Trinity XX (A) Proper 24 – Sunday 22nd October 2023 – St Anne’s, Wrenthorpe ExtComm
Normally I am not a big fan of quiz shows on the telly.
Recently, Marlene (my wife who really does like quiz shows) and I have been watching a re-run of Impossible – you may have seen it.
At the concluding stage, when faced with the final questions… the contestant is asked:
“What questions would you like to see….?”
“What questions would you NOT like to see….?”
Seriously?
I’m shouting at the telly – never mind about that!
I want to see questions that I can answer and not see stuff that I don’t know about!
I often feel that television is a two-way street of entertainment!
Our lives are filled with questions – those that require our response; and also the questions we phrase – to ourselves and to others, for whatever reason.
Not all questions can be answered; not all answers are what we want to hear and, when we are taken to task on our own attitudes and our worldview, we might fear the pressure of someone else’s agenda, in how we respond.
And so, from Hosannas to Question Time, in a heartbeat!
Today’s Gospel offers a timeless example of this, as politics and religion become the Tipping Point in a Debatable discourse, between Jesus and the Pharisees, who really are In it To Win It…!
Does Jesus have the Lingo to convince them He is what He says He is, or will He show their words to be Pointless as they seek the status quo?
Elsewhere,
Paul speaks about a people who turned from idols to serving the true and living God.
And from the Old Testament, God speaks to His anointed – Cyrus – through His prophet Isaiah.
Cyrus will have all things made possible – the land levelled before him – but…. It is God that does these things…. It is always God that has the power…. It is God that can bring both peace and misfortune to the people, not Cyrus alone.
Caesar and Cyrus have much in common.
Who are these questions for? The ones levelled at Jesus – who do they benefit?
Once again, Jesus is pressed by questions that are self-serving, designed to trip Him up, if they can, and to bring Him down – make him look a fool, or a zealot – or worse… to be a disappointment to those who have followed Him, those hopeful of something better than the usual false promises.
Jesus knew about the burden of taxation.
Throughout His life he would have witnessed how it was viewed by normal people, and the fate of those revolutionaries that pushed-back, rebelling against the Roman Empire, and then crucified for their troubles.
Let’s face it, taxation is an issue of mixed emotion and views, to say the least!
It shouldn’t be, but it is something experienced subjectively.
It doesn’t always seem fair…..
Imagine if you were compelled to pay a tax by an occupying army?
They steal your land, and then ask you to pay for it.
You get security but at what price?
And the people longed for so much more….
If God was king… if Jesus was some Messiah, come to save them all from the oppressors, then surely Caesar, his armies and yes, his tax, would all vanish like the morning mist….. soon…. surely, soon!
Jesus hoped that they might want what God wanted for them.
And He recognised his questioners….. the Pharisees that sought to lead Him into a game of Jeopardy!.
They had already accepted Caesar’s rule as the safer bet.
Has much has changed since the time of Jesus?
We still have questioners that seek power and authority themselves – by asking the unanswerable question – to place their apparent victim under such pressure that they say the wrong thing, betraying their real thoughts, instead of the party line.
Don’t we want that….?
To put our political leaders on the spot….. whilst we are shouting “just answer the question and be honest!”
There is very little that separates the political interview from the Gladiators!
And, to be honest, I just can’t feel the joy at the prospect of a General Election.
Can you?
Jesus had already told His disciples that He would be crucified.
Yet He was not like all the others that had challenged Caesar before.
And, on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus had told stories and parables about how the people always sought their own way – not needing God – and it always went horribly wrong…. we have heard them ourselves in recent weeks.
And now, the coin that Jesus held in His hand, had not only an image of Caesar but inscriptions that described his assumed god-like status.
This token of human power, in the hand of one who knows humility, and speaks of love from the Divine!
What do we receive from this exchange – with its visual aid and an answer that cannot be refuted?
Well, we get more than a simple Catchphrase…. Over-used and misunderstood….
Don’t just focus on the “Render unto Caesar…” bit.
We get the universal question – offered to us right now in this time and place…..
Give to God those things that are God’s…..
Which is what, exactly?
There is the question…..”what is God’s”?
It’s everything….
All things come from God.
We come from God.
So to give to God what is God’s…..?
A challenge and a blessing to us all!
And the Pharisees knew this…. Their faithfulness had been redirected to keeping order and not holding the people before God.
I wonder what questions – unanswered or hard to ask, are in your lives right now.
We are constantly bombarded by questions – mostly related to our life choices: money, health, relationships, politics – what brings us happiness or sorrow.
As Christians, we are asked about our world view – our attitudes to asylum seekers, or war… yes, especially war right now.
“If you are a christian are you a pacifist?”
“If you are a pacifist, what would you do about Putin, Israel and Hamas?”
“What would you do if someone attacked our country or killed your loved ones….?”
I don’t know… what do you say?
Perhaps you really do not have any “answer” – and why should you?
Such questions are asked from insecurity or self-righteousness.
We are held to account – are we who we say we are:
In our beliefs, in how we speak to others, in our actions?
All the questions, all of the parables and stories, all the challenges that Jesus faces and answers on our behalf…… it’s always about love: the love God has for creation – the love that Jesus came to ignite in us, that we might love one another as God loves us.
It isn’t supposed to be easy.
Question or Answer:
We can take comfort and hope in how Jesus guides those faithful to God, to the light.
Sometimes our most deepest emotions, fears and hopes are formed as questions – cast into the silence – hoping to be heard and answered by God.
We call this prayer.
This week, however dark it becomes;
Remember there are no easy answers, no quick fixes.
But we are of God, and to God we give ourselves.
If you pray for peace;
If you speak of peace, and acknowledge how difficult such a thing can be.
If you can hear the questions of the frightened and perplexed, and not think they are just for you.
Then hold the world before God….
And know that God is with you.
Amen.
Matthew 22.15-22 – 1 Thessalonians 1.1-10 – Isaiah 45.1-7