Sermon for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost
Who do you belong to?
By The Rev. Christie Webb -
[Hold up a quarter.] Who does this belong to?
My son Sam found it on the bench outside of church a couple weeks ago before Preschool. He carefully tucked it into his pocket. Later at home he pulled it out of that pocket and talked about all the things he was going to buy with it. Does $.25 get you a gumball anymore?
Does it belong to Sam? Or does it belong to George Washington, or his government? His face is right here after all. According to Jesus' answer, as it bears his image it should be given to him.
But it also has this written on it: In God We Trust. Like all other coins and money in the United states, this reminder is written. So does this belong to God then, in whom we place our trust?
It’s a good honest question that I’m asking today, but when the question came to Jesus in our gospel text for today, it was not a good honest question, it was the laying of a trap. The Pharisees, religious leaders of the day, came with the Herodians, a political party, and after flattery to butter Jesus up and make him more likely to speak without thinking, they asked: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” The trap was laid. If Jesus said it was lawful, he would offend the Pharisees, who opposed the imperial occupation. If Jesus said it wasn’t lawful, he would have offended the Herodians, who were colluding with the Romans. They might have reported him to imperial authorities, who may have retaliated.
If they can get Jesus to say that it’s “lawful to pay taxes to the emperor,” then he’ll offend the Pharisees and, more importantly, the crowds, who fiercely oppose the imperial occupation. And on the other hand, if they can get him to say that it’s unlawful to do so, he’ll offend the Herodians (colluders with the Romans), who will no doubt report him to the imperial authorities, who won’t be amused. It is a trap, but one that Jesus side steps well.
He asks for a coin, because he does not have one, and they provide one, because they have them, a convicting moment in itself. And then he asks whose head is on the coin and whose title. Whose image does the coin bear? This is Jesus’ masterful moment, the one that leaves the people awed. For you see, the Emperors face is on this coin, and they can answer that.
But as Jesus asks this question, what will come to mind for all who are listening is a verse from the first chapter of Genesis: “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” The Emperors face is on this coin, but God’s face is on you. So what are you going to do with who you are, your entire being?
If humans bear the image of their creator, what does this parable teach us about ourselves? [Pause]
If you bear the image of God, your creator, what does this parable teach us about yourself, your life, all that you are, all that you do?
Who do you belong to?
If you look in a mirror, to see whose image you bear, you will see yourself, no one else looks like you. Which always boggles my mind. How can we all look so different, be so unique? It's astonishing. But you see yourself, right? So it could be that you belong to yourself.
Or, when you look in the mirror, you might recognize the characteristics of your biological parents. I have my father’s chin and nose and curly hair, my mother’s fair skin and maybe eyes. When I look in the mirror, I see the image of my parents. So do I belong to them?
God created humankind in his image. In the image of God he created them. Male and female, diverse from the start, he created them.
We bear the image of God. Each of us. All of us. All of humanity. We bear the image of God. Which by this parable Jesus shares means that we belong to God. That who we are and what we do must be given to God. “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
In a moment [in worship on Sunday] we will baptize Annik, a beloved child of God. After we pour the water over her head in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we will proclaim: “You belong to God, in whom you have been baptized.”
You belong to God.
Annik belongs to God. But so does her sister Madita. And so does her mother Jessica. And her father Christian. And so does [insert names of people present]. And so do you. You belong to God. You bear the very image of God.
In the Christian tradition we talk often about stewardship, about being good stewards of what God has given us. Often that gets interpreted to mean what we do with our money. And what we do with our money is important. The ways that we hold onto it or let it go or give it to serve God’s purposes in the world matter. No doubt. But that is not all that stewardship is about. It is also about our very selves. Our entire lives.
It is about how we spend our money, yes. But it is also about how we spend our time. It is about the work we do in this place. The ways we volunteer here in church. But it is also about the work we do in the world, and how that contributes to bringing forth a world of justice, peace, and love, a world God envisions and desires and is working toward. It is about how we love. It is about how we vote. It is about the ways that we live day in and day out, and how we give ourselves to God and to God’s work in the world. How are you giving yourself to God daily?
Friends, you belong to God. You bear the image of God. Everytime you look into a mirror, you see a glimpse of God. Every time you look into the face of another, you catch another glimpse of God. And today Jesus reminds us, “Give God the things that are God’s.”
Let it be so. Amen.
The Rev. Christie Webb
Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
Sermon for:
October 21 & 22, 2023
