Biblical Text: Matthew 22:15-22
Here in Arizona election month has started. That’s where the introduction starts. The text is Jesus’ famous dodge, “Render Unto Caesar What is Caesar’s and to God What is God’s.” I’m using dodge a bit tongue in cheek, but it was a bit of a dodge because his questioners were trying to trap him in an answer. And Jesus’ answer sidestepped that trap.
And I think he sidestepped the trap in a way that the Bible as a whole addresses human politics. They way we talk and think about politics is about power. And in a fallen world that is often what it is about. Who has it, who gets its, can I secure more of it, and what are the various means of doing that? And Jesus is almost cynical about that. “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Whatever dodge you think you have to avoid politics, it won’t work. Politics is the natural state of fallen man. Even Jesus submits to Pilate. But Jesus places that cynicism within a much larger sphere of authority and the proper use of authority. “Render unto God what is God’s.”
Caesar does have some legitimate authority, that being temporal authority. Including the authority to tax, sorry libertarians. But that temporal authority is always under the eternal authority. Those things stamped with Caesar’s image – like coins – pale in comparison to those stamped with the image of God – like you yourself. You owe yourself to God. You owe your worship, which is also a holy fear to God. But even more you owe your love. Because God has loved you in Christ.
The prayer of the day is the perfect prayer for political season. “May we so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal.” Because this is what Satan and Caesar and even our own gut so desire. That we trade the eternal for the temporal. That we trade ourselves, our worship and our love, for things that rust and decay.
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