3/12/23 Sermon
I don’t know if you know this, but in order to be a minister, you have to spend an inordinate amount of time reading one book over and over again. I remember one time in my undergraduate studies, I counted it and I had to read the Bible from cover to cover about 2-3 times a year just for my studies. I guess I never really thought about it, but I’ve basically committed myself to really studying just one book for the rest of my life. The fascinating thing is that it never seems to get boring. It’s a good thing that the Bible is more like an ancient library than it is a single book and no matter how much someone studies it, there’s still so much more to learn.
Yes, there are parts of the Bible that I find almost intolerably boring. There are other parts I don’t understand at all. And there are still other parts that I just don’t like and even disagree with a bit. But it’s a fascinating thing to study. Unfortunately, this part of scripture from Mark falls into the category of a piece of scripture that I’ve never really liked. At least not for preaching. I never know what to do with it. In fact, I’ve actively tried to avoid it. And yet, this is my third time in my career trying to preach on it. I’m hoping this attempt isn’t as bad as the previous two.
The problem with this specific text is that it’s open to so many different interpretations. Some are helpful and some aren’t. Like one way to look at it is that Jesus is kind of doing an about face with his anti-empire rhetoric in Mark. Or that he’s trying to give a politically savvy answer here. Give the Emperor what’s the Emperor’s. Pay your taxes. Be a good citizen. Don’t rock the boat. But this happens right before he rocks the boat in a major way and is executed by the empire for treason and sedition. And it comes after a lot of teachings about a new kingdom where allegiance is given to God rather than the emperor. In fact, this whole Son of God title puts Jesus in direct conflict with the Emperor who was also referred to as the Son of God in those times. So, it seems weird that Jesus would make this kind of concession to giving the emperor what is the emperor’s…
I started thinking about what Jesus may have meant by this. What did he feel was the Emperor’s and what belongs to the Emperor besides the coin? What did Jesus believe was God’s? What belongs where and who’s is who’s? And is it an important detail that Jesus doesn’t have a coin on him - That he has to ask someone else for a coin?
So, let’s step back and try to think through what we think we know about Jesus’s theology and try to apply it to this story and see if we can come up with anything. And the first big question we have to ask is what would Jesus believe about what is God’s domain vs. what is the emperor’s domain.
Here’s the crazy thing: I can’t think of anything that Jesus would say isn’t under God’s domain. I think to Jesus everything is under God’s domain. Even our finances. Even our money. Even our worth. Jesus talks a ton about our financial responsibilities to take care of the poor, the destitute, the widow and the orphan. And he makes the point over and over again that it isn’t how much we have that’s important but it’s what we do with it that matters.
It makes me wonder if there’s a way of reading this story where if we truly give to God what God deserves - if we give to God the things that are God’s - that then there’d be nothing left to give to the Emperor. That in a way it’s a very subversive way of telling the Emperor and those questioning Jesus to get bent. That they clearly don’t understand even what they’re asking - let alone the answer.
They’re thinking that the Emperor has some sort of power in this world, but to Jesus he doesn’t have any real power or real claim on anything. It all goes up to God. I have to think that those who were questioning Jesus had to know where Jesus stood on this matter of what belongs to God. They were clearly hoping to trap Jesus into saying something to bolster their claims that he should be dispatched with. And maybe Jesus says what he says the way he says it - where its open to interpretation - because he knew they could fill in the blanks without him having to come out and say it so they couldn’t trap him. Jesus is saying, You know that I think everything belongs to God and nothing belongs to the emperor. So, give to God what is God’s and give to the emperor what’s the emperor’s.
And I like that answer but there are other aspects of the story that we can’t overlook. For instance, who’s image is on the coin. The coin bares the image of the emperor. It’s a pretty obvious detail that’s included in the story. It’s barely worth mentioning. And yet, Mark notes this detail and Jesus points it out. Why? Why is this an important enough detail to note? Well, the money is made in the image of the Emperor. Yet, scripture teaches us that we’re made in the image of God. I think it’s very fair to say that Jesus also believes that we’re made in the image of God. And maybe what Mark is doing is showing another compare and contrast here between the viewpoint of the Kingdom of God and the Empires of the World.
