Sermon by Bp. Craig Luesing - St. Alban's Anglican Church
Today's Gospel (Matthew 22:15-21) describes for us a trap that is being laid for Jesus. The Sanhedrin (which did not have the power of life and death) wanted to trap Jesus in such a way that he could be turned over to Pontius Pilate on a charge of rebellion and treason. In this way, Jesus could be put to death, and they would be rid of him forever.
So they sent a group of Herodians and Pharisees to ask Jesus a question: "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?"
The Herodians were members of Herod's party and staunch supporters of Rome's right to tax the Jewish population. The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed that God was the only king and that it was, therefore, unlawful to pay tribute to any other power.
If Jesus answered that it was unlawful to pay tribute to Caesar, then the Herodians would find him guilty of treason and he would be turned over to Pilate for execution.
If Jesus answered that it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, then the Pharisees would find him guilty of paying tribute to a king other than God, and would, therefore, alienate himself from the Jews.
Either way, as the Herodians and Pharisees saw it, Jesus would lose. Still, Jesus must answer the question. To remain silent would be a sign of weakness and would further discredit him.
Jesus, however, responded by calling them hypocrites. He did this for two reasons. First: because although the Jews thought it unlawful to pay the tax, they paid it anyway to avoid confrontation with Rome. And second, because they came to Jesus addressing him with words of praise and respect when their actual intentions were to trap him and have him killed.
Jesus then asked them for a coin. They gave him a penny and asked them, "Whose image and superscription is on this coin?"
And they replied, "Caesar's."
Jesus then told them, "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
To this there was no reply. God's wisdom far exceeded the evil thoughts of those who would try to trap him. And so, they walked away with their tails tucked between their legs.
Jesus defeated his adversaries, but at the same time he did much more than that. He taught us how to live in a world in which we owe allegiance, of one kind or another, to two different powers.
We find ourselves living in a temporal world and we are responsible for its welfare. We should be concerned about war and peace, crime and social injustice, and other such matters as pertain to our civil society.
On the other hand, we have an even greater responsibility to God; and are called to be concerned with holiness and righteousness as outlined for us in Holy Scripture.
To this St. Peter says, "Have reverence for God and respect for the emperor."
St. Paul goes on to tell us, in his letter to the Romans, that, "Everyone must obey state authorities, because no authority exists without God's permission, and existing authorities have been put there by God. Whoever opposes the exisitng authority opposes what God has ordered."
By saying, "Render unto God the things that are God's," He is telling us that we must have respect for civil authorities, which are established by God, and that we must submit to them.
And so, we have two rulers, one that is God, and the other established by God. Only when there is a conflict between these two is there a problem.
In the case of Jesus there was no conflict. One could pay tribute to Caesar in the way of taxes, and also pay tribute to God.
If they had demanded that Jesus worship Caesar, it would have been a different story. You cannot serve two masters.You must choose between God and man. Jesus chose to obey God and ended up paying with his death on the cross.
We do not have such a problem. The leaders of this country do not ask that we bow down and worship them. Yet there is an insidious conflict going on between Church and state.
We are all aware of various groups who have fought to take prayer out of schools, remove religious statues, symbols, and displays from public places, and in other ways try to remove God from our public lives. It has gotten to the point where many of us are now fearful to even utter the words, "Merry Christmas."
One of the great principles that our country was founded on is the belief in God and religious freedom. All of that is now replaced by the suppression of God in favor of humanism.
The cause of this, however, is not so much a conflict between Church and state, as it is a conflict between God and Satan. There exists a spiritual warfare that is being played out in each of us as individuals, as well as our society at large.
God works through his Church for the good of mankind and to prepare us for his heavenly Kingdom. Satan sends his messengers to instill moral decay that we might turn away from God and his Church.
Satan doesn't do the majority of his work through Satanic rituals or other such obvious works. Rather, he works in much more deceptive ways. With great subtleness, he focuses our attention on ourselves, thereby diverting our attention away from God [and His love for us.]
The message we are being fed is that we, as people, can solve our own problems, that there is no need for a higher authority. We become, for all intents and purposes, our own god, which is exactly what Satan wants.
When Satan tempted Eve, and then Eve tempted Adam, with the fruit of the forbidden tree, it was with the promise that their eyes would be opened and they would be like gods.
Our society is increasingly being tempted with that same original sin. We all want to be like gods, answering to no one.
With our values becoming increasingly focused on ourselves, instead of God, is it any wonder that the result is an increase in moral decay, violence, bigotry, and even genocide?
Each of us, in our own way, is a part of the society we live in. And each of us has a responsibility towards maintaining order in society. To this end we submit ourselves to the God-given authority that governs us.
At the same time, we are members of a much smaller body within that society, the Body of Christ, each of us having a responsibility to be a functioning part of that body, and to this end we must submit ourselves wholly to God.
By being a part of the Body of Christ, we are able to be witnesses to the world of God's loving kindness and mercy. In this way the world can be transformed by the Holy Spirit, and God's plan for us will be fulfilled.
May the Spirit of God be among us, and work through us, to accomplish his plan for the world.
