In --- We Trust?
Read Matthew 22:15-22.
Whose image is on the coin? Well, in Jesus' day it was Caesar's, as was the inscription. In fact, the inscription claimed Caesar, the emperor on the coin, was actually the son of a god. Caesar was divine, holy, worthy of worship—or so the coin said. That's why there were temples set up all over the Roman Empire dedicated to the worship of Caesar. Even carrying the coin could be a way of acknowledging Caesar's supremacy. To carry the coin was, in some sense, to worship Caesar or at least to acknowledge his authority.
We don't worship Caesar any longer, but we've actually done those folks one better. We don't worship the image on the coin; in our culture, we worship the coin itself. We have fashioned a society where we trust more in money than in anything else. Do you have enough? Are you earning enough? What can you buy with what you have? How much do I need for retirement? On and on the worrisome questions go. Our worry over whether or not we have enough turns to doing whatever we can, sacrificing whatever we need to get more. We worship what we focus on the most, and for many in our culture, that's money. It doesn't matter that the money says, "In God We Trust." What we really trust is the money those words are written on.
This week, this Holy Week, what—or who—will you worship? Those in the first century would have found it impossible to believe you could trust a man nailed to a cross more than the coins you carried in your pocket. So do we. And yet, that is the claim of the Christian faith. That is the bold, outrageous, ridiculous claim of those who follow the man who, on Friday, will be on the cross: that a man who would be considered cursed under his own law is worthy of worship. And yet he is, for the work he did on the cross brought hope and light and salvation to the whole world, if only we have eyes to see.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar's - and give to God what is God's. Caesar may (or may not) deserve the coins, but only God deserves worship.
Whose image is on the coin? Well, in Jesus' day it was Caesar's, as was the inscription. In fact, the inscription claimed Caesar, the emperor on the coin, was actually the son of a god. Caesar was divine, holy, worthy of worship—or so the coin said. That's why there were temples set up all over the Roman Empire dedicated to the worship of Caesar. Even carrying the coin could be a way of acknowledging Caesar's supremacy. To carry the coin was, in some sense, to worship Caesar or at least to acknowledge his authority.
We don't worship Caesar any longer, but we've actually done those folks one better. We don't worship the image on the coin; in our culture, we worship the coin itself. We have fashioned a society where we trust more in money than in anything else. Do you have enough? Are you earning enough? What can you buy with what you have? How much do I need for retirement? On and on the worrisome questions go. Our worry over whether or not we have enough turns to doing whatever we can, sacrificing whatever we need to get more. We worship what we focus on the most, and for many in our culture, that's money. It doesn't matter that the money says, "In God We Trust." What we really trust is the money those words are written on.
This week, this Holy Week, what—or who—will you worship? Those in the first century would have found it impossible to believe you could trust a man nailed to a cross more than the coins you carried in your pocket. So do we. And yet, that is the claim of the Christian faith. That is the bold, outrageous, ridiculous claim of those who follow the man who, on Friday, will be on the cross: that a man who would be considered cursed under his own law is worthy of worship. And yet he is, for the work he did on the cross brought hope and light and salvation to the whole world, if only we have eyes to see.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar's - and give to God what is God's. Caesar may (or may not) deserve the coins, but only God deserves worship.
So very true. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10
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