God's Eikons

Sermon preached by the Rev. Lowell E. Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas
October 18, 2008; 23rd Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 24, Year A
Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary

(Matthew 22:15-22) -- The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So 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. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" But 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." 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.
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A man suffered a serious heart attack and had an open heart bypass surgery. He woke up from the surgery to find himself in the care of nuns at a Catholic Hospital. As he was recovering, a nun asked him questions regarding how he was going to pay for his treatment. “Do you have health insurance?”
"No,” the man croaked. “No health insurance."
“Do you have any money in the bank?”
"No money in the bank."
"Do you have a relative who could help you?" asked the nun.
"I only have a spinster sister. She is a nun."
The nun bristled. "Nuns are not spinsters! Nuns are married to God."
“Alright, already!” croaked the patient. "Send the bill to my brother-in-law."


"Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's"

Jesus has been teaching in the Temple. It is a politically charged setting. Two competing parties bring a dispute before Jesus. The Herodians are Jewish collaborators with the Roman Empire. They enjoy a degree of power and wealth because they cooperate with Rome and help administer its occupation. The Pharisees are a party devoted to a strict following of the Torah laws of scripture. To them, everything about the Roman occupation is unclean, and an affront to God. Among their party are some who might be tax resisters and maybe even some Zealots who plot revolution. The Herodians and Pharisees, strange bedfellows, ask Jesus a politically loaded question, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"

If he says "yes," he is compromised in the opinion of the Pharisees and many others who regard Roman taxation as oppressive and unjust. If he says "no," he risks arrest from the Herodians as an enemy of the state.

"Show me the money?" Jesus says. Someone brings him a coin, a Roman denarius. Whoever did that has been outed. This is the Temple. Jesus began this section of teaching in Matthew's Gospel by overturning the tables of the money changers. The money changers convert the unclean Roman coinage into Tyrian shekels which do not have offensive images on them. This is an illegal coin inside the Temple.

Jesus looks at the coin. "Whose head is this and whose title?" The word he uses in Greek is "eikon." Whose "eikon" is this? I like the King James Version for this verse: "Whose is this image and superscription? Most likely it is an image of the emperor Tiberius, whose full name was Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus. The superscription on the side of the coin that bears his image would have proclaimed his deity: "son of the divine August." "Son of God" in other words. The other side of the coin would have declared him as "Pontifex Maximus," or "High Priest." Divine Caesar is Lord of the civil and religious realm. That is the meaning inscribed on the denarius.

Jesus' response is profound and enigmatic: "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, but give to God the things that are God's."

And what is God's? Everything. "The earth is God's and all that is in it," declares the Psalmist (Ps. 24:1). The scriptures proclaim that we are created in the image of God. Every human being is an "eikon" of God. As the coin bear's Caesar's image, so we bear God's image. We may give the coin that bear's his image to Caesar, but we are also to give ourselves to the God whose image we bear. Our primary identity is as God's children and our primary commitment is to God. Everything we do in Caesar's world must be shaped by our primary identity as the children of God created in God's image and by our primary allegiance to the reign of God that Jesus called the Kingdom of God.

The early Christians were called "athiests" because they refused to participate in the civil cult of Emperor worship. They were regarded as outlaws and rebels because they proclaimed "Jesus is Lord" and named Jesus "Son of God" rather than Caesar.

I think that primary identity must inform our self-identity as well, especially in a political season. We are not primarily Americans or Republicans or Democrats or even Razorbacks. Beware of the "eikons" that will claim our exclusive allegiance. We are God's people. Everything we do in our worldly spheres must be shaped by an exclusive and primary allegiance to God. To speak of "God and country" as mutually compatible allegiances is to risk entering the territory of blasphemy.

When we do "give to Caesar" we do that best by defending the values and ideals that inspired this nation – liberty and justice; equality for all – values and ideals that are compatible with the Gospel of Jesus. I like to pay taxes because it is the best way we have to promote liberty and justice; equality for all. I always hope our political discourse will hold our nation accountable to those virtues.

Nobel prize laureate Paul Krugman said last February that the U.S. economy is suffering from a "crisis of faith." He described a growing lack of trust in our economic institutions and the securities that have backed much of our debt. At the center of the problem, he said, is the extension of credit.

This is religious language. Faith and trust; doubt and debt. The word "credit" comes from the Latin "credere" – to believe or to trust. The Apostles' Creed begins "Credo" – "I believe." Our current economic crisis is in part about misplaced trust or faith between debtors and lenders. There is a steep price to pay for misplaced trust. Many of you may find yourselves in economic stress. We already know that St. Paul's will start our budget planning with $20,000 less than last year because of the decreased value of our endowment. Some of you are friends of a talented young man who took his life about three weeks ago when he lost faith in his ability to crawl out of a financial catastrophe.

Jesus tells us not to put our trust in Caesar or Caesar's money. He tells us not to be afraid or anxious. He fed the multitudes; he will surely feed us. He clothes the lilies of the field; he will surely clothe us. He was born in a stable; he will surely shelter us. He liberated the Hebrews from slavery; he will surely free us. He knows his sheep by name. He invites us into the alternative kingdom and the alternative economics of people created in the image of God.

So, if our truest nature is to be like God, and if we want to be happy, we should be who we are and do what God does. What does God do? God loves. God gives. God loves and gives extravagantly. Then God receives. God receives our love and our faith and our trust. For us to live into our true nature, we are to live fearlessly and generously, trusting and loving God, neighbor and self.

We've seen what that looks like recently. This week I signed a check for over $32,000 from St. Paul's discretionary fund to help little Eleanor Suttle's therapy for eye cancer. Much more than that has come through the wider community. Those acts of loving generosity feel good. They feel like acts of God. But all of it was given by people – simple human beings, living as the "eikons" of God.

God has stamped us with God's image. We are God's coins. God doesn't want our money. God wants us. God want us to spend ourselves in the service of God's compassion and love. That is who we are. That is the path to true freedom and happiness.

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The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

Our Rule of Life

We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.

Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas