St. Charles Episcopal Church - St. Charles, IL
October 16, 2001 – Proper 24, Year A
Exodus 33:12-23, Psalm 99, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Matthew 22:15-22
The Rev. Elizabeth Gordon Meade
To listen to the sermon as it was preached at the 9:00 am service, click here.
To listen to the sermon as it was preached at the 10:45 am service, click here.
I made my annual trek up to Wisconsin this week to witness the beginnings of the migratory bird season. My first stop was at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo where I again was mesmerized by the dozen species of the world’s cranes that are housed there. I’m always struck by both the beauty of these birds AND by their diversity. There are the Ugandan cranes with their funny golden crowns that make them look like avian versions of Albert Einstein, and the dainty Demoiselles, the smallest of the species. My heart belongs to the Whooping Cranes, though, the tallest of the birds, and native to North America. Whoopers are, for me, one of the wonders of God’s creation. At the Crane Foundation, you can sit quietly very close to the edge of a pond and watch a pair of these glorious birds in a somewhat natural habitat. Frequently, they disappear behind a berm, when too many people come by and snap pictures of them, but this time I had them to myself, with only one other lady nearby. I watched with reverential awe as the female of the pair approached the edge of the pond – and stood stock still – waiting for an unsuspecting frog or a fish to happen by. I was struck by the stillness of the water – and the silence of the crane as she waited. And then I saw the perfect image: The crane’s image reflected perfectly in the water, so clear, so distinct, that it could have been two cranes.
The Pharisees plotted to trap Jesus in what he said, so they sent their disciples to him, and said, “Tell us, Teacher, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” 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." And Jesus said: "Give therefore to the Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God's."
This story of two images – the image of Caesar and the image of God – has long been used to frame the argument over the separation of church and state, but I think Jesus is making an entirely different point in Matthew’s Gospel. Looking for a way to trip Jesus up so they could turn him over to the Roman authorities as a rebel and be rid of him, the Pharisees pose their question. “Teacher, tells us what you think,” but Jesus doesn’t take the bait. He knows what they are trying to do, but instead of falling into their trap, Jesus presents a paradox for us all: How to live in a secular world while remaining faithful to our Lord. In other words, Jesus helps us to wonder how to be law abiding citizens in a secular world, while simultaneously living faithfully as children of God.
“Sure,” Jesus says, “this little coin, this denarius has Caesar’s image on it; therefore, it must be Caesar’s,” so give it back to him, but, he warns, don’t give to Caesar that which is not Caesar’s: yourselves, your souls and your bodies. Those belong to God. It was pure genius on Jesus’ part! Every Pharisee would have known the line in the first chapter of Genesis: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them.” (Gen 1:27)
Every Pharisee knew he was created BY God and in the image OF God. And every Pharisee had a living visual reminder on his body (his circumcision) that reminded him that God had a claim on them. They were God’s chosen people. So, by almost dismissing the issue of Caesar’s face on a coin, Jesus calls attention to the fact that they (and we) are first and foremost children of God. What God asks of us – our devotion and love – does not belong to Caesar, and therefore cannot be given to him. In this one sentence, Jesus teaches that we, as beloved children of God, are to give to God all that is God’s, namely ourselves. After all, who created us? To whom do we belong? The mention of the coin is a quibbling point; so little as to not matter very much. “Give it back to Caesar,” Jesus says, “in payment for the good roads he is building around here; it has his face on it, after all. But you? YOU are made in MY image. You are MINE. You are more important to me that that stupid little coin. This passage reminds us that our kinship with God cannot be erased, cannot be stolen, and cannot be given to Caesar.
So, there I was, sitting silently, watching this magnificent female whooping crane staring into the water, and seeing her perfect image reflecting back up at her. And suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the crane made a stab in the water for the elusive frog that was to become her dinner, and her image was distorted – the photo opportunity lost by the now rippling water. What a metaphor that is for us, living in the 21st century!
When the focus of our lives is on the concerns of the world: on money, on taxes, on where our next meal is coming from, we can easily forget our kinship with God. We easily forget ourselves as being made in the image and likeness of God – of belonging to God. And yet, Jesus tells us, our BELONGING to God is the most important thing in our lives. Created by God, being made in the image and likeness of God, we are, in baptism, marked as Christ’s own forever. Yet we so often forget. We are so often distracted by the cares of the world that we forget. Jesus reminds us not to forget: Reminds us that we are made in the image and likeness, NOT of Caesar, but of God.
Can we see that image of God in ourselves? Dare we look in the mirror and begin to see God? Try it sometime. Stand in front of a mirror, and really look at yourself. Forget the inevitable critique: the blemishes, the wrinkles, or how your hair looks. Just look at yourself. See what God sees in you. Can you love the face looking back at you? God does. God loves that face you see, and God created it just as it is.
If we are created in the image and likeness of God, do we reflect it (God’s own image) to the world? The question is an important one, because when we can begin to see God’s image in ourselves, God’s IMPRINT on our lives, then we can begin to see God’s image in others. We can even begin to see God’s own image on the faces of those who we find troubling. Looking at each other with the mind of Christ, we cannot HELP BUT be moved by compassion for every person we meet. All that we have and all that we are is OF God, and FROM God, and REFLECTED BACK to God. That’s what a mirror image is. When we look at ourselves in the mirror, when we look at each other on the street, there is God. In the words of Mary Oliver’s poem “Instructions for Living Life:” Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
The problem we face is that we so often let the denarius get in the way. It is so easy to forget ourselves as images of God when we ripple the waters with our worldly concerns. The Gospel today reminds us that we live in two worlds: In Caesar’s world and in God’s Kingdom, and to be aware of the pitfalls of that reality. When we focus too much on the stuff of the WORLD, it is easy to forget WHOSE we are. In our busy-ness, in our quest for “stuff,” in our material world, we can forget to recognize the image of God in ourselves and in the faces of those around us.
In closing, let me leave you with one last image that I hope will illustrate the contrast between Caesar’s World and The Kingdom of God. After leaving the Crane Foundation, we drove north to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge – 43,656 acres of wetlands – the place from which the bulk of Wisconsin’s waterfowl begin their migration south each fall. We arrived at the perfect time of day: late afternoon, with the sun sitting low in the sky, the oranges and reds of the trees saturated in the reddish late afternoon sun. We watched sandhill cranes and Canada geese flying overhead, looking for places to roost for the night. And finally, the sun set, and it started to get cold. It was getting dark, and yet I was reluctant to pull myself away from such a beautiful place. And then I saw it: The MOON – so full it was astonishing!
The moon, arriving on the scene was a mirror image of the sun that had just disappeared. The incredible evidence of God’s artistry: out in the middle of nowhere. God is Everywhere. Do we remember?
The fullness of the contrast between what is Caesar’s and what is God’s really hit me between the eyes when I left the marsh and drove down to Wisconsin Dells where I was staying the night. The Dells became a tourist destination because of the mile long canyon of sandstone, limestone, and dolomite outcroppings carved into whimsical shapes by the mighty Wisconsin River over the centuries. The locals call it God’s Country, but Caesar’s coins have distorted the beauty of this wondrous place. The natural beauty has all but been obliterated by hotels, water parks, Casinos, and souvenir shops. The blinking neon signage blinds us; prevents us from seeing what originally drew us to the area. Today, the lure of outlet malls, fudge shops, and theme parks are why the people come. The denarius appears to have won. Let it not be so with us. Behind the masks, behind what can be bought with Caesar’s coins, are others, just like us, yearning for acceptance, forgiveness and connection. And we might be JUST the image of God they need. Amen.