Minted by God

Matthew 22:15-22

October 19, 2008

Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.

For the past ten years, the U.S. Mint has been producing commemorative quarters of states when they entered the union. The California quarter has John Muir and Yosemite on it. This year the last quarter is minted for the state of Hawaii.

Last week, our good friend, Gil asked me to buy him a roll of quarters the next time I visit the East Coast. Assuming that he’s a coin collector, Gil wanted quarters that have a “P” stamped on it instead of the letter, “D.” Most of our coins in the West Coast are minted in Denver, thus the letter “D.” But Gil wanted quarters that were minted in Philadelphia.

In looking closely for these tiny “Ps” that are engraved onto the face of the quarters, I also noticed the motto, “In God We Trust.” In the wake of a nation afraid of “Godless communism” in 1956, Congress made “In God We Trust” to be the national motto of the United States.

Although the origins of the phrase are obscure, some think it stems from one of the lesser-known verses of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which includes this line: “And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’” The first time this motto appeared on U.S. coins was during the Civil War.

The use of “In God We Trust” on American money has been a subject of debate, even before the 1956 act of Congress declaring it the national motto. Some have thought it violates the separation of church and state. Theodore Roosevelt opposed it, but for a different reason: He thought it to be sacrilegious to inscribe the name of God on something so common as money. I think Roosevelt can teach us something here.

Paying Taxes

In our lesson for today, Jesus is under fire. A dispute breaks out over whether we ought to pay taxes to Caesar. It’s curious because Jesus hasn’t mentioned anything about payment of taxes in all of his teachings. He has not mentioned the government and has taken no position about the justice of the Romans occupying Judea. And yet, his critics come to him, seeking to entrap him in a debate about paying taxes to Caesar.

It may be that Jesus’ critics were beginning to sense that in Jesus’ teachings, sovereignty is under dispute and the loyalties of the people toward these religious as well as political authorities were being questioned. Jesus had a way of doing that, just by the way he talked and the way he walked. Should we serve you or money? Should we walk behind you, or is there something else that leads us to salvation? Today, they ask, should we pay taxes or not?

So perhaps their question ought to be rephrased. “Should we worship Caesar or not?” After all, that was what the coins proclaimed. Caesar was god. Jesus knows that they’re asking about a particular tax, one that can be paid only with a Roman coin. Problem is, the coin contains an image and an inscription—“Tiberias Caesar, august son of the divine Augustus, high priest” one that’s considered blasphemous by devout Jews. It probably has a tiny letter, “R” that signifies that it was minted in Rome.

In each major town of Judea, the Romans had placed statues to Caesar that not only proclaimed that Caesar was in power, controlling everything, but that Caesar ought to be revered, worshiped as supreme.

The Jews were terribly angered by this idolatry. Some attempted to get along with the Romans as evident in the Pharisees joining up with the Herodians in their attempt to entrap Jesus with this question. But others also resisted. On one occasion, the Romans tried to make a sacrifice to a pagan god at the altar in Jerusalem. The Jews, even though they lacked an army and few means to resist, launched a brave revolution. They were quickly crushed under the heel of Rome. But this act of rebellion illustrates for us what the question is: To whom do we owe our greatest allegiance?

After flattery to mask their real intentions and posing as seekers to find out the truth for themselves, the Pharisees and the Herodians ask, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor or not?” They know it was a trick question.

If Jesus answers, “Sure, pay the tax. Caesar is powerful and in charge of everything. Pay the tax.” Then Jesus is in big trouble. He has thereby supported the pagan, Roman occupational forces. If Caesar has God-given authority, then where would Jesus draw his authority from?

On the other hand, if Jesus answers, “We’re Jews! Don’t pay the tax. That money has Tiberius Caesar’s idolatrous image on it. Payment of that tax makes you an idolater.” If he answers this way, the nervous Romans will be on Jesus’ case immediately.

Jesus doesn’t really answer the question about paying taxes to Caesar. He says, “Show me the coin used for the tax.” Notice that Jesus didn’t have this coin in his pocket. But his questioners were able to find this denarius from their pockets implicating them that they already have given their loyalties to Caesar.

Jesus asks them, “Whose image is on the coin?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” We would say, “George Washington.”

“Then give it to him,” says Jesus. “But be careful. Don’t give to Caesar what belongs to God.” Remember that this question about paying taxes is not Jesus’ question. We are the ones who come to Jesus wondering where our loyalties should be.

In God’s Image

When we hear Jesus asks, “Whose image is on the coin or whose head is engraved in this coin?” we are reminded of Genesis 1:26 where it is said that we are created “in the image of God.” We have God’s image stamped on us. The coin belongs to Caesar. You belong to God.

See what Jesus has done here? He has taken our political question and made it into a worship question. In whose image are you minted? Who is the object of your highest devotion? Who owns you?

