Gospel Reading Matthew 22:15-22
Matthew 22:15-22
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
You may find it hard to believe, but recently I’ve been challenged—several times, actually—on the validity of making political pronouncements in my role as a pastor and preacher. I rarely respond, as a rule, because it’s not worth unpacking everyone’s assumptions, which usually go something like: 1) that what is said is actually political in the narrow sense of that term, having to do with partisan politics; 2) that the Gospel has nothing to do with politics; 3) therefore preachers shouldn’t talk about politics. Most people get tripped up on number one, mistaking basic descriptions of Christian ethics as targeted at one “side” or another. In the broadest sense, however, the word political actually means “having to do with the city”—meaning how human society is ordered (so in that sense, yes, almost everything we say in church is about politics). Jesus certainly has a lot to say about that. In the story today, religious leaders are trying to trick Jesus into saying something “political.” They ask him about taxes. If he says it’s lawful to pay taxes then the revolutionary and anti-Roman vanguard will be upset—how could he betray the Jewish people? If he denies paying taxes, however, he’ll be in trouble with the Romans. Jesus’ solution is ingenious. First he asks if the Pharisees have a coin. One pulls a coin out of his pocket, implicating them in idolatry since the coin depicts the emperor’s face (faithful Jews didn’t hold with graven images). Then he tells them to give the emperor what is the emperor’s. That may seem like an evasion, but think about what the emperor requires—taxes and honor. Think about what God requires: everything (our politics included).
God, help us to praise and worship and follow you, at the expense of all else, as you have called us to do, in the way of Jesus your Son.
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