Maybe it’s a comment on where worth comes from and what true value is. The empire values money and coin. The Kingdom values people and life. The empire lays claim to money. The Kingdom of God lays claim to your heart and your life. And we can clearly see which Jesus holds as more precious because Jesus doesn’t even have a coin on him to show. He doesn’t take any money with him. But he takes people with him wherever he goes. And so maybe Jesus is telling those trying to trap him that they are valuing and focusing on the wrong things. That what they’re asking him about shows a complete misunderstanding of what has value and worth in the eyes of God. So give to the emperor those things that are really kind of worthless in the eyes of God. And God will take what’s of real value. God will take our hearts and our lives. Empire values money. God values humanity.
That comes with a very obvious challenge to us as listeners and followers of Jesus of where do we assign worth and what do we value? I think it’s a really poignant challenge for the Christian community - especially in America today - to look at and evaluate for ourselves. What is it that we truly value? Where do we assign worth?
The one sentence I’ve heard too many times in my career that drives me absolutely nuts is this one: “The church is a church but it’s also a business.” Now, thankfully no one here has said that to me. But I’ve heard it over and over again other places I’ve been and I’ve even heard other ministers say it. And I think it shows the same gross misunderstanding that the questioners of Jesus had this morning.
If the church is a business, it’s a lousy business. And if the church is a good business, then it’s a lousy church. Am I saying that the church doesn’t need money? Well… in one respect… yes. If the unthinkable happened and no one decided to support this church financially - if all the money dried up and the building fell in on itself and we had to let go of all our staff, all our resources and supplies, and everything we owned. You know what we’d still be? We’d still be a church. Because none of those things make us a church. It’s the community that makes us a church.
In fact, for us as Presbyterians and I’m sure this is true of all Christians, but for us as presbyterians - the only thing that makes this room a sanctuary right now is that we’re gathered together here in worship. According to Presbyterian and reformed theology, in about an hour when I’m going through this room turning off the lights and making sure the sound system is off, etc. All this room is, is a big, beautiful empty room. It’s no longer a sanctuary. The only time it’s truly a sanctuary is when we’re gathered together in worship. So right now it’s a sanctuary but if we decided to go down to the park and have worship there, then that becomes the sanctuary and this stays a big beautiful empty room. Because the value and worth of the church, the true meaning of the church doesn’t come from the building or its resources or its coin. It comes from the people. And because of that, despite of what resources or buildings or budgets we have, we will always be a church. So if a church is a business, its a lousy business.
I think what Jesus is asking us to consider in this passage is what do we really value, where do we invest it, and why do we invest it? Like if we give to this church financially - which for a myriad of reasons I hope you do because I’ve grown rather fond of this building and my children like to eat - but if we give to this church financially and we invest that money into the building and staff and programs and all the things we do, why do we do it?
And I think if the answer is anything other than to the Glory of God and building God’s kingdom, we may need to re-evaluate… The building, the staff, the resources and programs here, and even the minister are simply tools - they’re ministry tools to help aid us in our ministry of bringing people closer to God. Yes, tools make a job easier to do. But they’re still tools. What’s really of worth, what’s really of value here is you. Because without you, we don’t even have a church. We can still have a church without a building or a copier. But we can’t have a church without you. That’s the true value here. That’s where the true worth lies.
And while I don’t think this is the main thesis of the passage from Mark this morning, I think it’s a logical conclusion to say that Jesus is saying take what’s actually worth something and give it to someone that values it. You are worth something and God values you above all else because you are made in God’s image. The emperor may value and find worth in the coin made in his image. But God values and finds worth in you because you’re made in God’s image. So give it to God. And one of the ways you can do that is by getting active in the work, worship and ministry of this church because we share God’s values. And one of the things we’re working towards is helping people see that they’re intrinsically worth something simply because they too are made in the image of God.