Remaining seated, let us pray:
Almighty God, who hast sent thine only Son that we might submit ourselves to his authority; Grant us, we beseech thee, the wisdom to govern ourselves to the benefit of they Holy Kingdom, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today's Gospel (Matthew 22:15-21) describes for us a trap that is being laid for Jesus. The Sanhedrin (which did not have the power of life and death) wanted to trap Jesus in such a way that he could be turned over to Pontius Pilate on a charge of rebellion and treason. In this way, Jesus could be put to death, and they would be rid of him forever.
So they sent a group of Herodians and Pharisees to ask Jesus a question: "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?"
The Herodians were members of Herod's party and staunch supporters of Rome's right to tax the Jewish population. The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed that God was the only king and that it was, therefore, unlawful to pay tribute to any other power.
If Jesus answered that it was unlawful to pay tribute to Caesar, then the Herodians would find him guilty of treason and he would be turned over to Pilate for execution.
If Jesus answered that it was lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, then the Pharisees would find him guilty of paying tribute to a king other than God, and would, therefore, alienate himself from the Jews.
Either way, as the Herodians and Pharisees saw it, Jesus would lose. Still, Jesus must answer the question. To remain silent would be a sign of weakness and would further discredit him.
Jesus, however, responded by calling them hypocrites. He did this for two reasons. First: because although the Jews thought it unlawful to pay the tax, they paid it anyway to avoid confrontation with Rome. And second, because they came to Jesus addressing him with words of praise and respect when their actual intentions were to trap him and have him killed.
Jesus then asked them for a coin. They gave him a penny and asked them, "Whose image and superscription is on this coin?"
And they replied, "Caesar's."
Jesus then told them, "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."
To this there was no reply. God's wisdom far exceeded the evil thoughts of those who would try to trap him. And so, they walked away with their tails tucked between their legs.
Jesus defeated his adversaries, but at the same time he did much more than that. He taught us how to live in a world in which we owe allegiance, of one kind or another, to two different powers.
We find ourselves living in a temporal world and we are responsible for its welfare. We should be concerned about war and peace, crime and social injustice, and other such matters as pertain to our civil society.
On the other hand, we have an even greater responsibility to God; and are called to be concerned with holiness and righteousness as outlined for us in Holy Scripture.
To this St. Peter says, "Have reverence for God and respect for the emperor."
St. Paul goes on to tell us, in his letter to the Romans, that, "Everyone must obey state authorities, because no authority exists without God's permission, and existing authorities have been put there by God. Whoever opposes the exisitng authority opposes what God has ordered."
By saying, "Render unto God the things that are God's," He is telling us that we must have respect for civil authorities, which are established by God, and that we must submit to them.
And so, we have two rulers, one that is God, and the other established by God. Only when there is a conflict between these two is there a problem.
In the case of Jesus there was no conflict. One could pay tribute to Caesar in the way of taxes, and also pay tribute to God.
If they had demanded that Jesus worship Caesar, it would have been a different story. You cannot serve two masters.You must choose between God and man. Jesus chose to obey God and ended up paying with his death on the cross.
We do not have such a problem. The leaders of this country do not ask that we bow down and worship them. Yet there is an insidious conflict going on between Church and state.
We are all aware of various groups who have fought to take prayer out of schools, remove religious statues, symbols, and displays from public places, and in other ways try to remove God from our public lives. It has gotten to the point where many of us are now fearful to even utter the words, "Merry Christmas."
One of the great principles that our country was founded on is the belief in God and religious freedom. All of that is now replaced by the suppression of God in favor of humanism.
The cause of this, however, is not so much a conflict between Church and state, as it is a conflict between God and Satan. There exists a spiritual warfare that is being played out in each of us as individuals, as well as our society at large.
God works through his Church for the good of mankind and to prepare us for his heavenly Kingdom. Satan sends his messengers to instill moral decay that we might turn away from God and his Church.
Satan doesn't do the majority of his work through Satanic rituals or other such obvious works. Rather, he works in much more deceptive ways. With great subtleness, he focuses our attention on ourselves, thereby diverting our attention away from God [and His love for us.]
The message we are being fed is that we, as people, can solve our own problems, that there is no need for a higher authority. We become, for all intents and purposes, our own god, which is exactly what Satan wants.
When Satan tempted Eve, and then Eve tempted Adam, with the fruit of the forbidden tree, it was with the promise that their eyes would be opened and they would be like gods.
Our society is increasingly being tempted with that same original sin. We all want to be like gods, answering to no one.
With our values becoming increasingly focused on ourselves, instead of God, is it any wonder that the result is an increase in moral decay, violence, bigotry, and even genocide?
Each of us, in our own way, is a part of the society we live in. And each of us has a responsibility towards maintaining order in society. To this end we submit ourselves to the God-given authority that governs us.
At the same time, we are members of a much smaller body within that society, the Body of Christ, each of us having a responsibility to be a functioning part of that body, and to this end we must submit ourselves wholly to God.
By being a part of the Body of Christ, we are able to be witnesses to the world of God's loving kindness and mercy. In this way the world can be transformed by the Holy Spirit, and God's plan for us will be fulfilled.
May the Spirit of God be among us, and work through us, to accomplish his plan for the world.
Remaining seated, let us pray:
Almighty God, who hast sent thine only Son that we might submit ourselves to his authority; Grant us, we beseech thee, the wisdom to govern ourselves to the benefit of they Holy Kingdom, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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