First Lutheran Church
October 22, 2023 + The Twenty-First Sunday in Pentecost A
Matthew 22:15-22 + 15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap [Jesus] in what he said. 16So 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. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21They 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.” 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
Sermon
“Allegiance”
Pastor Greg Ronning
“I pledge allegiance” … What does that mean? “A faithfulness to something to which one is bound by pledge or duty.”
The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary fleshes it out further …. A strict and continuing faithfulness to an obligation, trust, or duty. An adherence like that of citizens to their country. A fidelity acknowledged by the individual as compelling as a sworn vow. A faithfulness that is steadfast in the face of any temptation to renounce, desert, or betray. A devotion marked by zeal and service amounting to self-dedication. An expression of commitment and devotion in the firmest sense of the word!
“I pledge allegiance” … So, what is “worthy” of your allegiance?What deserves your allegiance? What has your allegiance?
In this week’s Gospel the religious leaders try to trap Jesus with a question about “allegiance,” a question about living in “two different worlds,” a question about ultimate concerns. They begin by trying to “butter Jesus up” with flattery, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God …” And then with no sincerity, with guile,they ask him, “Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"
You see the Pharisees know that if Jesus says “no” to paying taxes the Romans will arrest him for treason; and if he says “yes” they can perhaps discredit him with the faithful as a Roman sympathizer. Once again, it’s a trick question, he will be damned if he says “yes,” and he will be damned if he says “no.” It’s funny how “allegiance” is always framed in such ultimate ways in this world, often leaving no room for critical thinking and honest questions, for any kind of nuance,for any conversation as if such things are solely a matter of “blind” allegiance.
But Jesus does not fall into the trap, as he so often does in the Gospels, he does not answer the question with a “yes” or a “no” answer. He rejects that kind of simplification of life, he refuses to reduce things to “black or white,”to “us or them,” or “red or blue.” Instead, he asks those with questions to be thoughtful and reflective about answers, he invites them to seek after truth, to be in dialog, to be comfortable with the tension of living in between. Jesus shows us all once again, that he is not “the answer,” but rather to the contrary, that he is “the question” that leads us more deeply into “the way, the truth, and the life,” the abundant life of faith.
At face value one might suggest that today’s Gospel is all about paying taxes, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus’ answer takes us to a very different place …"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.
Theologian Marcus Borg, in an essay entitled, "What Belongs to God?" writes…
“… this text offers little or no guidance for tax season. It neither claims taxation is legitimate nor gives aid to anti-tax activists. It neither counsels universal acceptance of political authority nor its reverse. But it does raise the provocative and still relevant question: What belongs to God, …”
“At issue is not merely my economic relationship to the government, but my existential relationship with God. On that ancient coin was an image of Caesar, and merely money is owed to him. On the other hand, and far more importantly, every human being bears the image of God, implying that I ‘render to God’ wholly and without condition my entire self. So, pay your taxes to Caesar, and give your whole self to God.”
Today’s Gospel invites us to engage in this very hard question, the question of allegiance, a question about belonging, one of those questions of ultimate concern, the questions of faith. What is “worthy” of your allegiance? What deserves your allegiance? And what truly has your allegiance?
This past Monday I was walking into a store and came upon a couple walking out of the store. One of them was wearing a “Dallas Cowboy” jersey, and the other a “Los Angeles Charger” jersey. It made me laugh, as the Cowboys and Chargers were set to play each other that very night. So, I asked them both, “Whose gonna win tonight?” The guy wearing the Cowboy jersey quickly answered, “We are!” And the woman with Charger jersey, just smiled and shook her head, - No. I laughed again and wondered, “How in the world does that relationship work?”I am so thankful that Melissa and I share an “ultimate allegiance” to the “San Francisco 49ers!” Anything else just might have been a deal breaker! I can see how Democrats and Republicans can make a marriage work, but being fans of different football teams??? I don’t know???
We all live our life in different “spheres” that demand our allegiance. Our family makes demands on us, our work makes demands on us, our country makes demands on us, the various organizations we belong to make demands of us, our political parties make demands on us. Sometimes it feels like everyone wants our allegiance.Sometimes it feels like everyone wants, even demands, our complete “blind allegiance.”
Managing our various allegiances can be tricky. And what happens when they overlap? (Seinfeld Episode) What happens when our different worlds collide? What happens when they demand different outcomes? What happens when they conflict? And they do, often, conflict! The allegiances of this world seldom leave room for differing opinions and approaches, compromise and the possibility of working together for the common good. More and more in our world, allegiance demands separation, conflict, and the demonization of the other. At times we seem completely and utterly divided by these allegiances that that seem - less than worthy.
As the followers of Jesus,we claim that our allegiance belongs to Christ and the Kingdom of God. However, we all know that is easier said than done.The Kingdom of God by its very nature is always going to be in conflict with the world, and ultimately in conflict with the other “spheres” in which we live and work and play. Christ and the Kingdom’sproclamation of love; love for neighbor, love for the needy, love for the forgotten, love for the stranger, and even love for enemy, challenges each and every allegiance of this world.
The demand for allegiance in our world and in our faith, leaves us conflicted at best. The allegiance demands of this world leave us despondent and hopelessly divided against each other. And the invitation to be a part of the Kingdom of God, though it resonates deep in our soul, is always a challenge to our flesh in this world.
As we find ourselves struggling between the various spheres in which live, struggling with demanding loyalties, struggling with competing values, struggling with the ultimate concerns of our hearts, struggling with the hard teachings of Jesus, struggling with our belonging to the Kingdom of God yet living in the kingdoms of this world; we are invited to reflect on the question found in today’s Gospel, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"
I know it’s not an easy question. It’s a hard question. But it’s also a question that opens us up to a promise, to a great truth that will set us free. You see in the question about the image found on the coin, there’s an unspoken question that is also being asked, “Who’s image do you bear?”
Our faith and the scriptures proclaim that we have been created in the Image of God, that we are nothing less than the beloved children of God. What does it mean to be created in the image of God?It means that we were created in love, to be loved, and to love others. We were created to be “co-creators” in the Kingdom that is present and “at hand.” And in that identity, in that calling, there is great peace, that peace that passes all understanding; there is great joy, in a life of loving purpose; and there is an untouchable salvation, grounded in a radical grace that “cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”
So where does your“allegiance” belong? Where does your fidelity belong? Where does your devotion belong? Certainly not to your identity in this world, not to allegiances that are unworthy and cause division and the demonization of others. "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."Give you “allegiance” to that which is your true identify, the image of God, your beloved-ness, the promises of the Gospel, the coming of the Kingdom - and your unique ability to love and bear witness to love.
Our allegiance to the Kingdom of God, while it may put us in conflict with the world around us, will bring about in us that peace which surpasses all understanding, a life of purpose and meaning, a life filled with hope, a life that will make a difference, a life claimed by love.
"Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." May it be so. Amen.