus tells them that they are being hypocrites and he asks them why they are testing him… So Jesus asks to see the coin that is used to pay the Roman tax and they produce a Denarius… Then Jesus asks whose head is on the coin and who’s title… and they said the Emperor… Jesus then says, very confidently, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.
It’s interesting that this scripture passage over the years has been put forth as Jesus acclamation that good Christians should pay taxes… but that’s not exactly what it’s saying. The reason it’s so confounding to both the Herodians and Pharisees is that it’s a deep dive, both politically and theologically into the aspects of paying and giving…
Paying and giving both to the Emperor, Caesar, (or what we give power in this world) and Paying or giving to God (who doesn’t trade in Caesar’s currency.)
Jesus’ question of whose head and whose title are on the coin has us look at some of the theological aspects… The image of a head or a person’s likeness that to whom you give power and authority with the title, “Caesar the divine” written on it, is none other than idolatry… So why not return the scorecard of this world to the tyrant that has his head plastered all over it. Jesus’ argument makes perfect sense.
But you can’t look at what Jesus says about the Emperor’s coin and ignore what he says about God. Remember he also says, "give to God the things that are God’s. Both the Herodians and Pharisees would know, as we well know and have been taught from the beginning that we belong to God.
We are made in God’s image and we walk around this earth and bear the image of God. So, are we giving to God those things that are God’s?
As I said, God doesn’t trade in Caesar’s currency… Now, Cindy Painter and Doug Temple are both going to hate me saying this… right here in the middle of our pledge season. God doesn’t want your money! God doesn’t need your money. God wants you! God wants your life and love. God wants your praise and adoration. God wants your thankfulness and your attention. God wants your souls and bodies.
If everything in this world was created by God and every human being bears the image of God then God already owns it all. What we do with our life, our money, and our stuff, is how we show this world that we are trading with different currencies in a different market... That we are investing in eternal things (heavenly things) and not earthly things. The currency of God’s kingdom is radically different from that of Caesar’s.
When I was in the Diocese of North Carolina we had a saying that embodies this idea… It was our diocesan stewardship statement… see stewardship isn’t about just money… it’s about how we use our time, what we value, how we are accountable for the things we are given and the things that we earn, and how we use our passions, skills, and abilities to help usher forth God’s kingdom.
The saying in North Carolina was simple, say it with me… Stewardship! All that we are! All that we have! All the time! It’s a very simple message to understand…
So there are some things for us to think about today… into these coming weeks and months and into the coming year… What do we value? To whom or what do we give power and authority? Who are we? and who’s are we? What are we thankful for? To Whom or to what do we give praise? In what currency do we trade? - knowing that we have to live in this world and prepare for God’s kingdom? How do we use that which is entrusted to us for the spread of the redeeming message of Jesus and the building up of God’s kingdom in this world?
All that we are! All that we have! All the time!
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