What Is God's

Pentecost 19A, 10/19/14
Matthew 22:15-22; Psalm 96

Lord, you are great, and greatly to be praised. Help us declare your glory among the nations and your marvelous works among all peoples. Judge us with righteousness and truth. Amen.

Show me the coin used for paying the tax. Whose image is on the money?

In Jesus’ day, the picture was of Caesar, the reigning ruler of nearly all the known world.

Today, our money carries the images of a bunch of dead presidents, unless you’re carrying around a Sacagawea or Susan B. Anthony dollar, or maybe a Benjamin bill – and if you happen to have one of those in your back pocket, you are most welcome to put it in our offering plate!

In any case, the pictures on our money are still representative of our nation, with pictures of historic leaders on them. We can’t literally give our money to those people. 

But the symbolism of our money is the same as it was in Jesus’ day.

If pressed, we would have to give the same answer to Jesus that the Pharisees and Herodians did – the government’s image is on the money.

It’s got someone else’s face on it.

It doesn’t belong to us.

Let’s take the question a little further, though.

It sounds like the Pharisees and Herodians were trying to get Jesus to say something about giving the money to God instead of to the corrupt government. But Jesus doesn’t take the bait.

Why not?

Consistently, throughout Jesus’ ministry, he raises up the importance of worshipping God and caring for others, even when that means breaking the rules.

So why get all legalistic about paying taxes to the government now?

Perhaps another way to ask the question is this: if Jesus doesn’t tell us to give the money with the image on the emperor on it to God, what does Jesus tell us to give to God?

The second half of his command to the Pharisees and Herodians today is give to God what is God’s.

What is it that bears the image of God? What truly belongs to God in the first place? What needs to be returned to the one who made it?

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

(Genesis 1:26-27)

God’s image is on you.

And Jesus’ command is to give to God what is God’s.

If we’re supposed to give things with the ruler’s image on it back to the ruler, the logical next step is that we are also supposed to give what has God’s image on it back to God.

Today’s conversation between Jesus and the secular leaders is a call to discipleship; it’s a directive to give everything that you have and everything that you are over to God.

Look at yourself the mirror.

I brought a mirror today – so really – look into the mirror.

Whose image do you see?

Do you look like the president or the governor or Bill Gates or Donald Trump? No. 

And whoever has to look at you most often probably thinks that’s a good thing.

You don’t look like a world leader.

You look like God. And so does the person next to you.

Actually, take a look at the person next to you. As you look at them, carry this thought with you – that is what God looks like. OK, now turn to someone else and look at them. That is what God looks like, too.

The Bible tells us that every time you look in the mirror, or every time you look at another person, you are seeing the image of God.

Today Jesus asks the people to give to Caesar the things that bear Caesar’s image – and to give to God the things that bear God’s image. So each one of you is being asked today to give to God what carries God's image - YOU.     

Whose image is on you?

God’s image is on you.

So give to God what is God’s.

The call to action for us today is to give our lives back to the one who gave them to us in the first place.

In order to be faithful, to live the Christian life, to be a good disciple, there are a few things that we need to do. Following Jesus is an active thing – it’s not something we can do by just staying in these familiar pews at church.

Discipleship isn’t about believing the right things – it’s not about knowing the Bible or reciting the creed or having faith that Jesus died for our sins.

Discipleship is active. It permeates every area of our life. It directs how we behave when someone cuts us off in traffic or is rude to us in the grocery store. It informs our relationships with our family and friends. It guides us in the best ways to spend our money.

Discipleship can be practiced inside the church, but it fails if it stays there. Discipleship means following Jesus, for the sake of the world.

Let me say that again, because that is important.

Discipleship means following Jesus, for the sake of the world.

This congregation should care deeply about what discipleship means – not just because it’s another name for Christian living, but because we refer to it in our mission statement:

We are a caring community empowered by God to be disciples of Christ.

Discipleship is more than coming to worship and signing your kids up for Confirmation and volunteering with Altar Guild and singing with the choir.

         Discipleship is about giving to God what is God’s.

Jesus wants us to give him our best when we are going about our daily life.

So what can you do to give your best to Jesus?

How can you be the best husband possible, to honor God? How can you be the best nurse, or caregiver, or student, or gardener, or grandmother? How do your daily actions tell the world that you are a follower of Jesus?

I’m not talking about converting people here.

Sure, we want more people to become Christians – part of the instruction that Jesus gives us is to spread the Gospel to all nations.

But the best way to do this is to lead by example.

No one is interested in joining a religion that doesn’t really seem to matter to its own adherents.

How can you best give yourself to God?

Reflect on that for a bit.

pause

Think about the ways that you can give back to God the things that are God’s, in your relationships with other people. Think about how you can do that at your job or in your household or as a member of your community.

Now I’d invite you to take one of the offering envelopes and a pencil from the pew in front of you, and actually write on it what you think you can give back to God in your daily life.

We just ordered new offering envelopes – they’re more up-to-date and less expensive than the ones in the pews right now – so don’t worry about using up the old ones. It’s probably a good thing, actually.

If you’re worried about someone else seeing what you write, just put something on the inside flap of the envelope. You can seal it if you want.

In a few minutes when the ushers come by to collect the monetary offerings that folks have brought today, please also put these envelopes with your personal offering into the plate.

You can keep thinking about it, and write something down later if you want to. While you’re thinking, I’ve got just a few more things to say this morning.

One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 24:

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world and those who live in it.

The Bible constantly tells us that everything that exists belongs to God in the first place, including our selves.

Jesus is reminding us today to return to God those things that already rightly belong to God.

Jesus is calling us to be disciples, that is, to be those people who give back to God even when it isn’t easy to do so.

A few weeks ago many of us filled out Spiritual Gifts Inventories as part of worship. We answered 60 questions that could help indicate what our gifts are, and how we can best serve God with our lives.

I’d like to use those forms to get some ideas on where our congregation’s ministry can grow. If half of us have a gift for writing, for example, but we don’t offer you any opportunities to put that gift to use, we’re selling short both you and God.

But we haven’t had enough responses to make those kinds of discoveries yet.

So please, if you haven’t filled out a Spiritual Gifts Assessment, grab one on your way out of church, fill it out, and bring it back next time you’re here. There are stacks available at the doors at the back of the church, and in the room where we’ll be meeting for coffee hour after worship, if you can stay.

Our secretary, Jaye, is compiling the results of the inventories, and once we have a few more responses, we can discover some ways that God is actually empowering us, as a community, to live as disciples of Christ.

Discipleship means following Jesus, for the sake of the world.

Discipleship isn’t about your own salvation, or about keeping the church doors open, or even about growing your personal relationship with God.

It’s about giving to God what is God’s

Discipleship makes a difference in the world.

So let’s work together, as individuals and as a congregation, to follow Jesus’ lead and make a difference in the world.

And may God bless our efforts.

Amen.