I almost preached on the psalm today, the psalm we heard the choir sing, that really beautiful setting by David Hurd and that we sang in the opening hymn – especially after the news of the last two weeks, as more lives are lost in the Holy Land, and as that violence has emerged in our own country as well. The psalm and the gospel reading this morning, though, speak to each other. They both address the currency of faith – where we place our trust, the faces of those we hold up as authority and praiseworthy, and how we live our lives in connection to that.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the whole earth.
Sing to the LORD and bless his Name;
proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations
and his wonders among all peoples.
For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised.
I was drawn to the psalm especially as I was preparing for this morning and discovered that one of the great theologians of our time – Bono – incorporated the words of today’s psalm, as well as Psalm 40, into some of the lyrics of U2’s third album entitled War.
I waited patiently for the Lord, they sing,
He inclined and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit,
Out of the miry clay.
I will sing, sing a new song.
I will sing, sing a new song…
How long? how long? how long?
How long to sing this song?
So I’ll begin with the psalm and then move to the gospel. The fifth verse:
As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols;
…it is the LORD who made the heavens. (Psalm 96:5)
In today’s gospel, Jesus has just been handed an idol.
Disciples of the Pharisees (Jewish religious leaders) and the Herodians (Jews who collaborated with the Romans) have handed Jesus a Roman coin, a coin with Augustus Caesar’s portrait imprinted on it.
In Roman culture and society, Caesar was not just a political leader, an aristocrat, or a government official. Caesar the emperor was considered divine, a high priest in the Roman religion with all its many gods and goddesses. And everyone in the empire was required to pay taxes using a coin with Caesar’s face on it. That included the Jews living in the Roman empire, which meant that not only were they expected to pay taxes to a government that persecuted and oppressed them, but also to pay with money that depicted a Roman man considered a god, which was in direct opposition to Jewish law: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make idols and worship them.
These men have come to the temple, and they start with flattery. “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and that you teach the way of God in accordance with truth and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what do you think?”
Canadian pastor Chelsey Harmon points out that “ironically, the words they are saying are actually true. Jesus is sincere; he does teach the way of God truthfully and with integrity.” But they don’t recognize the truth of their words. They’ve come with the hope of trapping Jesus in this question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” If Jesus says no, you should not pay taxes to the emperor, then the Romans can accuse him of treason or rebellion. If Jesus says yes, you should pay taxes to the emperor, then the Jewish leaders can accuse him of blasphemy and breaking Jewish law. They’ve asked him a question that seems to have no way out.
But Jesus sees through their flattery, and he answers them by calling them out: “Are you putting me to the test?” he asks. “Show me the coin used for the tax.”
And they hand him a Roman coin, the currency of the empire, the currency of earthly power. Should we pay taxes to the emperor? they ask.
And Jesus turns the question around, answering it in a way that goes beyond the political and the economic to something deeper.
Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, he says, holding the coin they’ve had the audacity to bring into the temple – and give to God the things that are God’s.
Jesus is saying a number of things with his “both-and” answer.
Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, – fulfill your obligations to the government, but give to God what is God’s – which is everything, for everything comes of God.
Jesus turns their question about taxes into a question about kingdoms, about priorities, and about how we live our lives in accordance with God’s love.
Give to God what is God’s.
If a Roman coin is the currency of Caesar, then what is the currency of God? What image is imprinted on our coins, as people of faith? How do we, in this place and time, give to God? What is the currency of faith?
There are a lot of ways of looking at that.
The currency of faith is our presence here in this space, this morning, setting aside this time to be with one another, to drink coffee, to learn, to sing, to share the peace.
The currency of faith is prayer.
The currency of faith is coming together to the table – at Eucharist, at noonday lunch, at family dinner.
The currency of faith is giving back to the church from the fruits of our weekday labor and acknowledging and expressing the gratitude that comes from that.
The currency of faith is teaching and learning and asking questions.
The currency of faith is in our baptism.
The currency of faith is the currency of love.
Reaching out to a stranger, forgiving an enemy, listening to one another.
The currency of love is comforting those who grieve.
The currency of love is celebrating new weddings and new births.
The currency of love is spaghetti dinners and altar flowers.
The currency of love is repairing homes in far Appalachia, building relationships in Honduras and Haiti.
The currency of love is working together to build the Beloved Community.
The currency of love is practicing peace, looking past differences of religion and politics and ethnicity.
Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?
Jesus turns the people’s question about taxes into a question about what is temporary and what is eternal.
“Caesar might have an empire,” writes Chelsey Harmon, “but God created the cosmos.”
We have obligations in this world – not just as citizens, but as people of faith. Living in the world of taxes and politics means finding the place where “love the Lord your God” meets “love your neighbor as yourself.” It means always remembering that God is the image we look to, that God is our foundation and our creator. And it means remembering to live, and invite others to live, in the faith of that foundation and creation.
Sing to the LORD a new song –
sing to the LORD, all the whole earth.
The currency of faith is love. Amen.
— The Rev. Cara Ellen Modisett, Curate, Trinity Episcopal Church of Staunton
Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost, October 22, 2023
Reading: Psalm 96:1-9, Matthew 22:15-22
