Proper 24A / Matthew 22:15-22
Showing them a coin, Jesus asks the
Pharisees, “Whose head is this, and whose title?”[3] And
this is one of the reasons I love this story so much – we can easily
relate. There is no lost pearl, no
Samaritan, no mustard seed. There is a
coin and if we take a look at the coins in our own pocket or purse and we will
see the head of Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Washington, or, if you have the
rare 50 cent piece, the likeness of Kennedy.[4] So Jesus’ question – “whose head is this, and
whose title?” - makes sense to us. Then
Jesus says, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s,
and to God the things that are God’s.”[5] This answer is frequently understood through
the lens of our contemporary concept of the separation of church and state. But
I don’t think that’s right. Jesus’s is more complex than that.
Who do you want to be in this story
of Jesus and the Pharisees? It’s a
common approach to studying Scripture in community – to identify oneself in the
narrative and listen for how the text speaks to you. So, this week, I spent some time doing just
that and I came to a quick conclusion – I want to be Jesus! I want to be the person with the quick answer
when someone tries to corner me or when someone says something that is mildly
insulting. The truth of the matter is,
however, that I am more often the one who wakes up in the middle of the night
and thinks, “That’s what I should have said!”
And wonders, “Why am I always so slow on my feet?” So, for this – and a whole host of other
reasons – I am certainly not Jesus in this story and, truth-be-told, from
conversations I’ve had with many of you, neither are you. Sorry. That’s just truth.
O.k., then that leaves the
Pharisees. The one’s who try to set
Jesus up, to trap him so that they can turn him over the authorities. But, of course, they butter him up
first. “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.”[1] When
I used to supervise a large staff at Boston University, I took a management
class and learned about the feedback sandwich --- the bread is the nice stuff
and the meat in the middle is the criticism.
“I love the way you show up to work on time every day. I need you to pay more attention to detail
because I’ve been noticing a lot of errors in your work. And you are a great team player!” Apparently, starting with the positive puts
the listener at ease and makes them more open to hearing the negative. I practiced this technique so much at that
job - and have subsequently received my own share of supervisory sandwiches –
that I am now conditioned to listen for it.
“Debra, I really appreciated your contribution at the meeting last night.” And then I wait for it. I wait for the “however”
to follow. Even if it is never spoken, I sometimes hear it as a critical voice
in my head. Maybe some of you can
relate. And this is how the Pharisees begin – Jesus you are a great teacher,
your sincerity is beyond reproach; however, we’re wondering if you could tell
us, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor?”[2]
That question is the set-up. That
is the meat in the feedback sandwich.
Only in this context, Jesus himself is going to provide the
self-critique – or so the Pharisees assume. Because, the Pharisees think that
no matter how Jesus answers the question they have caught him. If Jesus says, “yes, it is lawful to pay the tribute to the emperor,” then the Pharisees
will have caught him setting aside the rule of God and can try him as a heretic. If, on the other hand, Jesus says, “no, we
should not pay the tribute,” then the
Herodians who have come with the Pharisees can charge him with sedition and
place him under arrest. But Jesus’ answer confounds them all. There is neither sedition nor heresy in his
response and that is its very genius.
The coin has the image of the
emperor and, as such, it belongs to the emperor. And the things that belong to God should be
given to God. But the unspoken question
implicit in Jesus’ response is “What is it that bears the image of God and as
such belongs rightly to God?” And the unspoken answer – but one that would be
known to the Pharisees – is that our own flesh and blood belong to God. And so this is Jesus’ gotcha’ moment – the moment
that makes me wish I were Jesus in the story – quick on my feet and always
wise.
Returning now to my initial
question, “Who do you want to be in this story of Jesus and the Pharisees?”
Jesus? The Pharisees? I propose another option. There is another character in the story and
that is the coin – not the coin that bears the likeness of the emperor; but
instead the coin that bears the image of God.
And you and I are that
coin. We are the ones who bear the mark
of the image of God. We are the Body of Christ and God claims each of us as God’s
own – we are, to use an image from our Old Testament, we are God’s “treasured
possession.”[6] And this is the gift that God gives to us, a gift
each of us can use as we see fit. We can
use it to be like Jesus – quick on our feet and ready with wise answers. We can use it to be like the Pharisees –
ready to catch others off guard, hoping to make ourselves look better in the
eyes of others or hoping to entrap those around us. We use God’s gift imperfectly; we are both
Jesus and the Pharisees. And we are so
much more. We are God’s beloved “sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked
as Christ’s own for ever,” now bearing the indelible stamp of God’s love and
grace on our very selves.[7]
[1]
Matthew 22:16b
[2]
Matthew 22:17b
[3]
Matthew 22:19-20
[4]
Matthew 22:21.
[5]
Matthew 22:21b
[6] cf. Exodus 19:5, Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2
[7] The Book of Common Prayer 1979, p. 308.
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