The Message, October 22: "Giving to God," Matthew 22:15-22

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
October 24, 2023

 

“Giving to God”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Matthew 22:15-22

[NOTE: As my Children’s Message, I passed out “ScottBucks” to the children and youth. Scottbucks were obviously phony bills with my image on them. There were $1s, $5s, $10s, $20s and $100s. I told the children that they could only get ScottBucks from me, and they could only be used at ScottMart. The point obviously was that the church is not about ME, it is about US, and that it is about God. The additional point was that we are a community that shares what we have to care for one another.]

            ScottBucks … ScottMart … I am the emperor of First Parish Church! I may have reached the pinnacle of my ministry!

            Of course, as I considered my new role, I had to consider some issues that need to be resolved. How do I distribute the ScottBucks? How do I stock the shelves at ScottMart? And then another thought crossed my mind … how do I collect ScottTaxes? Do I create a separate collection basket? Do I put a big barrel with my head on top in the atrium, and you can put your tributes into my mouth?

            There are so many things to consider, and it made me think of the list of things that Paul instructed us to consider in last week’s message:

            “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about … consider … such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

            I do not think that ScottBucks, ScottMart, or ScottTaxes fall into any of those categories.

            Admittedly, it is a silly way to introduce the topic for this morning. And I know that the number of people that came here to worship hoping to hear a history lesson is likely to be a very small number … BUT … we have to take a moment to understand the context in which this episode occurred.

            The interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees and Herodians occurred two days after Palm Sunday, the day after Jesus cleansed the Temple courts of the money changers.  And even though it is not Lent, or Holy Week, you remember what happened on Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey (a symbol of peace) and the people lined the streets shouting, “Hosanna! Hosanna!” “Save us! Save now!” Jesus rode into the city as the savior that had finally come to set them free!

            Set them free from what? From themselves? From their sinful ways? No. The cheering crowd hoped and prayed that he was coming to set them free from the Romans.

            The Romans that were an occupying army in their homeland. The Romans who taxed them on their land, their income, and their very lives. The Romans who crushed any semblance of rebellion in order to maintain the “Pax Romana” … the Peace of Rome.

            The Pharisees and Herodians asked that question of Jesus in a city that was charged with the electricity of rebellion! After they flattered him with false praise, they posed a lose/lose question: “Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (The word that they used for “permitted” referred to religious law rather than civil law.)

            If Jesus said “no,” it would enflame the Romans as an act of sedition.

            If Jesus said, “yes,” it would enrage and enflame the throng of people that despised the Romans.

            The Pharisees and Herodians thought that it was a win/win question. They thought that Jesus had finally fallen into their trap. No matter how Jesus answered, he would lose.

            Except that Jesus did not lose. He flipped the coin into a lose/lose for his questioners. We heard what happened. Jesus asked them for a coin … a denarius … equivalent to one day’s wage; the required census or poll tax levied by the Romans upon every person over the age of twelve in the empire. “Whose image is on this coin?”

            Now, if you were with us two weeks ago, you may recall the Second Commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (Exodus 20:4-5a)

            It was NOT unlawful to pay taxes, but it WAS not permitted for the Pharisees to hold a coin that had an image upon it of one who claimed to be a god … Caesar. And the Herodians, who supported the reign of the family of Herod, the King of Israel, should not possess a coin of a foreign ruler. Jesus called them hypocrites. Lose. Lose … for them.

            Of course, the heart of the passage is the statement that Jesus made: “Give to God what is God’s.” That leaves us to ask, “What is God’s?”

            The faithful in the gathered crowd might recall words from their hymn book, the Psalms. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1)

            Others might recall these words from the Book of Genesis: “Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Genesis 1:26)

            Whose image is on the coin? Caesar? Then give it to Caesar.
            Whose image is in YOU? God. Then give that to God.

            What is God’s? Everything. YOU are God’s. Give all that you are.

            You might notice, that when Jesus said, “Give to God what is God’s” he did not qualify the instruction. Jesus leaves the question open for each of us to consider. “What is God’s? What then do we give?”

            One commentary that I read this week put it this way … We are God’s coin. Created in God’s image, WE are God’s coin.

            So then, what are we to give?

            Jesus Christ, God’s Love Incarnate, God’s Love in the Flesh came to proclaim the new kingdom … God’s Kingdom. He makes it clear in this passage that we can and must be citizens of the Kingdom of God while we are also citizens of this earthly state. Jesus was not suggesting that there are two distinct realms and asks us to choose one or the other. Instead, it is that the two realms exist in tension with one another. It is not and either/or question. It is both/and.

            To be sure, nobody is rejoicing when the tax bill arrives. But we know that roads and bridges, public and emergency services benefit all of us if administered properly. (And that is a discussion for another time and place.) In the same way, giving to God serves and benefits and creates community.

            Created in God’s image, what do we give?

            Our highest and first debt is to love. It always begins and ends with love. Love is the driving energy and the inspiration for all that we give, and the manner in which we give. What do we offer God? Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy … do that. It is not about ME, it is about WE. What do we give? How do we give?

            We offer grace and generosity of spirit in a world that is all-too-often bitter, angry, and splintered. We offer peace in the face of hostility and violence. We offer openness rather than closed-mindedness or entrenchment. We offer kindness and compassion. We consider the needs of others and put aside selfishness and self-centeredness.

            We are God’s Beloved children made in the image of God, called into being by the perfect love of God. We give everything. We give all that we are and all that we have. We give our time, our talent, our treasures. We give our worship and our service. We place God at the center of our lives. God is our heartbeat.

            Jesus’ instruction asks us to consider our priorities. He asks us to consider those things that make a claim upon our lives and our resources, and then he asks us, “Are you giving everything to God? Or not?”

            Amen.

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