In this week's gospel story we witness yet another confrontation between Jesus and the religious rulers, this time over whether to pay taxes to the Roman oppressors. They thought this a tidy trap - if he said "No," they could have him arrested for sedition; if "Yes," they could brand him a collaborator before his adoring crowds. Win/win, right?
Not for them. Jesus asks for a Roman coin. "Whose image do you see imprinted here?" he asks. "Caesar," they answer. "It's easy," he replies, "You owe this to the one who issued it. Give to the emperor what belongs to him, to God what belongs to God." And he dances out of another trap.
Genesis tells us that humankind was made in the image of God. St. Paul asserts that Jesus is the perfect image of the invisible God, and that we are united with Christ in baptism. Thus we are stamped with the image of God both in birth and in rebirth. We are the coins God has issued to the world, if you will, the means of God's generosity.
How does it change your self-perception to think of yourself as a coin bearing the image of your creator, the currency of the Almighty? What are coins and bills? They are utilitarian, sure, yet also precious. And they are used to purchase things of value to their possessor. What is of value to God? That all of God's children thrive in freedom and plenty and wholeness.
How might we be expended as "God's coins" to bring that dream of God into being? In prayer, we might offer ourselves anew to God for service, and ask the Holy Spirit to show us where God wants to spend us today, or this week, or this year, or this lifetime. What visions come up as you sit in stillness with that question? Does anything resonate with your own dreams?
The currency we carry bears the likeness of temporal authorities, and that's the realm in which we spend it. The currency we arebears the likeness of God, and so we give ourselves to be spent in God's realm. Bought with a price, we can more than double our value as we're willing to be spent.
No comments:
Post a Comment