Give to God the Things that are God’s

October 18, 2020 The Rev. Mark Pendleton Christ Church, Exeter Give to God the Things that are God's Matthew 22:15-22 15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him 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. A flip of a coin is a standard ritual that begins most football games. Captains come to mid field, and the referee asks the visiting team to make a choice - heads or tails? A coin is tossed the air to decide who kicks off and who receives. A flip of a coin has also settled many disputes and arguments over time when two sides had no better way to decide whose opinion or view would win out. You have a 50/50 shot of the final decision going your way. Jesus, in this encounter with those who opposed him, did not flip a coin. He simply asked for one. "Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius, a standard silver coin. The Pharisees and the Herodians, two groups that had differing views about Rome and Judaism at the time, came together on one thing that united them: their view of Jesus and his followers from Galilee. We would certainly call them 'strange bed fellows.' They sought to entrap him in a question that they were sure would trip him up. They pushed Jesus: "Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" Entrapment is a loaded word. It is in fact a legal word: the action of luring an individual into committing a crime in order to prosecute the person for it. (Merriam-Webster) A plot or web is weaved and one then just waits. For anyone watching the hearings this past week for the Supreme Court, it was pretty clear what each side was trying to do. On one side of the aisle, senators were doing their best to support and promote Judge Barrett through the process, while the other side were trying to pin her down and tease out potential ways that she might rule on future cases. They were not so much trying to entrap the judge, rather many were hoping that she might slip up and create a controversy that could derail her nomination. What this back and forth between Jesus and his opponents lays bare is a basic question that is always with us: what do we owe or give back to the Caesars of our time - whether that be the government, our elected leaders, the civic society - and what do we give back and offer to our God and Creator. The ultimate church/state question. What do we owe the world and the ways of world? And what do we owe the God who made the world? And this is one test we cannot avoid answering the question if we are to go deeper into our faith. The heart of this question is the word obligation. The only thing that is certain in life, as the expression goes, is death and taxes. Taxes have been around a long time. The United States fought for its independence at first over the matter of taxes. People pay taxes not because they want to, but because they have to. There are very few cheerful givers when it comes to taxes: then or now. The Jews who lived under the thumb of Rome in Jesus' time had to pay taxes to Rome. Tax collectors were despised by the people because they did a job that few would want to do. Here's the thing: paying taxes was not a sign of one's support of Rome's power. Faithful people in the day could "hold their noses" -- so to speak -- and pay their taxes without being judged or viewed as morally complicit. Jesus just said as much. I've been hearing a lot of political ads on television - haven't we all! - ads about a proposal in a neighboring state for rank-choice voting. The commercials highlight that voters should not have to "hold their nose" to decide between the lesser of two evils. Vote for the candidate you see is the best qualified, is the pitch. Sounds pretty enlightened to me. No vote is wasted. The action Jesus pushes back onto his opponents is this: pay your taxes as you should and give to God the things that are God's. The church, almost like clockwork and as reliable as the falling leaves each October, circles back to this verse and others like them this time of year as we prepare to send out stewardship materials and ask for pledges for next year to support our mission and ministry. I would be less than honest if I did not admit to being somewhat uncertain - a bit nervous -- about how our faithful will respond to this annual appeal for 2021. Most have you have not stepped inside our sacred space since March - others since last Christmas. As many join us on Zoom worship, so many more are Zoomed out and are not connecting online or in-person. Even as we communicate how we are being the church when we are not physically in church, will that message get lost or drowned out by pandemic fatigue and the anxiety about the coming election? I just do not know. Will some say: why do we even need a physical building to worship and gather anymore? I believe that giving to God through the work of the church is only one way - one small way - to understand what Jesus was suggesting. And it is really about so much more. As much as Pharisee could pay their taxes without promoting the ways of Rome, when we give God we are invested and involved in deeper ways. It says everything about our values and beliefs and how we orient ourselves in relationship to everyone and everything. Is God at the center of our world, or an afterthought or bystander? It is similar that the quote I shared about prayer some weeks back from Corrie Ten Boom, who hid Jewish families in her home in Holland during World War II, who said: "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" We are saying by what we give of our lives that we want more of what God is doing in this world. More love, understanding, compassion, justice, more welcome for the stranger. More peace. Might I add: more equality and inclusion. More acceptance of differences. Hoping for a less divided and tribal world, humanity is reminded as Bishop Tutu would often say: we are all God's family. At our best, if not always, giving to God is about God entering our thoughts from when we first open our eyes each morning to right before we close them at the end of day. This is why the first fruits of the harvest in ancient times would be offered back to God. Some thoughts about the election only two weeks away. I have been interested in the political analysis that breaks down what is referred to as 'value voters' and 'interest voters,' as in, those who vote their interests and those who vote their values. The difference between the two types of voters is this: a person who votes their interests would vote for a candidate or party because their policies or positions would benefit them: lower taxes, better health insurance, farm subsidies for dairy cows or corn farmers, for example. And then there are value voters who will vote for someone because the person stands for something they believe in firmly: a strong military, protecting the environment and slowing climate change, reproductive choice, marriage equality, or the right to bear arms. What is unknown in this coming election: will people vote more for their interests or their values? I hope you vote! When it comes to God, we are all value believers - or it least we should be. We give to God what is God's because of what and who God values. In the beatitudes Jesus said: (Luke 6) Blessed are the poor, blessed those who are hungry, bless those who weep now. Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Give to everyone who begs from you. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Let us look at our lives, in this moment and on this day, and consider the ways we give God what is God's. Not out of obligation or duty or fear. Not just because we want to keep the doors open in our local parish church - even if that place is dear to us. It always has to be more than that. God wants all of us. God wants each one of us to be whole and loved and find peace on this side of heaven because on the other side, beyond the other shore, it is more than we can imagine. Right now, is when we get a taste, and in the words of one of my favorite hymns, we can "taste and see the goodness of the Lord." We are still in our pilgrimage, who walk as yet by faith. Pilgrims, both ancient and modern, walk alone for much of the journey. That is where many of us are today. May God give us what we most need so that we can return the gift and give to God what God most desires. Keep walking and believing. 2