May I speak in the Name of God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Last Sunday in my sermon I reminded you that one thing we can count on in life is change. But to defer to one of my favorite American authors, Mark Twain; we can also add that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. These days it appears that most Americans seem to be more graciously accepting of death than of taxes. With local, state, and federal budgets all seemingly in crisis with the current economy; and the topic of taxes much in the public debate these days, I am going to resist partisanism by saying nothing further on the subject. But I will add - did you know that April 15th is not only income tax day, but it is also the date the Titanic sunk and the date Lincoln was shot? Most people don’t enjoy paying taxes, except maybe the magnanimous Warren Buffet; but we just do it.
Well the people of Jesus’ day had to pay taxes, too. Even worse, they had to pay them to the Roman occupying government they despised. A portion of their hard-earned income ended up in Caesar’s pocket and this made the Jews very unhappy, indeed! They were a proud people and truly resented the Roman domination. Thus, Jesus’ dilemma when asked the loaded question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Either likely answer would potentially lead into dangerous waters for Jesus; he would either offend the devout Jewish populace or be accused of treason by the Romans.
Well, Jesus very deftly avoided both. “Whose likeness do you see on this coin?” he asked. “Caesar’s” they answered. “Render then,” he said, “to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” The modern translation of this text in our lectionary, reads, “give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s…” Being a bit of a wordsmith, I prefer the word most of us probably are familiar with in this story, “render.” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the meaning of “render” in this context is to give in return or in acknowledgment of dependence and thus has a richer meaning than just the word “give.”
Of course, the very clever thing about this story of Jesus’ encounter with the Herodians and Pharisees is that he never answers their question. But his answer ought to settle the matter, doesn’t it? There are things that belong to Caesar, like the money with which we pay taxes and there are things that belong to God… Such as? Well, there’s the problem. Jesus’ response raises some important questions. How and where do you draw the line between the things that belong to Caesar and the things that belong to God? What are the things of Caesar and what are the things of God?
In our contemporary Western mindset we like to put things neatly into compartments and easy to find categories. Being well-organized Westerners we find it makes sense to categorize our information for quick and efficient access. In this mentality one could look at our Gospel story today and infer that “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s,” means that some things belong to Caesar and other things belong to God. But we need to revisit such an interpretation.
Many of us old time Episcopalians remember what we used to say every Sunday when the offering plates were presented at the altar: “All things come of Thee. O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.” Jesus was a devout Jew who every Sabbath recited the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Our God has a claim on all our life, so what then is left to render unto Caesar? The image of Caesar was printed on the coins, but the image of God is on every human life. Still, rendering unto Caesar is pretty clear in our society. What Caesar wants Caesar gets – end of subject.
Rendering unto Caesar does not evoke a dilemma, but for many rendering unto God does. We all have heard from certain church members of any denomination that the church talks too much about money. Giving to the work of God through the tangible community of the Body of Christ in the world, namely the Church; is a low priority for a lot of folks. One might assert that is the case for two reasons.
First, as a culture we are becoming more materialistic; it’s difficult to have the latest I-Phone, the fanciest car, the biggest HD, 3-D plasma TV, and all one’s other toys and still give 10% to the church. It’s like the little boy who was given two quarters – one for Sunday School and one for an ice cream cone. Walking along the street one day, one of the quarters slipped out of his hand and fell through the grillwork and into the drain below. The little boy raised his face toward heaven and said with genuine sorrow, “Well, God, there goes your quarter.” Think about it – we are increasingly materialistic.
In the second place, there is something intrinsically seductive about money. Money can become like a drug. It’s like the true story of the German businessman who was worth over 11 billion dollars when the recession hit a couple of years ago. He lost 5 billion dollars in the careening stock market and was absolutely devastated he was now only worth 6 billion dollars. Wrought with grief over his tragic circumstances he threw himself in front of a train, because his life was not worth living with only 6 billion dollars in assets. This true story sounds more like a parable of Jesus.
Jesus devoted more to the subject of money and belongings than to any other subject in all his teaching and preaching. Some things don’t seem to change in 2,000 years – the worship of material possessions and money is the most widely practiced religion in our country today. But please don’t misunderstand; as you know Scripture does not say that money is the root of all evil. It is, rather, the love of money that is the problem, when the worship of money and material things competes with God.
When we understand that everything we have, everything we are, and everything we can ever hope to be is a gift from God, and when we understand the magnitude of this reality our hearts will be captivated with the love and grace God has lavished upon us. Then we will comprehend the great joy and privilege of being faithful with our whole being. When you find the perfect gift to give someone you love very much, you are thrilled to present it to them and don’t fret about the cost. You feel the joy they will have in receiving it and the joy you yourself experience in giving it. That is what rendering unto God is like. When we are in tune with the Holy Spirit we will know the joy of rendering unto God which brings joy and fulfillment the way rendering unto Caesar never can!
Amen.
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