In today’s gospel reading from Matthew we hear the Pharisees and the Herodians trying to entrap Jesus with a trick question, “Should the Jews pay tax to the emperor?” Jesus, in a very clever move, asks to see a coin. It has the emperor’s image on it. He then says, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” Jesus doesn’t advise them to pay the tax, and he doesn’t advise them not to pay the tax; he advises them to know the difference between the claims of the emperor and the claims of God.
In the name of the God of all creation,
The God alive in each of us as God was alive in Jesus,
And the power of God known in the Spirit.
Amen.
The God alive in each of us as God was alive in Jesus,
And the power of God known in the Spirit.
Amen.
In today’s gospel reading from Matthew we hear the Pharisees and the Herodians trying to entrap Jesus with a trick question, “Should the Jews pay tax to the emperor?” Jesus, in a very clever move, asks to see a coin. It has the emperor’s image on it. He then says, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” Jesus doesn’t advise them to pay the tax, and he doesn’t advise them not to pay the tax; he advises them to know the difference between the claims of the emperor and the claims of God.
When I hear this story about Jesus I find a delight in the clever way in which he dismissed the Pharisees and the Herodians. This is not the only place in the gospels where Jesus is confronted by his opponents with a question that is meant to entrap him in a no-win situation, only to have Jesus turn the tables and ask his own question that makes fools out of his adversaries. It is as if he were an aikido master, using the opponent’s own energy to send him sprawling. However, it would be easy to miss the point if we focus primarily on his witty repartee.
And I think it helps to put some context to this exchange. Remember the Pharisees were a strict, legalistic, lay group who held firmly to the Torah … the Law of Moses … and meticulously followed the purity code. The Herodians … followers and supporters of Herod … endorsed and supported Roman rule over Israel. Most of the time the Pharisees and the Herodians were at odds with each other. In this instance they have formed an alliance.
The Jews were living under the oppression of Roman occupation in Israel. Not only did they have to pay taxes to support the occupying army, but the tax had to be paid in Roman currency. The coin, of course, had the image of the emperor upon it … the emperor who was considered a deity. This meant that the coinage was a form of an idol and therefore ritually unclean for a Jew to handle. Thus, the question put to Jesus had several layers of conundrums: if he said “No” he would offend the Herodians and be labeled treasonous; if he said “Yes” he was disregarding the Jewish purity laws.
Instead, Jesus, as he so often did, changed the arena of discussion. He simply asked for a coin. Given the currency of the Roman realm he said, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Instead of an either/or Jesus has made it a both/and. There is the currency of the world, and there is the currency of God. In the realm of the world use the currency of the world. In God’s realm use God’s currency. Just know that they are different, and don’t confuse the two.
So, juat what is the currency of God? Justice for one. Certainly compassion. Also honesty, integrity, humility, mercy, love. And there are other denominations of this currency. It is the currency that when we spend it we are living in the image of God. It is the currency of healthy relationships … with each other, with our community, and with God. Jesus said to give to God the things that are God’s. So we give to God … and to God’s creation in the name of God … justice, and mercy; we offer our compassion and love; and we act in honesty with humility.
We confuse the currency of the world with God’s currency when we think that we can buy comfort, security, status, and love. When our self-worth is dependent upon the clothes we wear, or the car we drive, or the neighborhood we live in then we are living by the currency of the world. When the economic differences between peoples are translated into power and oppression then we are living by the currency of the world. When one person’s wealth is at the expense of another’s poverty, or for that matter, one nation’s wealth is at the expense of the poverty of another nation, then we are living by the currency of the world.
When we buy a pair of sneakers made in a sweatshop in Southeast Asia by children we are dealing in the currency of the world. But when we buy fair trade products … coffee, clothing, and crafts … we provide a safe work environments, a day’s wage for a day’s work, and a way for some of the poorest of the poor to improve their lives. This is the currency of God.
