Current Sermons
Archived Sermons
"Do You Hear What I Hear?"
January 15, 2006
An Incomplete Feast
December 25, 2005
The
Third Gift
December 24, 2005
Nothing will be impossible with God
December 18, 2005
Redeeming Holiday Cheer
December 11, 2005
Comfort, comfort my people …
December 4, 2005
Advent begins in the dark…
November 27, 2005
Thanksgiving Day
November 24, 2005
It's All About Respect
November 20, 2005
The world is a better place because ...
November 13, 2005
Holy Baptism and Festal Eucharist
November 6, 2005
Promise and Presence
October 30, 2005
This is Only A Test
October 23, 2005
Made in the Image
of God
October 16, 2005
Finding Our Way
October 9, 2005
Our Lives Are
Based On A True Story
October 2, 2005
It
Is God Working
In You
September 23, 2005
Whatever Happened to our Security?
September 11, 2005
Put on the Armor of Light
September 4, 2005
Giftedness and Identity
August 21, 2005
What about Respect?
August 14, 2005
Dean Lane's Final Sermon
July 31, 2005
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Sermon
Made in the Image of God
Matthew 22:15-22
The Venerable Richard I. Cluett
Pentecost 22/Proper 24
October 16, 2005
This is one of the most famous of all anecdotes told about Jesus – and, truth be told, the one that is most misunderstood and most misused. It lends itself to being used to justify a separation of the affairs of religion and the affairs of commerce and government. This is why the church ought not to be involved in anything that has to do with politics. Religion is for the private sphere. In the same way 'My kingdom is not of this world' (John 18:36) serves to bolster the view that the church is about getting to heaven, not about how things are run here. By appealing to such interpretations, lots of people have resorted to telling the church to get back behind its doors or to butt out when it comes to difficult questions.
I am sure Matthew would be astonished at that. He has just been giving a theological commentary on social and political events which had rocked his community, such things as the destruction of Jerusalem!. It was almost impossible to separate politics and religion in Israel, because the Old Testament sanctioned national interest and national institutions, not least the temple system. This was why the question made sense, mischievous as it was. It was a big issue.
Jesus' answer is clever, like many of his responses it took the form of a two liner. Give the emperor what is the emperor's and to God what is God's. The coin bore an imperial image. Jesus' response does not advocate withholding taxes. He is prepared to pay taxes and that his followers do so. This does not mean that such a response is always appropriate. It is impossible to generalize like that from a single anecdote. There will also be times when it is appropriate to throw tables over and drive out money changers.
The quick witted reply of Jesus bristles with ambiguity in its second part: and to God what is God's. One reading does indeed see Jesus dividing reality up; in one area we have one loyalty; in another area we have another. But it all depends on what we mean by 'what is God's'.
Surely all things are God's! - By definition, if God is God and God is one. Then Jesus' reply is profoundly subversive. If everything is God's, then in all things I will seek God's will and that will entail measuring all things, including governments, by the vision Jesus has given us of God's rule or kingdom. God's compassion knows no bounds, so it will always be an irritant to regimes which stifle it and it will stand in conflict with oppressors, whoever and wherever they are.
Some very good things have come out of this interminable series of natural disasters the world and this country have been experiencing. Not the least of which is the intimate interweaving of governmental responses and responses of the faith communities who organize their lives through their faith in the one God.
Even if it is not seamless, there is a commonality of purpose – the saving of human life and the restoration of human well-being. There is a co-mingling of energies, resources, people – and effect. The recipients of these saving graces care not a whit from whence they cometh as long as they cometh!
It is interesting to me that as we hear people cry out in their anguish, as they cry out for assistance, as they cry out for sustenance – they do not cry out Mr. President! They do not cry, Oh. George! Rather they cry out Allah! They cry out Jehovah! They cry out, Oh, God! They cry out, El Senor! They cry out, Oh, Jesus!
Why is that so, do you think? The government has most of the resources for sustaining human life. Is it because they all – we all – bear the image of God!? Each and everyone! The whole of creation bears the imprint of God. (… a bit of nuance there.)
Today churches, synagogues, and mosques in the United States are keeping today as “Children’s Sabbath,” pausing to remember that Jesus found God’s kingdom more real and more present in children than in any other place in the world. For Jesus they are, especially, the image of God.
One reason why the day is called Children’s Sabbath is that we – we being adults, authorities, powers, and parents – need to provide a Sabbath-time for our children – our children meaning all children; those who live in poverty, those who are victims of abuse, natural calamities, as well as the children in our households and faith communities. Children need a Sabbath-time away from all that hurts and destroys, from all that denies them a full future, a Sabbath from all that separates them from experiencing the love of God in the people they meet and the lives they live.
In addition to all the normal, daily dangers inherent in childhood and adolescence – those things of which parents are so aware and so fearful – for millions of children the deck is stacked even higher.
| Each Day in America among All Children |
4 |
children are killed by abuse or neglect |
5 |
children or teens commit suicide |
8 |
children or teens are killed by firearms |
77 |
babies die before their first birthdays |
177 |
children are arrested for violent crimes |
375 |
children are arrested for drug abuse |
390 |
babies are born to mothers who received late or no prenatal care |
1,186 |
babies are born to teen mothers |
1,900 |
public school students are corporally punished * |
2,076 |
babies are born without health insurance |
2,341 |
babies are born to mothers who are not high school graduates |
2,385 |
babies are born into poverty |
2,482 |
children are confirmed as abused or neglected |
2,756 |
high school students drop out * |
3,742 |
babies are born to unmarried mothers |
4,262 |
children are arrested |
16,964 |
public school students are
suspended * |
From the Children’s Defense Fund
One of the ways we provide Sabbath is by making their cause our cause. Where
they are voiceless, we become their voice. Where they have no power, we exercise
our power and the power of God on their behalf. Where they have no ability
to help themselves, we teach them how to help themselves. When called to
render to our governments what is required for the exercise of government,
we stand up for uses that conform to the will of God and the well-being of
all people – especially the children and the elderly.
Our call as Christians and our call as citizens of this commonwealth, this country, this world, truly is one Call. The world is to be transformed into the kingdom. The way of God is also to be the way of Caesar. We are to be the agents of transformation and the interpreter to Caesar of what God's will is for his human and natural creation. As God holds us to account, we are to hold the powers of this world to account.
Why do we have a Children’s Sabbath? Yes, to remember the children and youth in prayer and with programs. But, I think we have a Children’s Sabbath also to remember who we are and what we are to do. “To renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God...to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ...to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves ...to strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being …to
nurture our children and to claim their rightful status, heritage and future
in the world and in the kingdom of God.
They bear the image of God, and they are beautiful in God’s eyes and in ours.
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