Dec 7 2019 Matthew 22: 15-22

‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’
The Pharisees are trying to trick Jesus. They show him a coin with the emperor’s picture on it, and ask him if it’s ok to pay taxes to the emperor. He responds with this oft-repeated quip, give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.

Matthew recounts that the Pharisees were amazed at this response and went away. I must admit that I’ve always only sort of gotten this. For years, I’ve nodded and smiled, and secretly wondered about this. After all, isn’t everything God’s. Is Jesus admitting that coins, or wealth, are actually the emperor’s, just because he put his picture on it?

I’m guessing there’s more to this, so this morning I’ll wrestle with it.

Maybe Jesus was beating the Pharisees at their own trickery games. They were trying to back him into a corner about if it was legitimate to pay the emperor. He’d already explained that you couldn’t serve two masters, wealth and God. And told people not to store up on earth treasures, only to have them rust. But he will not be tricked

Society has already deemed that currency is needed, and stamped a picture of the emperor on it. Maybe Jesus is simply responding to the trick with tricky language. Pay to the emperor what has been stamped as his.

Maybe this is less about the emperor and his coinage, and more about the absurdity of us claiming anything as ours. When we insist that our fortune is of our own making, our fame is of our doing, our children are the product of us, maybe we, like the emperor, are allowed to fully own what we’ve claimed. Our fortune is of our own making. When we lose our fame and fortune, that were solely our doing, the loss is also our own doing. When our children behave badly, their bad behavior is equally attributable to us.

Yes, pay to the emperor. Yes, you can claim credit for your wealth, health, children. And when your self-made nature falters, you’re stuck with only yourself to blame. 

This morning, I’m thinking about the things that I’ve stamped with my name, the things I think I own or am responsible for. It’s funny that those things are all positive and going well. The other things in life that aren’t all roses, clearly are not of my doing. Hmm.

Maybe I need to recognize that if I claim something as mine or of my doing, I need to own it entirely and consistently, the good and the bad. Today, I want to think about those things that I’ve claimed, either intentionally or implied. I want to instead, give to God all that is God’s.