When we share a meal with our homeless brothers and sisters at Dining with Dignity we are dealing in the currency of God. When we provide a “Welcome” to those who have been estranged from other communities we are dealing in the currency of God. Stocking the shelves of the Food Pantry and distributing bags of food to the hungry is the currency of God. Visiting the sick and homebound and those in prison is the currency of God.
Living by the currency of God can change a person, an organization, a business, a community, a city. The values of respect, inclusion and radical hospitality, empowerment, transparency, and paying it forward contribute to a life of wholeness for individuals and groups alike. When one extends radical hospitality to a stranger it not only respects and honors the other, but it empowers both the host and the stranger. When a person offers a gift of themselves to another, it not only benefits the person receiving the gift, but it is an inspiration to an entire community and becomes the seed for other gifts. This is the currency that when we spend it we are living in the image of God.
Throughout Holy Scripture God gives to the children of God, and asks that they give in return … in the same currency. Where there is injustice, God calls for justice; where there is pride, God calls for humility; where there is cruelty, God calls for compassion; where there is hatred God calls for love. God calls us to live in the image of the divine by spending the currency of God’s dominion. Yes, we live in the world, and we must transact business with the world’s currency, but we are encouraged to recognize the differences between the claims of the world and the claims of God, and not to confuse the two.
William Sloan Coffin once used this example: “In the Holy Land are two ancient bodies of water. Both are fed by the Jordan River. In one, fish play and roots find sustenance. In the other, there is no splash of fish, no sound of bird, no leaf around. The difference is not in the Jordan, for it empties into both, but in the Sea of Galilee: for every drop taken in one goes out. It gives and lives. The other gives nothing. And it is called the Dead Sea.”
When we are immersed in the currency of God, and we spend it generously, our extravagance is life-giving, like the Sea of Galilee. When we live entirely by the currency of the world we lose sight of the generosity in which we are called to live, and in our scarcity we live less of a life … like that of the Dead Sea.
It is tempting to try to replace God’s currency with the currency of the world; to buy ourselves security, and status, and even love. But remember the words of Jesus, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor, and Give to God the things that are God’s.” It is not that the currency of the world is bad … in fact it is necessary. There is the currency of the world, and there is the currency of God. In the realm of the world use the currency of the world. In God’s realm use God’s currency. Just know that they are different, and don’t confuse the two.
The currency of God is justice, compassion, honesty, integrity, humility, mercy, and love. And there are other denominations of this currency as well. It is the currency of healthy relationships … with each other, with our community, and with God. Jesus said to give to God the things that are God’s. So we give to God … and to God’s creation in the name of God … justice, and mercy; we offer our compassion and love; and we act in honesty with humility.
Amen.
When I hear this story about Jesus I find a delight in the clever way in which he dismissed the Pharisees and the Herodians. This is not the only place in the gospels where Jesus is confronted by his opponents with a question that is meant to entrap him in a no-win situation, only to have Jesus turn the tables and ask his own question that makes fools out of his adversaries. It is as if he were an aikido master, using the opponent’s own energy to send him sprawling. However, it would be easy to miss the point if we focus primarily on his witty repartee.
And I think it helps to put some context to this exchange. Remember the Pharisees were a strict, legalistic, lay group who held firmly to the Torah … the Law of Moses … and meticulously followed the purity code. The Herodians … followers and supporters of Herod … endorsed and supported Roman rule over Israel. Most of the time the Pharisees and the Herodians were at odds with each other. In this instance they have formed an alliance.
The Jews were living under the oppression of Roman occupation in Israel. Not only did they have to pay taxes to support the occupying army, but the tax had to be paid in Roman currency. The coin, of course, had the image of the emperor upon it … the emperor who was considered a deity. This meant that the coinage was a form of an idol and therefore ritually unclean for a Jew to handle. Thus, the question put to Jesus had several layers of conundrums: if he said “No” he would offend the Herodians and be labeled treasonous; if he said “Yes” he was disregarding the Jewish purity laws.
Instead, Jesus, as he so often did, changed the arena of discussion. He simply asked for a coin. Given the currency of the Roman realm he said, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Instead of an either/or Jesus has made it a both/and. There is the currency of the world, and there is the currency of God. In the realm of the world use the currency of the world. In God’s realm use God’s currency. Just know that they are different, and don’t confuse the two.
