"What Do I Owe You?" - Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

What Do I Owe You?
Pentecost 20A
October 18, 2020
Grace Waseca, MN
Matthew 22.15-22

Back in the late 70s and early 80s, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson featured a segment called, “Stump the Band.” Johnny would go into the audience to ask someone to name a song they thought would do just that. Doc Severinsen, the leader, and Ed McMahon, Johnny’s sidekick would improvise if they didn’t know the song in question, often quite humorously. It was a great way for Johnny to interact with the audience while providing some laughs.

Many of the religious leaders of the day have trying to play “Stump the Messiah” with Jesus. This has been going on since Jesus entered Jerusalem and cleansed the temple of the sellers and moneychangers. First it was the chief priests and scribes, then the Pharisees, and in today’s text it is the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians who have tried to nail him. It’s an unlikely but probably politically expedient alliance, for the Pharisees chafed under Roman rule, but were quietists and went along to get along, while the Herodians were most like supporters of Herod, the Roman puppet governor, and thereby collaborators with Rome. Today the issue is whether to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor Caesar, a brutal and oppressive occupying force.

Yet, the issue goes deeper than agreeing to pay taxes to an occupying nation. Jews were forbidden to handle anything that had “graven images” on it. It was considered idolatrous and blasphemous to do so. This was especially true with Roman coins, which not only carried the image of Caesar Augustus, but also had an inscription of him claiming to be god. Jesus unmasks their hypocrisy when he asks for a coin and they are able to produce one quickly; someone had to be carrying one in his purse. But he not only unmasks their malice, he unmasks their inability to see God working in, with and through Jesus.

At first glance, it seems that Jesus deftly evades their trap and removes himself from the horns of the dilemma by distinguishing between church and state. Indeed, Martin Luther and Lutherans after him are known for their “two kingdoms” or “two realms” teaching. The relationship between church and state is an important conversation, but too much for here. Besides, I don’t think Jesus is doing that here. You see, some people believe that Jesus was somehow apolitical and that politics don’t belong in the pulpit. But Jesus was very political, questioning the corrupt powers in both empire and the religious system. They forget that it was the political system, threatened by him, that ended up “nailing him” every bit as much as the religious system.

In his object lesson with the coin, Jesus is reminding us that we are in this world but not of it. As Luther Seminary professor Rolf Jacobson notes, Jesus in his words “at once free us to live with the emperor but to live for God.” [Emphasis mine.] It seems that Jesus wants us to figure out what it means to give to God the things that are God’s so that we can figure out how live in this world with faithfulness and integrity as his disciples. This past week I’ve thought deeply about what this means. Two thoughts came to mind. First are Jesus’ answer to the question about the greatest commandment: “Love the lord your God with all of your heart, soul, and mind, and the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself.” Second, the well-known words of the prophet Micah: “What is required of you? Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God.” Maybe you have some other ideas.

We live a transactional existence, meaning we do things to get things. We often say to someone, “What do I owe you?” But when we ask that question in our relationship with God, the answer is both “nothing” and “everything.” God gives us everything with no strings while at the same time we owe everything we have because of God. We love because God first loved us and we give our all because God has given us his all. Jesus is not an auditor for God’s “Spiritual IRS,” but rather one who invites us to give as he gave on the cross. In this charged political climate, God’s blessings as you navigate what it means to follow Jesus. That may stump you from time to time, but that’s okay; we’re called to be faithful, not perfect. Thanks be to God. Amen.

To watch the sermon on the worship video click here.