Yes or No (Matt 22: 15-22)

     What make people with different backgrounds or opinions come together? One of the reasons is that they have a common concern. An example is the relationship between KUC and One Body in Christ. It is the common goal of being an inclusive church bringing us together. In these 9 years, we have been enriching one another by learning to be a community of hospitality. The gospel we ready today (Matt 22: 15-22) is also about a collaboration between Pharisees and Herodians. Unlike our common concern of being an inclusive community, it is the common enemy, Jesus, bringing Pharisees and Herodians together. The common enemy transcends their religious and political differences. In short, Pharisees gave respect to the Torah and were hesitant to accept the rule of Roman Empire, while Herodians urged the people to accept Roman sovereignty and spread messianic ideas which they applied to Herod and his rule.

     In order to remove Jesus from their eyes, Pharisees and Herodians set a trap for Jesus by asking him a question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” They knew the trick of this question very well, for this was their debate also. If Jesus said yes to it, Jesus might lose his trust among the Jews who were suffered different degree of oppression from the Roman Empire and the tax system. If Jesus said no to it, Herodians would have a good excuse to report to the Roman government that Jesus promoted a revolutionary movement. This was not the first time that Jesus was entrapped. For instance, Jesus was asked whether it was right to stone the woman taken in adultery, and Jesus responded, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to thrown a stone at her.” (John 8: 1-11).  On other occasions, a lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?”, and Jesus responded, “It is the one who shows mercy to the people in need.” (Lk 10: 25-37) Jesus was used to reframe the question from the challengers, and so, the challengers were turned to be the one to be asked. The question that Jesus asked was not about political correctness, but very existential. On this occasion, Jesus added a dimension to the question, that is, God. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”, and Jesus answered, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

     Unfortunately, Jesus’ responses are often misread. First, some interpret that God and politics should be kept separate. Second, some emphasize that religion is a matter of the heart, and that Jesus doesn’t really care about mundane things like what you do with your money. Third, some hold that our duty as Christians is to obey the law no matter what it is. These three interpretations are misreading, because they set a boundary for God’s sovereignty and fail to be aware of that Jesus’ response is to restrict the power of the emperor.

     Psalm 24:1 says that "The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it." God is the Lord of lords, and so, an emperor is nothing other than the servant of God. He is accountable to God no matter whether he believes in God or not. We are told to “give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s”, because this may support him to serve God better. However, if he fails to honour his role as an accountable government, Christians are rightly to “obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) It is not because Christians represent God, but because it is Christians obedience to God.

     “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” means a lot to the people in Hong Kong, Belarus, Thailand and other countries. Governments in these lands demand more from people than that they are entitled to. They use law, force, police and punishment to threaten and compel people to give to them the things that are not theirs, that is, human dignity. Such kind of governments are thieves, not God’s servants. Thieves have no right to ask for the things that are not theirs. There is time not to “give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s”. Instead we should condemn him.

     In answering the question raised by Pharisees and Herodians, Jesus asked them:

“Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s.” 

Likewise, the government is asked what the image of people is. Humans are created in God’s image. We have to show respect to everyone, because showing respect to everyone is to respect God. Showing respect is more than being polite and kind. It is about defending people whose dignity is discriminated due to gender and sexual orientation, whose freedom is persecuted due to political and religious stance, whose life is marginalized due to poverty and disabilities, whose right is displaced due to ethnicity and nationality. These are the people found in Thailand, Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and other lands. Let us show our solidarity with people being deprived of human dignity. You can consider visiting the Thai restaurants and Thai community in Kowloon City. Talk to them. They may not support the protest in Thailand, but we at least can hear different voices and make our appropriate responses.

     Humans are created in God’s image. It is not only a noun, but also a verb. It means imaging God. This is the concern of discipleship in Matthew Gospel. Discipleship is more than being a good person. Rather people in the midst of darkness can discern God’s presence through our commitment to human dignity.

     May the Spirit of God empower every one of us so that we are courageously to say NO to thieves’ request, and gratefully to say YES to God’s image in humans.