So, juat what is the currency of God? Justice for one. Certainly compassion. Also honesty, integrity, humility, mercy, love. And there are other denominations of this currency. It is the currency that when we spend it we are living in the image of God. It is the currency of healthy relationships … with each other, with our community, and with God. Jesus said to give to God the things that are God’s. So we give to God … and to God’s creation in the name of God … justice, and mercy; we offer our compassion and love; and we act in honesty with humility.
We confuse the currency of the world with God’s currency when we think that we can buy comfort, security, status, and love. When our self-worth is dependent upon the clothes we wear, or the car we drive, or the neighborhood we live in then we are living by the currency of the world. When the economic differences between peoples are translated into power and oppression then we are living by the currency of the world. When one person’s wealth is at the expense of another’s poverty, or for that matter, one nation’s wealth is at the expense of the poverty of another nation, then we are living by the currency of the world.
When we buy a pair of sneakers made in a sweatshop in Southeast Asia by children we are dealing in the currency of the world. But when we buy fair trade products … coffee, clothing, and crafts … we provide a safe work environments, a day’s wage for a day’s work, and a way for some of the poorest of the poor to improve their lives. This is the currency of God.
When we share a meal with our homeless brothers and sisters at Dining with Dignity we are dealing in the currency of God. When we provide a “Welcome” to those who have been estranged from other communities we are dealing in the currency of God. Stocking the shelves of the Food Pantry and distributing bags of food to the hungry is the currency of God. Visiting the sick and homebound and those in prison is the currency of God.
Living by the currency of God can change a person, an organization, a business, a community, a city. The values of respect, inclusion and radical hospitality, empowerment, transparency, and paying it forward contribute to a life of wholeness for individuals and groups alike. When one extends radical hospitality to a stranger it not only respects and honors the other, but it empowers both the host and the stranger. When a person offers a gift of themselves to another, it not only benefits the person receiving the gift, but it is an inspiration to an entire community and becomes the seed for other gifts. This is the currency that when we spend it we are living in the image of God.
Throughout Holy Scripture God gives to the children of God, and asks that they give in return … in the same currency. Where there is injustice, God calls for justice; where there is pride, God calls for humility; where there is cruelty, God calls for compassion; where there is hatred God calls for love. God calls us to live in the image of the divine by spending the currency of God’s dominion. Yes, we live in the world, and we must transact business with the world’s currency, but we are encouraged to recognize the differences between the claims of the world and the claims of God, and not to confuse the two.
William Sloan Coffin once used this example: “In the Holy Land are two ancient bodies of water. Both are fed by the Jordan River. In one, fish play and roots find sustenance. In the other, there is no splash of fish, no sound of bird, no leaf around. The difference is not in the Jordan, for it empties into both, but in the Sea of Galilee: for every drop taken in one goes out. It gives and lives. The other gives nothing. And it is called the Dead Sea.”
When we are immersed in the currency of God, and we spend it generously, our extravagance is life-giving, like the Sea of Galilee. When we live entirely by the currency of the world we lose sight of the generosity in which we are called to live, and in our scarcity we live less of a life … like that of the Dead Sea.
It is tempting to try to replace God’s currency with the currency of the world; to buy ourselves security, and status, and even love. But remember the words of Jesus, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor, and Give to God the things that are God’s.” It is not that the currency of the world is bad … in fact it is necessary. There is the currency of the world, and there is the currency of God. In the realm of the world use the currency of the world. In God’s realm use God’s currency. Just know that they are different, and don’t confuse the two.
The currency of God is justice, compassion, honesty, integrity, humility, mercy, and love. And there are other denominations of this currency as well. It is the currency of healthy relationships … with each other, with our community, and with God. Jesus said to give to God the things that are God’s. So we give to God … and to God’s creation in the name of God … justice, and mercy; we offer our compassion and love; and we act in honesty with humility.
Amen.
