Many of you know that I was a banker for 25 years before becoming a pastor. For years, I spent my working hours talking about money, which is why I find this week’s Gospel so intriguing.
Conversations about money can be awkward and uncomfortable. Conversations about taxes are even worse. Why? Because when we talk about how to spend money, and when we make choices about the allocation of resources, we reveal our values.
It is in these preferences that the Pharisees see an opportunity to trap Jesus.
Prefaced by their insincere praise of Jesus, the Pharisees asked whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. And the reality is that their question had little to do with whether it was lawful or not to pay taxes. Their question had everything to do with what Jesus valued most.
In Jesus’ brilliant response to the Pharisees, he presented the reality of two economies. There was the economy of the world, captured by the image of Caesar. It is an economy driven by scarcity, power, and fear. And, there is the economy of God, which is pure gift and pure grace and is punctuated with abundance and the welcome of a steadfast God.
It is in the economy of God that we find the things that matter and the things that we value the most. That which is truly to be treasured is not something that can be earned or bought but is instead experienced in the spirit of love and in the spirit of the one who loves us.
See you in church,
Pastor Stephanie