Ultimately, everything belongs to God. Paul in Romans 14, writes, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

We can just imagine when Jesus asked, “Whose image is on this coin?” that he is turning the coin over in his hand, rubbing his thumb over the face inscribed there, the face of the emperor. Then he teaches, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s.” But he doesn’t stop there. He continues and says, “Give to God those things that belong to God.” As people who have been minted by God from the beginning of life, Jesus is saying to us, “Give your life to God.”

Next Sunday is Pledge Sunday at Four Seas Restaurant. By now, you have received from me the stewardship materials on the theme, “Footprints for Christ.” We have invited you to make a sacrificial gift to support the ministry and mission of this church. We might think that we own the minted quarters whether they have the tiny “D’s” or “P’s” engraved on them in our pockets. But ultimately, everything belongs to God.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” We know that everything that we think we alone possess eventually is returned to God. And that includes every one sitting here. While we still want you to make a prayerful pledge or contribution to support our church in 2009, what God really want is you. You are the signed sculpture by God. You are minted by God for service in the world.

Idolatry

Like the Pharisees and the Herodians who asked Jesus the question about paying taxes, we engage in these types of questions too. If we are not careful, we end up worshiping something other than God. We can make our quarters our idols.

Here we are with a coin with Caesar’s idolatrous image on it, asking what we thought was a political strategy question and Jesus makes it a question of worship. Every time the church gathers, for almost any reason, this is the question beneath or beyond all our questions. Whom do we worship?

If you were like me, I have been troubled, I have lost sleep, I have been worrying about the economic downturn happening in our country and now around the world. I was hoping that with my retirement plan, I would be financially secure when that time comes for retirement. Now when my quarterly statement arrives, I am not going to open the envelope at all. My MMBB plan was my idol—I watched it grow bigger and bigger every year and was depending on it in the future. And, as Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34)

We have the ability to create idols in our lives that would give us security, protection, and comfort. For some of us it’s the government, for others it’s military might, for others it’s always having a beautiful self-image, for others like me, it’s my 401K and retirement plan; the list is endless, for we are resourceful in our idolatries.

When we come to worship every Sunday, we focus on the first commandment in our faith—you shall worship God, who has stamped you in his image and has delivered you out of slavery. We come back week after week to examine who owns us, who delivers us, who commands us, who ultimately minted us.

There are some of these new churches that have forgotten why we come to church. When it came time for the offering, the pastor would say, “If you are a visitor, then please do not participate in the offering. We just want our visitors to relax and enjoy the service.” You won’t ever hear me say that at this church! Why wait to work on their greed of money and possessions? This is the church! Let’s get started on their idolatries today!

Being Amazed

One of the things that we do when we come to church is to see things in a different light. That’s why we have stained glass windows. We come with our rather colorless, none-too-inspiring little lives and we see them in God’s light. And they are thereby transformed.

Church is where we look at our lives from a different perspective—God’s way of seeing things. In church, when we are not at our best, things come into focus, and we see what things are worth and how much certain things truly cost.

There was a woman who had lived through a horrible hurricaine and flood. She had “lost everything” as they say—house, car, furniture, clothing, and keepsakes. When the pastor offered her sympathy for her loss she said, “One thing I’ve learned. It’s not right to say that I lost everything.’ I lost a lot of stuff. Most of the material possessions that I had been accumulating got ripped away. But here I am and my family is still with me. Let’s just say that God has powerfully reminded me of what’s valuable and what’s not.”

Now, I don’t believe that God sent that hurricaine and flood. However, I do believe that God can take even the worst events of our lives and use them to show how worthless is so much of the stuff that we treasure and expend so much of our lives upon.

In other words, God can take even the loss suffered in a hurricaine and a flood and make this a moment for worship. Noticed what was the reaction of the Pharisees and Herodians when they heard Jesus’ answer to their trick question—They were amazed. When we too can see that we belong to God and God owns us because he was the one who minted us in the first place, we too can be amazed!

If you have a quarter in your pocket, take it out and look at it. You won’t see the inscription, “Tiberius Caesar, august son of the divine Augustus, high priest” with a tiny “R” minted in Rome. Instead, you’ll see the words “Liberty” and “In God We Trust.” You might have a tiny “D” which means that it was minted in Denver. And if you have a tiny “P,” Gil wants it.

Not worrying about why “In God We Trust” became our national motto, this phrase still challenges us to rely on our good and gracious God, and to believe that he will care for us in the future, just as he has cared for us in the past. We don’t put our trust in money or our 401Ks. We only trust in God.

The word, “Liberty” might mean something about freedom from oppression but let us see this word, “Liberty” to mean that we are free to be generous in our giving, as faithful stewards of the great abundance that the Lord has given us.

In a loving and generous God whom we trust, with liberty to support God’s work in the world, we are minted by God to worship God and God alone!

Let us pray.

Holy God, you are deserving of the very best we have to offer—the devotion of our hearts, the place of honor in our priorities, the first fruits of our labors. We welcome your Spirit, knowing that in so doing, we abandon control and open ourselves in faith and trust to your purposes and plan, rather than our own. As those who have been minted by you for your glory, use us to advance your kingdom in this world. Amen.