Being God’s coinage
A one time bishop of Peterborough announced that he was a Radio 2 person, especially on a Saturday morning and taking a leisurely bath. He told us so on Radio 4. Now if you are a Radio 4 person, then you might be familiar with John Humphreys on the Today programme. He has a reputation for being a fearsome interviewer of politicians. There is something of a John Humphrey in these Pharisees and Herodians who come to Jesus to question him. They are out to trap Jesus.
They flatter first of all: ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no.’ Then they feed in their trick question: Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ It is tricky: if Jesus answers ‘Yes’, he upsets those who refuse to pay the poll tax. If he answers No, he upsets the Romans, who occupy and govern the land. Either answer is trouble: they have some to hold and use against him.
‘Show me a coin used for the tax,’ asks Jesus. They do so, and in so doing they undermine their own argument. Let me ask, ‘Is there a coin in the church? Now I ask, ‘Whose head is on our coin?’ and you will answer, ‘The Queens.’ ‘But why is it her head?’ You might say, ‘Because she is head of state,’ but the reality is that this coin is her money. We might like to think of it as our money, but really it belongs to the Queen. It was minted in the Royal Mint, to be used in the United Kingdom
That is precisely the point that Jesus is making. The coins belong to Caesar, it bears his image, so, says Jesus, ‘Give back to Caesar what you got from him.’ Some feel that justifies paying taxes to the government, but he does not leave it there: he says, ‘Give to God the things that are God’s.’ Therein challenges us all. What things are God’s? How do we determine what they are?
I have not thought of this before, but perhaps we can think of ourselves as God’s coins. Why? Because in the story of creation, God says, ‘Let us create human beings in our own image.’ Therefore each one of us bears God’s image, and if we bear God’s image, we are God’s coins, so that it is we who have to give ourselves to God. How much do we give? Well, what denomination are you? £2, £1, 50 pence, 20 pence, 10 pence, 5 pence, 2 pence, the new £5, or the humble one pence. How much do we give to God?
Have you noticed that nowadays wherever we go, people talk in initials? I have in my diary PP – for a service at the Church of SS Peter and Paul, and SM for S Michael’s Church. In hospitals we have MRSA, CD (it can also mean compact disc), and HIV/AIDS. So the list of initials goes on. Even a popular supermarket in initials. T E Stockwell, a tea supplier, was bought out by Jack Cohen. He donated two letters from his name to add to the initials TES, and we have TESCO.
So in terms of what and how we are to give to God? So initially
SYTG – Say Yes To God, the giving of our acceptance and obedience. Walking across the prison yard, brought the call ‘Yes John,’ and the hand raised in greeting. We cannot get more affirmative than Yes, and Yes to God says all we should say to God.
WWJD – this may be familiar – What Would Jesus Do? - the question makes us pause in the face of difficulty, a problem, a challenge, trouble. It enables us to respond, rather than react, and do as Jesus does, living our YTG in his way and truth. To know and to do that we need to
LTWJ – Lose Time With Jesus – be with him, in solitude, stillness, the lonely place, with ears and heart open, listening to, learning from, him. That is giving our time to him. And to LTWJ, say, three times a day – Morning, Noon and Night (MNN). In that way we are EDWJ – Every Day With Jesus. Thus will Jesus teach us how to love
SYTYN - Say Yes To Your Neighbour, which in the commandment of Jesus immediately means SYTO Say Yes To Ourselves – in love – as commanded by Jesus. All that may be put into one good Christian word JOY – Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.
All this is giving to God the things that are God’s. Then, in order to be able to resource this giving, we need to LS – Live Simply – a way of life that respects and cherishes all of God’s creation, giving to God and to others what we get from God. Amen. SBI – So Be It.
The Revd John Tearnan, October 19th, 2008
