Sermon, Proper 23 (Year A) 2023

 

There’s a bit of a theme today about faces.

The exodus reading, of course, describes the encounter between Moses and God; this intimate and foundational conversation about relationship.
And yet: from an abundance of love, God ensures that Moses does not see their face, for the power and awesomeness is too much. One can't see the face of God and live, even when we are in close relationship.

What a contrast then, in our Gospel passage today, with this anecdote with the Pharisees and the coin – specifically face and imprint upon the coin.
Caesar. The earthly one. The one whose face is so ordinary that it can be seen, copied, easily
recognised.

Right from the start, we recognise the difference in power and relationship:
We can’t see the face of God and live – and God will put us into unusual places to ensure our safety.
But we can see the face of Caesar – it’s encouraged, even.

Our relationship with God is priceless; the relationship with the emperor has a monetary denomination.
A fairly low one, too: for a denarius was about the value of one day’s labour.

And the Pharisees would have known the tradition of the Exodus, as people who had studied the scrolls of the Torah. They knew the dangers of trying to capture the likeness of God in any way.

But they had no qualms about carrying the coin of the Emperor within their robes.
This was not unusual, as the society was one of dual currencies – an Isrealite currency used within the Temple for the tithes and alms, and also in the Jewish markets; and the other, Roman coin for the tax collectors. These were not interchangeable: This is why the money-changers as a regular presence outside the houses of worship.

These two were kept apart; the tax system was not a fair one, by any stretch; where tax collectors were unscrupulous and unethical. And so it was quite unpopular to mention the tax.

This is something that Matthew – a former Roman tax collector – would have known. And a nuance that his audience – mostly Jewish Christians living a faithful Jewish lifestyle – would not have overlooked.

Yet this is exactly the basis for the question the Pharisees pose to Jesus.
Ironically, right after some fairly transparent false flattery.

While it would have been very easy to get caught up in a debate about the purpose of taxes, the system of taxation, the concept of tithes, the very presence of Caesar’s face on the coins… Jesus chooses to NOT engage in the debate.
He knows it’s a trap; he knows they’re not actually asking about tax.

Instead, Jesus shifts the discussion entirely. He turns the question back to the Pharisees. The questioners become the people questioned as Jesus reframes the entire encounter.
What face do you see? Jesus asks, despite that he can see it for himself.
As soon as they respond with what is a very basic statement of fact, the discussion is no longer about taxes or faces, but about relationship and authority.

Whoever’s face is on the coin can have it. Because it’s earthly, and not all that significant in the big picture. The face will change, the value will disappear, the priorities will change.

But Jesus invites the Pharisees to consider what their priorities are… who their allegiance is to… what their intentions are.

In telling folks to give to the emperor what is the emperor’s, and to give to God what is God’s, he takes them into a much deeper conversation.
Because now they need to discern and determine what is God’s.
And to understand that an answer to that is not as easy as taking a coin from the pocket – for the face of God is majestic and cannot be contained.

No wonder the Pharisees are amazed; and went away without answering.
The point for Jesus wasn’t an answer, but to take them on that mental exercise of spiritual importance.
What belongs in this world, and what belongs to God?
Which leads even deeper: what priority have they placed on the things that belong in this world, instead of putting their focus on the mission of God?
It’s not a far journey to be considering idols, as these earthly priorities become clearer and clearer in the Pharisees’ ruminations.

And – as so often happens when we Jesus asks a question – as hearers of this Good News, and as we strive to be faithful followers of Jesus – we get invited to the same intentional discernment about what we have: on our own, and as a shared family of worshipers.

For it’s more than just listing our assets, but considering how to be good care givers of what belongs to God.
It’s the gentle reminder of what priorities we have put in our lives, that may be serving our own interests instead of the greater good; those idols that Paul commends us all to turn away from.

So we ponder:
What opportunities is God putting right in front of us?
What ways can we use the resources in our stewardship to enhance the people and place of God?

For we have been blessed with resources and with possibilities; and we come together to figure out how God is calling us to move forward in love, responding in real ways as the church in this day and age.

So what *can* we give to God as a downtown, Cathedral community?
What does God look like for us?
How do we recognise when God is in our midst?
And what does it mean for us to trust God with what we have been given? - -
It can be helpful to remember that the earthly resources we have been given are not meant as a forever thing - all things on earth are temporary and temporal. Rather, we have been trusted to find the right time and process to give to God that which God has given to us.

That can be hard to hear, because change is hard. And we don’t change just for the sake of change.
But when we respond faithfully to God’s call to give back, we realise that giving to God is about investment – it’s a commitment.
It’s an act of relationship.
It’s a demonstration of trust.
It’s a celebration of working with God, by investing in God's place, God's people, God's creation.

So we give to the world what belongs to the world; and we give to God what belongs to God.

Like the people hearing Jesus’ question, we too can be a bit amazed at the magnitude of it: for there is no simple formula to follow, no face to see imprinted on a coin.
But we do see before us the face of God in the people and situations we carry in our hearts.
In the ministries of reaching out with compassion.
In the openness to new ideas and new connections with our neighbours.
In every day interactions where we act with grace.
We know, in our hearts, when God is showing us how to love.

Let us be confident as we go into the world, in the embrace of our loving God,
to be the face of love to a world that is seeking.