Rights of ownership

Matthew 22:15-22 Tribute to Caesar
Jesus is asked a trick (and potentially politically damning) question
"Should we pay taxes to the occupying army?"
And he points out to us by the use of a coin
to whom we should pay taxes
"Whose head is on this coin?"
The answer, of course is" "Caesar's"...or the State's
The Church Father Tertullian(1) makes the poetic connection
that just as Caesar's head is on the coin, and so it belongs to him,
so we are stamped with the image of God
and we belong to God.
Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.
We might, and no doubt do, admire Jesus for his particular skill
and political savvy.
But we need also to note, as it were,
the other side of the coin.
If we think that some how this story
is going to tell us how to deal with difficult political situations
then we are definitely mistaken.
We are left at the end of this encounter with more questions
than we had at the beginning.
Though Tertullian's bow
.... the parallel he draws between the coin
being the Emperor's property
and the human being bearing the imprint of God....,
is a long one.
Tertullian is stretching the imagery.
Nevertheless, the point is valid.
This story does not so much
tell us the answer to the trick question....should we pay tribute to Caesar
It rather tells the Christian.
That we should render to God the things that are God's.
Context
Matthew, writing to a church under persecution,
is reminding the early Christians
that there is need for commitment
for enthusiasm and courage.
The tribute to Caesar
can be solved relatively easily
obey the law and do your duty
we may not like it but it is straightforward.
But what is more demanding
is the tribute we offer to God.
It is the tribute of faith.
We give ourselves to God
because that is what we choose to do.
For all the saints
As we think about the holy saints of God
during these weeks
we see women and men
who got a handle on what it means
to be committed.
Whether it is Francis caring for the poor,
or our first Bishop Augustus
building up a church where there was not one,
or someone who saw the challenge to be faithful in worship
or to care for the sick.
Whether it was like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maximilian Kolbe
to stand up to the injustice of Nazis.
None of us will escape the reality
that we are called to render to God the things that are God's.
It is interesting to note that the one's who ask Jesus this "trick question"
go away unmoved by his clever answer.
They see no need to do anything.
It is not so with us.
Tertullian's point is well made
it is easy to fulfill our civil obligations
the point is what tribute will we offer to God.
We are called to be faithful
we are called to be healers, to care for the poor,
to worship faithfully and well, to pray earnestly
Render to God the things that are God's.
The tribute required for God
demands of us commitmet.
[Remember last week the man who tried to sneak into the wedding
the point is the same
If you are going to participate
then commitment requires just that
COMMITMENT!]
Bonhoeffer who I just referred to
tells us there is no such thing as Cheap Grace
"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, (it is) baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

He is making the point of this story and the same point
that Tertullian makes.
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's...
but let us not play games with God
and really give ourselves to God.

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(1)Paragraph 12 of De Fuga in Persecutione (The Flight from Persecution)