Coins and the Kingdom of Heaven
The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 22:15-22
Don’t you just have to love Jesus? There he is, quietly in the temple courtyard, not tossing tables over, or doing anything objectionable, and here are the Pharisees and Herodians sneaking around in the shadows, following him, trying to trip him up. So hoping that Jesus’ll say or do something that they can triumphantly take to either the Romans or Temple leadership as proof of his wrong-doing. Jesus, whose only crime was “that he went about doing good”. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t have blamed Jesus in the slightest for at least a small snark, or perhaps a little passive aggression. But no, he just does a bit of verbal tai-chi and carries on with his day.
This plotting is an everyday occurrence. Today the Pharisees and the Herodians have united. They don’t usually agree about anything, but they are united in wanting to get rid of this upstart preacher from Nazareth, Nazareth of all places…who comes from Nazareth….? And it’s all about the money. Everyone pays taxes, right? And there is this Jesus, ranting on and on about the Kingdom of Heaven; breaking Jewish laws; sowing seeds of rebellion in the hearts of the peasants. Surely they can trick him into denying the divinity of the emperor, “the Divine Augustus” and that should get rid of him.
But as we know, Jesus out-tricks them. He asks to see the coin used to pay taxes to the emperor, the denarius, and, in particular to see who’s head in on it. They stand there, turning out their pockets in a curiously comic moment. And, produce one. We should all notice that the only coins allowed in that holy place were silver temple coins. Roman coins were considered profane and were forbidden in the temple. Someone should report them to the authorities!
Jesus then utters the “Render unto Caesar” phrase, all the more memorable in the language of the King James Version.
There are many directions in which this gospel passage could lead us. This morning’s collect is tipping us towards considering the ‘tangled webs where state and church collude”. And, in your own reflections on this passage you might want to go there.
I found myself resisting that. These anxious, pre-election days I find myself increasingly reluctant to spend time considering any more tangled webs. I’ve just finished reading Kristin Kobes du Mez’ book, “Jesus and John Wayne”. I have learnt so much about the inappropriate and ungodly influence and power of some so-called Christian organizations throughout the structure and institutions of this country. And it has appalled me. Today, that is not where I want to go.
I found myself instead thinking about a book we considered in our potluck conversations last year, ‘Holy Currencies’ by episcopalian priest, Eric Law. I loved the way he pointed out that the etymology of the word ‘currency’ comes from the same stem as current, that movement of water or air, a dynamic meeting and engagement, so much richer than simply a means of payment. He points to six currencies available to us in our faith communities: currencies of time and place, gracious leadership, relationship, truth, wellness, and money. Currencies that flow through warm, loving and generous church communities
Currency is so much more than a coin. It is the very water of life that flows to us, through us, between us and out into the world around us. The breath of God God-self that fills our being, all creation with love and hope. The currency of life that instead of just jangling in our pockets or wallets, feeds and nourishes us and others and is bursting with possibilities.
And this Holy Currency is what we are talking about in our stewardship campaign: no more and no less. This is not currency can belong to anyone, any more than it can be hoarded. Its value lies in the degree that it can move between us: building and strengthening our relationships with each other, our neighbors, and the wider community.
We use this Holy Currency to maintain and improve our physical building, so that it will be ready for us and the local groups to gather in when it’s safe. We use it to support our worship and small group virtual gathering. We use it to build our community’s coherence and connection. We nurture our children in faith. Through the diocese, we support movements for social change, anti-racism advocacy, and for economic justice.
These uses all sound very practical, but don’t miss that they are all about building and sustaining relationships: loving, generous, Kingdom of Heaven inspired relationships that recognize and reveal that we are all connected, and that God is in all things.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to consider that each one of us is not only enabling the movement of this currency, this flow of love and life, but that we also might be Holy Currency. Maybe each one of us is a coin in the kingdom of Heaven? Giving, spending, lending, sharing ourselves? Of course then I have to ask, whose head is on that coin? If it’s God’s, it would need to be an impossibly immense coin!
I reckon our collect has it right this morning when it concludes:
Grant us the wit and the will to give you what is your own,
no more nor less than all the world and time.
And as the first letter to the Corinthians says:
All things come from God, and of thine own have we given thee.