It starts with a bit of insincere flattery and a trick question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”
The two groups who approach Jesus – the Herodians and the Pharisees – do not have much in common, except that both are growing exceedingly concerned about Jesus and the sway he holds over the crowds. In this question, they are doing their best to trap Jesus with his own words, and in doing so, strip him of his supporters and his power. If Jesus says, “yes, it’s lawful,” he risks alienating the religious leaders and the crowds, both of whom strongly oppose the Roman occupation and resulting high taxes. If Jesus says, “no, it’s not lawful,” the Herodians will disagree, and possibly alert the imperial authorities – because of course paying the tax is not optional.
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| "Show Me the Coin" by Rebekah Krevens |
Jesus, however, sees right through their scheming, and deftly flips the question back to them – “show me the coin used for the tax.” They bring it to him, and dutifully answer – the image and inscription are that of the emperor. “Give therefore to the emperor,” Jesus says, “the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
What, exactly, does Jesus mean? Is he saying that there’s an earthly realm and a heavenly realm, and both the emperor and God ought to stay in their respective lane? Would it then follow that the same is still true for us, that what happens on Sunday is in a separate category from what happens the rest of the week?
Eh, not quite.
I think Jesus’ answer acknowledges that there’s no escaping the structures and systems of the world we live in. We have a government and political leaders and taxes – all of which may or may not line up well with God’s vision for the world. We do our best with them, however imperfect things may be.
It’s the second part of his answer I want to spend a little time with: “give to God the things that are God’s”. What are the things that are God’s?
Well, everything.
God created everything, and sustains everything. All things in heaven and on earth belong to God. And just as the coin used to pay taxes bears the image of the emperor, we are reminded that humanity was made in God’s image. It follows, then, that we too belong to God.
In baptism we are joined to the Body of Christ – sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. Our belonging is permanent, and enacted by God’s initiative and not our own. Our belonging is centered in the death and resurrection of Jesus, for it is there that we find salvation, forgiveness, and life. Our belonging is holistic – it encompasses all of us – not just our soul, or our spirituality, but also our bodies and our minds – all of us.
I think it’s too simplistic, then, to imagine a reality in which God could somehow "stay in God's own lane". I think it’s not even possible, really, to separate our souls from our bodies or our Sunday selves from our rest-of-the-week selves. God created every part of us, and we bear God’s image always, not just when we’re in worship or praying or being our best selves.
We bear God’s image and belong to God in our relationships and in our most private thoughts, when we’re at home and when we are away, when we work and when we vote. We cannot divide out the parts of ourselves, cannot imagine that there could be part of us that doesn’t belong to God.
Just as we are connected to God, we are also connected to one another. Joined together as the Body of Christ, our words and actions and yes, even our taxes, have an effect on one another.
In this time of great contentiousness and division, I wonder what difference it makes to be reminded that each person we see bears the image of God and belongs to God. I wonder what difference it makes to be reminded that our words and actions matter. Do the things we say and do reflect the justice, and love, and grace of the one whose image we bear?
The good news today is that to belong to God is to belong to love. To belong to God is to belong to forgiveness. To belong to God is to be connected to God, always, not because of what we do or fail to do, but because of who God is and what God has done. To belong to God is to belong to one another, which is indeed a gift. We need each other, and we are at our best when we are in relationship – in community – with one another.
There will always be other things competing for our loyalty and devotion, but we will only ever belong to God, the one who created us, redeems us, and sustains us.
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