October 18, 2020
/Proper 24
Isaiah 45: 1-7; Psalm 96: 1-13; 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10; Matthew 22: 15 - 22
The Rev. James M. L. Grace
Let nothing disturb you
Let nothing upset you
Everything changes
God alone is unchanging
With patience all things are possible
Whoever has God lacks nothing
God alone is enough.
In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN.
Between a rock and a hard place is where Jesus finds himself this morning. Confronted by the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians, three groups pining for Jesus’ attention, coming to him with a question with seemingly no right answer: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”
If Jesus were to answer you should not pay taxes to the emperor, he would be arrested by the Roman authorities for sedition. If he were to answer that you should pay taxes, he would lose all credibility since Roman tax dollars went to the construction of pagan temples and support of the Roman military. There is no right answer for this question. It is a no-win scenario for him.
That is until Jesus answers the question, replying “give to the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give to God what belongs to God.” It is a simple answer, and it is the right answer. The people heard the answer, and they were amazed. As they should have been.
Jesus navigates what could have been a very difficult situation with ease and grace. He is not concerned about what anyone - not the Pharisees, the Sadducees, or the Herodians – think of him. Jesus knows that the Emperor does not have any real authority, he is a “straw man”, a symbol. Jesus knows that the only one with any authority is God, period.
Because Jesus knows this, he is free to answer truthfully, declining the invitation to an argument. And in doing so, everyone was amazed. I imagine at that moment it must have been so obvious to everyone present that it was Jesus, not the Emperor, not anyone else, who truly spoke with authority.
You know it must be stewardship season when readings like this reading from Matthew appear. It is certainly not coincidental. By now stewardship materials have likely arrived in your mailbox at home. I hope you take time to carefully read through them. A lot of work went into creating this year’s stewardship campaign. I have one simple stewardship message, and it is this: every pledge to St. Andrew’s matters. The amount you choose to pledge – that is between you and God. Every pledge matters. The truth of stewardship is very simple: if you want to keep what you have, you must be willing to give it away. Give to God what belongs to God. AMEN.