Proper 24 A

Oct. 19, 2008
The Rev. Susan J. Latimer

The Pharisees were amazed at Jesus’ answer
– so they left him and went away.

Have you ever noticed how Jesus answers questions?
I am always amazed by his responses.
No matter who it is who asks the question
No matter what their motivation is
Jesus’ answer always includes a challenge to the questioner.

No matter how straightforward the question might sound,
Jesus answers with another question, or a parable.

To the man who asks him “Who is my neighbor”, he tells the parable of the good Samaritan, and asks: “Who in this story acted as the neighbor to the man who was beaten and robbed?” Of course, it was the despised Samaritan, and so Jesus enlarges the definition of neighbor to include all of humanity.

To the crowd surging forward to stone the woman caught in adultery, he says, “The one among you who has no sin, cast the first stone.” And so the men in the crowd, forced to do a quick self-examination, leave, one by one, with the wisest ones going first.

So it is today. Some Pharisees were always trying to catch Jesus in a violation of the Law. This time they send their students to Jesus to ask a trick question. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” This is a yes or no question, with a catch-twenty-two. Either way he answered this one, Jesus would be in trouble, either with the Roman rulers, or with the Jewish leaders.

But Jesus does not get caught in their trap. He knows their motivation, confronts them with that, and then gives it right back to them.

Looking at a denarius – a coin that was about a days’ wages for a laborer, he asks them, :”Whose head is this, and whose title?”
They answer, “The emperor’s”.

Then he answers them with a challenge:

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s”

And they were amazed, and went away.

Well, that answer might seem simple enough. One could read this and say, o.k. – I’ll pay the taxes to the emperor, and give God other things – my time, my prayers, my Love. But Jesus leaves open the question of what actually belongs to God. He is challenging the listeners – and us – to discern what really belongs to God.

“All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee”

we often say as we bring forward our offering of money, bread, and wine to the table.

If everything really belongs to God – if we are but stewards of God’s good creation – then when we pledge to the church and other organizations that do God’s work in the world, we are really only giving back to God what God has allowed us to keep in trust. Looking at it this way, when we tithe, or give 10% of our income for God’s work, we are keeping 90%.

“Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s”.

It is a challenge to all of us, here today. What are we willing to risk giving away, for our love of God? What is Jesus’ challenge to each of us today?