Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost 19th October

Exodus 33: 12–23                              

Moses said to the Lord , ‘See, you have said to me, “Bring up this people”; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favour in my sight.” Now if I have found favour in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favour in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’  He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favour in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favour in my sight, and I know you by name.’  Moses said, ‘Show me your glory, I pray.’  And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The Lord ”; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But’, he said, ‘you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.’ And the Lord continued, ‘See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by;  then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.’ 

Psalm 99  

1 Thessalonians 1: 1–10            

Matthew 22: 15–33

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So 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. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’  But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘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. The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying, ‘Teacher, Moses said, “If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.” Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. Last of all, the woman herself died. In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married her.’ Jesus answered them, ‘You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is God not of the dead, but of the living.’  And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching. 

Reflection: 

Our lectionary readings today are, to say the least, a little tricky to fully understand. We could take them at face value and see a warm fuzzy picture of God safeguarding Moses as he reveals his glory and his sovereignty.  Then we have a beautiful psalm, which again points to the majesty of God. Psalm 99 calls us to bow down in worship, to exalt and honour God as he not only deserves but as he desires us so to do.

Then Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians offers a call to return to the Lord. A call to stand strong in the mist of persecution and obstacles and a call to turn from worshiping idols and to serve and imitate our Lord Jesus who rescues us from sin and death. And finally, we have the Gospel from Matthew ch 22. Continuing on from last week, the banquet invitation, now we are challenged as we hear of those opposing Jesus trying their best to trick and test him. But, as we explore our readings there are some underlying messages that I suggest are there waiting our response.

First let’s look at the question of the tax. This isn’t just any tax. It’s the Imperial Tax, the one denarius a year that Jews had to pay the Romans to cover the cost of occupying their country. You see, they were paying their oppressors to, basically oppress them. Not everyone saw it this way making part of today’s reading quite political. 

Those put in power by the Romans, represented in this passage by the Herodians along with the Pharisees and their followers (their disciples), advocated supporting Roman “governance” of Israel. They were followers of King Herod and wanted to see him restored to the throne. Although they were opposed to the Pharisees, they were at this point united with the Pharisees in a quest to discredit Jesus.

Nationalists opposed to Rome, probably comprising much of the crowd, found the tax incredibly offensive. You see, the religiously devout, were made to pay with a coin engraved with a picture of Caesar Tiberius and a proclamation of his divinity, forcing them to break the first two Commandments every time they paid the tax. (You shall have no other Gods apart from me)

All of this made the topic of the Imperial Tax very divisive and one’s opinion on it was immediately revealing as to which side you belonged to. Which is precisely the nature of the plot – if Jesus advocates paying the tax, his supporters in the crowd will turn on him because he will be seen to be giving allegiance to Caesar, but if he condemns the tax, he puts himself in jeopardy with Roman officials.

Jesus not only evades their trap, but also catches them in their own ploys. “Whose face is on the coin?” he asks. Jesus’ opponents answer “The Emperor’s,” assuring everyone there that they know full well the face and blasphemous confession of allegiance they have now declared.

All of which enhances Jesus’ response: “give, therefore, to Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The tables turn, as all in attendance confess that everything belongs to Almighty God. With just a few words, Jesus exposes his would-be accusers and at the same time calls them to a higher declaration of allegiance than they’d expected.

I wonder if Jesus is doing the same to us? Not trying to trap us, of course, but rather inviting us to declare our allegiance. Perhaps the key issue in this exchange isn’t whose image is on the coin, but rather whose image is on us. In Genesis 1, God declares God’s intent as he creates humanity in God’s own image. So while we may feel that how we spend our money is our business and no one else’s, yet if we forget in whose image we have been made we may succumb to the temptation to believe that we are no more than the sum total of our possessions and that our bank accounts tell a true story about our worth and value.

So…render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and what is God’s to God!

I wonder if Jesus is inviting us to consider what we hold important- what we give our allegiance to- what we spend most of our time and energy focusing on. Where does our faithfulness lie? Do we worship God, but within our set boundaries rather than with open hearts that long to see, hear, love and serve him? With hearts that desire to be with him alone more than any other purpose?

 Turning then back to Moses, who is told by God that he has found favour in the sight of the Lord and who now asks God to reveal himself. Moses wants more than just a working relationship with God, he’s been called to lead and take care of God’s people. This is a great honour but he wants more- he desires a close intimate relationship with the Most High God. Moses has realised that knowing God is more than having power and authority or just doing as he’s told- Knowing God means worshiping God with all that he is- putting the things of this world behind him and the Lord God before him. Moses realises that knowing God and worshiping him as God desires and demands means taking God with him where ever God leads. 

Emmanuel, God with us, at all times and in all places. 

Moses had the Tabernacle- we have our hearts.

And so, I wonder- where and how you worship, and where does your allegiance lie. Is it in a place or special tradition or is it simply as a child of God, accepting, submitting and adoring, coming to God as you are, knowing that God has made you in his image and that he calls each of us to be faithful to him as he is faithful to us. God’s ways are not our ways. We are called, challenged and invited therefore to let go of the things of this world and hold onto the ways and mysteries of the Kingdom’s. And, we are challenged to give to God what is God’s and not hold back, and that is to give him our all.

Prayer: Dear God, remind us of our identity as your beloved children and as agents of your mercy in this world and empower us to live that identity in its fullness each and every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.