{"id":539772,"date":"2020-10-09T11:39:33","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T15:39:33","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-25T12:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:43:19","slug":"render-unto-god-what-is-gods-pentecost-20-a-october-18-2020","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/render-unto-god-what-is-gods-pentecost-20-a-october-18-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Render Unto God What Is God&#8217;s, Proper 24 (A) &#8211; 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[RCL] Exodus 33:12-23; Psalm 99; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-green-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-green-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=DFMS8366210547&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-green-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-green-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Proper-24A-2020-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-189773\" style=\"width:666px;height:undefinedpx\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRender unto Caesar the things which are Caesar\u2019s.\u201d These words of Jesus have become a sort of proverb, and those who know little of scripture may still have heard \u201cRender unto Caesar.\u201d Yet, digging beneath the surface of this short encounter helps uncover some of the deeper currents in the exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, the combination of people approaching Jesus is intriguing. Matthew tells us that the Pharisees come together with the Herodians. The Pharisees did not want to give money to their pagan oppressors and so were opposed to paying taxes to Rome. On the other hand, King Herod\u2019s position of power came courtesy of the Romans, so even though the taxes were widely considered to be oppressive, the Herodians had a vested interest in keeping the Roman taxes paid. Therefore, the Pharisees and the Herodians each reflected one of the horns of the dilemma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then came the question, \u201cIs it lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor or not?\u201d This reference is obviously to Jewish Law, also called the Law of Moses. Clearly, it was lawful to pay the tax by Rome\u2019s standards; the question was whether it was proper for a Jew to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It would seem that they have presented Jesus with no way out. He can\u2019t speak against the tax, for that would anger the Herodians and lead to a charge of treason against Rome. He could not speak in favor of the tax without alienating most of the crowds that followed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus asks for one of the coins used in paying the tax. This is Jesus\u2019 own trap, for it proves at least one among the questioners to be a hypocrite. For the coin used for the tax was a silver Denarius with the image of Caesar on one side, and on the reverse, the image of a woman named Pax or personified peace. The coins were against Jewish Law, which prohibited graven images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will recall the incident when Jesus chased moneychangers from the outer courts of the Temple. These moneychangers had a business because one was required to exchange pagan currency for Temple coins before going to do business in the Temple. Carrying the image of Caesar into the Temple was considered sinful. But note that when Jesus asks for a Denarius, one is quickly located and handed to Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus then asks the question that everyone in Israel could have answered without a coin in hand. In our reading for this morning, we used the New Revised Standard Version, which said, \u201cWhose head is this and whose title?\u201d That translation misses the point of his argument. The word they translate as \u201chead\u201d is \u201cicon,\u201d a Greek word better translated as \u201cimage.\u201d The word \u201ctitle\u201d is better translated as \u201clikeness.\u201d When they answer Jesus\u2019 question, saying that the image and likeness are \u201cCaesar\u2019s,\u201d Jesus replies that they are to give to Caesar what is Caesar\u2019s. Again, the translation covers something better revealed. It could also be translated as \u201cgive back\u201d rather than \u201cgive\u201d or \u201crender.\u201d Give Caesar back those things that are Caesar\u2019s. It is his coin anyway, who cares if you give Caesar back his coin for the tax?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then Jesus gives the most amazing line of the short encounter when he continues by saying that we are to \u201cgive back to God the things that are God\u2019s.\u201d It leaves everyone calculating what exactly is God\u2019s that we are supposed to give back. And in case you were wondering, the clue was the word \u201cicon\u201d or \u201cimage\u201d and the word \u201clikeness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus\u2019 answer came from Genesis 1:26-27, which says, \u201cAnd God said, \u2018Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness,\u2019\u201d and goes on to state \u201cGod created humankind in his Image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The principle is this: Just as the coin has Caesar\u2019s icon on it, so it is Caesar\u2019s, we were made in the image and likeness of God, so we are God\u2019s. Jesus affirmed the tax while making it all but irrelevant. Jesus implies that, though we do owe the state, there are limits to what we owe. Yet, Jesus places no limits regarding what we owe to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This text is often used to talk about stewardship in terms of what you give to the church. But this is no passage on the tithe. For if giving 10 percent of our income is all we do, we would fall well more than 90 percent shy of the mark. Jesus says that everything you have and everything you are is God\u2019s already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While this would certainly apply to the money you make, the formula is not that you give 100 percent of your income to God, for God knows you need the money for the necessities of life. The teaching is that once you have given God some of the money you earn, don\u2019t feel that you have bought off an obligation. God wants to share in some of your time and energy, so the 100 percent formula relates to your calendar as well as your wallet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What God wants is nothing less than to come and abide in your heart. The point is that you have been made in the image and likeness of God. God loves you. God keeps your picture in the divine wallet and on the heavenly refrigerator. Jesus did not care about the tax, for his real concern was that you live into the image and likeness of the God who lovingly created you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You begin to live into the image and likeness of God by conforming your life to be more like Jesus\u2019 life. Giving back to God through the church does matter, but merely giving money to the government, to this church or anywhere else is only part of the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To live more fully into that image and likeness of God that is in you, give back your heart to God \u2013 for it is God\u2019s anyway. When the time comes for communion in just a little while, I would encourage everyone, no matter what your denominational background, to come forward to receive the bread and wine of communion. And if you have not yet been baptized, then come forward for a blessing. For at this altar, we can meet Jesus anew every time we worship. For in answer to the question, \u201cWhat are the things that are God\u2019s which we are to give back to God?\u201d the answer is, \u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This sermon was written by <strong>the Rt. Rev. Frank S. Logue<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-96ba62aa-0c44-4d3b-9b46-a8c3d425a8e9\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Sermon-English-Proper-24A-2020.docx\"><strong>Sermon-English-Proper-24A-2020<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Sermon-English-Proper-24A-2020.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-96ba62aa-0c44-4d3b-9b46-a8c3d425a8e9\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-3fbbf942-e198-4cb2-9ad9-249654d37b28\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Sermon-English-Proper-24A-2020.pdf\"><strong>Sermon-English-Proper-24A-2020<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Sermon-English-Proper-24A-2020.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-3fbbf942-e198-4cb2-9ad9-249654d37b28\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[RCL] Exodus 33:12-23; Psalm 99; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22 \u201cRender unto Caesar the things which are Caesar\u2019s.\u201d These words of Jesus have become a sort of proverb, and those who know little of scripture may still have heard \u201cRender unto Caesar.\u201d Yet, digging beneath the surface of this short encounter helps uncover some of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43,52,33,3],"tags":[110],"class_list":["post-539772","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-the-season-after-pentecost","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-proper-24a"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":33,"label":"The Season After Pentecost"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":110,"label":"Proper 24A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/539772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/539772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3475861,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/539772\/revisions\/3475861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}