I wonder if Jesus got tired of the questions. Seems he was constantly confronted by people wishing to trap him, or engaged by people in awe of this very different revelation he brought and the authority with which he spoke. He was like people they recognized, and yet so totally “other,” that they were constantly questioning him - and we get to eavesdrop.
This week, the question is: are we supposed to pay taxes to the government, if we owe all our allegiance to God? (Passage is Matthew 22:15-22; I can't seem to create a link in my iPad.) It’s a classic either/or question – and Jesus tends to embrace the both/and world of paradox. This drives the Pharisees nuts – and sometimes some of us.
The Pharisees we've come to know, champions of religious righteousness according to the Law. The Herodians presumably were aligned with the Jewish king, Herod, a puppet monarch on a short Roman leash. So here church and state come together to lay this trap for Jesus.
Once again, he refuses to play, but counters with a little show and tell: “'Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They 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.’ When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.”
Can we love our country and invest in its people and future AND love our God and invest in our eternal future? I think we can, and must. As embodied people of God we dwell In societies; our taxes and volunteering are part of loving our neighbors. Americans live this paradox every time we exchange currency with "In God We Trust" printed on it. It's not the same with cards or checks, but they represent that currency.
Our spiritual exercise today: each time you pay for something, anything, even online, offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the resources, of intercession for those who do not have our means, of blessing for the person receiving your money (even of blessing for the person receiving your money (even corporations, though not people, need blessing...), and reaffirm your trust in the One who provides all that we have. That should keep us praying all day.
In this life, we have dual citizenship. We are residents of this world with all the responsibilities and joys of being members of societies. And we are citizens of the heavenly realm, that already/not yet space of inbreaking power amidst our heart-breaking powerlessness. The coin of that realm is Love - and sometimes we show it with the coins we can touch.
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