So…as Christians, what is our relationship to Caesar? To rulers and nations and governments? What is our role in a world that organizes itself into regimes and empires of which we are all citizens, for good or for ill?
This is obviously not a new question for people of any faith. And the Jews questioning Jesus in our gospel this morning had come to two decidedly different conclusions. The Herodians were the Jewish folks who worked in collaboration with the Roman government. Herod, the king of Judea, was a Jew, after all…but one who served at the pleasure of Caesar and the Roman authorities. And the Herodians felt that the Jewish faith was best served by using whatever power they could gain politically through cooperation and support for Herod, although he was clearly corrupt and a contemptible human being. (Herod was the kind of guy who routinely had members of his own family killed when he felt they were a threat to his power…and as you remember, he was behind the execution of all the baby boys born in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth, because some travelling foreign astrologers told him that the new “king of the Jews” had been born there. ) But the Herodians felt that, vile as Herod was, supporting him was the right thing to do. It was a means to an end. The Pharisees, however, took a radically different view of things. They believed that their faith was best served by preserving their Jewish identity and by observing the Jewish laws as carefully as possible, setting themselves apart from the Roman Empire and its culture. The Pharisees, then, were the authorities and judges determining who met the standard for that faithfulness and who did not. And these laws regulated every aspect of their daily life — from what they ate, and who they talked to, and who they touched, and where they went, and when they worked, and what kind of work they did and how much they paid to the temple. You can imagine that very few met their rigid standards. The Herodians, for instance, clearly did not.
It is interesting then, isn’t it, that these two join together to try to trap Jesus, isn’t it? Politics makes strange bedfellows, as they say. But Jesus is a threat to both of them. He has no respect for Herod….but also refuses to adhere to the strictness of the Pharasaic interpretation of the law. And the ordinary everyday Jewish people like Jesus…a lot. So, together, they try to find a way to trip him up.
And taxes ought to do it, right? Nothing gets people worked up like taxes. The Herodians wanted Jesus to say people shouldn’t pay taxes… that would be the quickest solution to the problem. Because that was sedition, and the Romans would not hesitate long before executing Jesus if he was advocating sedition. The Pharisees, however, wanted to Jesus to say that people should pay their taxes…as they were sure the crowds would lose interest quickly in Jesus if he came out in favor of Rome’s version of tax collection that pretty much worked like a form of extortion.
It should be a win- win…for both parties.
But…Jesus leads them down a different road.
Whose head is on the coin? Caesar’s. In fact, the coin also both proclaims that Caesar is Lord and high priest alongside his image…which is a blatant lie and blasphemy to any Jew – Herodian, Pharisee, or otherwise. And, like any monetary system of wealth in this world, its worth is determined by what it can buy in Caesar’s kingdom. The coin is a symbol of human power in this world. It is a symbol of empires…which rise and fall. Whatever, Jesus says…you can give them their coins..but give to God what is God’s.
And what is God’s? Why…everything is God’s. That’s the punchline, of course, to Jesus’ response.
Jesus turns their heads away from the powers of this world, the nations and leaders of this world..wanting us to quit giving them more credence than they deserve…and to look to God — God, whose fingerprints are on the galaxies and whose reflection is in all creation. God, who is indeed, the Lord of all creation, and of all people….and who made us in God’s own image, to reflect God’s very heart. Jesus turns our eyes from focusing on the powers of this world…to focus on God, who created us in love…and who created us for love..to love the world just as God so loves the world.
Please notice, Jesus is not offended by Caesar’s coin…he doesn’t recoil from it as a threat or something “unclean”. Instead..he wants them to see it for the small thing it is. Jesus wants them to recognize that the things this world thinks have “value”…it’s coins and wealth …are not what God values. And the powers and authorities of this world truly are powerless compared to God. Jesus wants them to quit living in fear of the almighty Caesar..and to quit believing their identity is found any place in his empire….because God is the only true authority in this world. What Jesus wants if for them…and for us… to live in the freedom of knowing that we are children of God. We are not aligned with any nations or leaders…but with God. Jesus wants us to remember that this whole world belongs to God, not Caesar, and all our hope is found in God.
We tend to stake our identity in all sorts of places…whether it’s our particular faith community or our nationality or our ethnic heritage. We hang our American flags and Christian flags and whatever other flags…and we give those identities a power they do not deserve. A power they should not hold over us. The truth is, we all tend to be Herodians and Pharisees.
But Jesus continually turns us around…to recognize that the only thing that defines us is the God who created us all. And who loves us all more than we can imagine. And who calls us to live without fear…without anxiety…trusting that everything …EVERYTHING…belongs to God. All that we have. All that is around us. Our very selves. And God lays claim to you…and to this world…desiring only one thing.
Love.
So…as Christians, what is our relationship to Caesar? To rulers and nations and governments? What is our role in a world that organizes itself into regimes and empires of which we are all citizens, for good or for ill?
Our role…is to love. Not to separate ourselves from it all and set ourselves apart. But also not to identify ourselves with it, and worry about the preservation and survival of any political system. Our job is to live where we live, which for most of us is a matter of pure chance…and to rest our whole identity in God, not our flags or even our particular community of faith…and to trust God’s abiding love for us. And then…we love others….the best that we can. We love our neighbors as God has loved us. Sometimes this will lead us in different directions, to be sure. Love isn’t a bunch of rules we can follow, and we will all muddle through it at times. But when we start in the same place…not as those whose hope is in nations or currencies or political systems…but as people whose hope is only in God…we will find ourselves together after all…following Jesus. Amen.
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