Sermon - 2014-10-19

Have you ever thought about money?  It is something that we use every single day.  It is something we seem to need in our daily lives to eat, to have water, to have a place to live, and in a few months, have it for heat.  Today, Jesus gets confronted about how to use money.  In particular, should a person pay taxes?  Now please note the answer, Jesus says “Render unto Ceasar what is Caesar's and render unto God what is God’s.” Quite plainly, “Pay your taxes but know that God has created it all.”  I don’t want anyone telling the IRS, “Pastor told me I didn’t have to pay taxes.”

However, the Pharisees and leaders of the Temple, are putting Jesus to the test.  Should we as Jewish people, as the Chosen People of God, pay taxes to a pagan authority who rules over us.  This is quite a test, because if Jesus says that people should only pay to God and there should not be taxes to Roman Empire, Rome would have him arrested for going against the Roman authority.  However, if Jesus says that people should pay taxes to the Roman authority, then they would be supporting a government that worships and supports pagan gods.

Jesus does something that is rather unique.  He asks the Pharisees about a Denarius.  This was the coin that was used for the empire of Rome.  On this coin, it looked very similar to our own coins.  On them was a picture of a leader along with many symbols and a few words.  On the Denarius, was a picture of the Roman Caesar.  Along with that is palm branches as a symbol of glory and honor.  This was the common coin that people used within their daily life to pay for food, pay rent, and even pay taxes.

Now it is very significant.  Each and every time you used this coin, you would see the face of Caesar.  You would be reminded that you were under the control and the power that the Roman authority had over you.  They controlled all aspects of your life.  If you needed something, you would turn to Rome and its power in order to receive it.

Okay,  so let’s look at something that is more modern.  A penny is issued and produced by our own government.  On it is a picture of Abraham Lincoln, one of our former Presidents.   It reminds us of some of our history and what made us a nation, some of our struggles, and some of our joys.  When we use the penny, it reminds us that we are part of the United States of America.   On all our money, coins and paper, we have the words, “In God We Trust.”  We have those words on our money to remind us that we were founded on religious freedom.  That we believe that God will watch over us, to provide for us, and protect us.  The words “In God We Trust” were added to our coins in 1864, at the request of several from the nation as a whole.

However, in our own modern time, we do not really use pennies.  We do not really use coins and paper money.  More often than not, we use a check, a credit card, or simply our money is just numbers on a page.  We do not have those reminders, we do not have to look at them as symbols to have an impact upon us.  The meanings fade and may even become lost.    

So what does God give to us?  He gives us His own SON!  When we come to the church, we see many symbols as well. They are not on a coin, but are from a person and his life for each and everyone of us.   However, one of the strongest and most well known is the Cross.  Every time we look at the cross, we are reminded of the suffering and life that Jesus gave for our sake.  We are reminded that we were Baptized into the death that Jesus faced.  We are being called and claimed as "God’s own children.”  On our hearts and minds God writes “You are my beloved”.   But death is not the end of our relationship with God or the end of us.  For we shall receive the inheritance that Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord received, a new life and one that is eternal.

This symbol has become the heart of our faith.  Not what we have done but rather what God has done for us.  This is something that we should never forget, the meaning and symbol should never be overlooked, under used, or it’s meaning fade.  Rather, we lift high the cross, to remember, to celebrate and to give thanks.  That God has done so much for us. Thanks be to God. Amen.