Sermon
22nd October 2017
Text: Matthew 22:15-22 – In God’s Image
I
love it when a baby is born and there is a scramble to identify family images
in the child.
Whose
nose does he have?
Whose
eyes does she have?
And
as the child grows it’s interesting to watch certain mannerisms that begin to
develop from both sides of the family.
As
parents it’s lovely watching your child develop and even seeing yourself in
your child in looks and behaviour.
Certain
images and behaviours are passed down from parents to children though genetics.
Likewise,
as human beings, we also bear the image of our Heavenly Father.
In
the book of Genesis when God created human beings it says:
“Let
us make human beings in our image, to be like us. So God created human beings
in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he
created them” (Genesis 1:26,27)
Jesus
uses “image” today to make a distinction regarding who we are and to whom we
belong.
The
Pharisees have joined forces with the Romans to try and catch Jesus out and to
see who he affiliates with.
They
ask him whether it is right to pay taxes to Caesar.
Jesus
asks for a coin and then asks them a question about the coin.
Whose
image do you see on the coin?
They
answer – “Caesar’s”.
And
so Jesus says – give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar but give to God what belongs to God.
And
just as the coin bears Caesar’s image – we bear God’s image and that means at
times in our lives we need to make a decision about our actions and how we
honour God’s image in our lives.
Our
central defining characteristic, what it is that makes us human beings, is that
we are created in the image of God.
At
our baptism we are further marked, we are sealed, we are inscribed, with the
sign of the cross.
Our
image and likeness, and what is written upon us, is that of God himself.
To
whom, then, do you belong?
To
whom are you to render yourself?
This
question of our ultimate loyalty and our deepest allegiances is what Jesus is
talking about as he deals with the plots and the traps of his enemies.
Jesus
is saying that what belongs to God is nothing other than our very lives.
There
is no higher claim upon us.
This
will at times help us when we are confronted with problems with a particular
moral or political question.
It
does not automatically tell us who to vote for, or what policy to support, or
which course of action is best regarding the personal issues that confront us.
Problems
will be difficult and ambiguous at times.
Give
to God what is God’s—for God owns that which he has made in his image, and he
is Lord over that which bears his inscription.
It is that image, in ourselves and in others,
that leads to actions for justice, compassion, and righteousness towards God’s
image in our neighbour.
We
love our neighbour as ourselves because we both bear God’s image.
And
that image is borne by all – not just Christians.
Non-believers
– those who follow other religions – bear the image of God and we owe a
responsibility to show our love to God by loving all people.
And
that image is never lost whether they reject God, whether they can no longer
serve God as they did.
From
the cradle to the grave – from newborn to senior – we all bear the image of
God.
It
is that image that both claims our allegiance and directs our actions.
It
is God’s image that gives value and meaning to what we do and who we are.
It
is that image, and no other, which gives us the assurance that we belong to God
and no other.
It
is why in Baptism we reject the devil and all his works and all his ways and
declare our allegiance to the one true God – the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.
Often
we can’t answer the questions that confront us by looking through the Bible to
find a clear answer.
There
is no easy way at times to determine the will of God.
And
sometimes we can have two people with differing views who can both be right and
it becomes a question of conscience.
The
burden of making responsible decisions will often fall on us and challenge us.
And
what makes it more difficult is that we are sinners.
We
are biased and critical; we prefer to take the easier path;
We
know what the right thing to do is but we are afraid to go against the crowd
and avoid making hard choices.
As
Christians created in the image of God we are joined with Jesus and we share in
his love and take on his way of looking at the moral dilemmas that challenge
us.
The
question we ask in those times is, “What would Jesus do in this
situation?”
And
sometimes we might not like the answer that we get back.
Jesus
constantly shocked his disciples and those around him in the choices he made as
he reflected the will and image of his Father.
When
he came across a woman caught in adultery, instead of quoting the Ten
Commandments to her, he befriended her and said, “Your sins are forgiven”.
When
he met the cheating Zacchaeus, he loved him and went to dinner with him.
To
those who were exiled from their community because of the dreadful and
infectious disease of leprosy, he showed compassion and gave them acceptance
and value.
The
word that summarises Jesus ministry is “love”.
Love
of God – love of neighbour.
It
is love that bears the image of God.
We
are called at times to make decisions about some tough questions in life.
But
we do so with the knowledge that God forgives us when we make mistakes in our
decisions.
It
is a comfort to know of the forgiving love of God, otherwise we would be
frightened to make any decisions at all.
And
we are called to share that same image with others by forgiving them as we have
been forgiven.
Because
of his love for us God can still bless us and the decisions we make even if those
decisions weren’t what God was expecting.
In
today’s gospel Jesus doesn’t give us rules but the permission to struggle with
the question of what is appropriate for us to do in the world that God
created.
Jesus
challenges us to seek out the will of God as best we can and go forward
entrusting the choices we make into the hands of our loving and forgiving God.
For
his accusers it was an either or situation.
They
thought loyalty to God and to one’s government were mutually exclusive.
But
it doesn’t have to be.
Sometimes
the will of God is also the will of society.
But
it’s when there’s a conflict against our faith, like when Peter was ordered to
stop telling people about Jesus.
He
responded: "We must obey God rather than any human authority. (Acts 5:29)
In
those situations we have to ask ourselves: What is of God? What is of Caesar?
At
the moment we have several issues facing us in society such as the marriage and
euthanasia debate and there is much conflict
The
coin that bears Caesar’s image belongs to Caesar.
But
we humans are stamped with the image of God.
We
belong to God.
We
can pay the tax, but we do not belong to Caesar.
It
may sound like a choice between two equals -- God and Caesar.
But
they are not equal.
We
bear God’s image whether we are child, youth or senior.
We
bear God’s image whether we are student, unemployed or retired.
Wherever
we are -- at work, school, politics, home, sport or wherever, our loyalty is to
God and that governs how we think and act in the world.
And
even though we may be conflicted and confused at times we are guided by the
command – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength –
and love your neighbour as yourself.