Malczewski, Jacek, 1854-1929. The Tribute Money, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55994 [retrieved October 22, 2023]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malczewski_Jacek_Grosz_czynszowy.jpg.

RCL Year A, Proper 24 (Alternate Readings)
Isaiah 45:1-7, Psalm 96:1-9, I Thessalonians 1:1-10, Saint Matthew 22:15-22

In the Gospel two weeks ago, the Pharisees heard Jesus’ condemnation of them in his Parable of the Vineyard and the Wicked Tenants, and they left him, wanting to arrest him, in a smoldering fury. In the Gospel today, they send their disciples to his presence with a plot to entrap him. Those disciples bring along the Herodians, their rivals, which reveals something of their plot.

The Pharisees opposed the Roman occupation of Judea. They thought God had given the land to them for their posterity. But what were they to do in the face of the Roman army? What were they to do about the taxes levied by Rome about which the law of Moses was utterly silent? They could entice Jesus to say that Rome’s taxes were unlawful since Moses made no provision for them.

And, the Pharisees could capture Jesus’ denial of the lawfulness of the Roman tax in front of the Herodians, those who supported both the Roman tetrarch Herod Antipas and the emperor’s tax. Hearing that denial, the Herodians could more easily be inveigled into joining the Pharisees in doing away with Jesus.

Jesus understands this perfectly and immediately. “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”[1] The Pharisees have plotted to ask a legal question, and Jesus replies with practical and theological truth. Those who for show hypocritically ask how the tax is related to the law of God should rather be concerned with repaying God with the fruits of the kingdom that are his due.

When we reframe Jesus’ answer to our time and place, we perforce substitute for Caesar the various levels of government who either send us tax bills or require us to fill out tax forms. You know who they are as well as I do. I put it to you that the irs is the world’s largest collection agency. Good luck to you if you attempt to stiff them.

Our proper concern, and the emphasis in Jesus’ answer, is repaying God with the fruits of the kingdom that are his due. It is pledge time, and you will naturally think of giving and of generosity, and also act accordingly. God loves a cheerful giver.

But the fruits of the kingdom, the produce of our lives, involve and include more than generosity. Many lists of the fruits of the kingdom are possible, but I drew this one from our Baptismal Covenant: continuing in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the Eucharist, and the prayers; persevering in resisting evil and repentance; proclaiming the Good News; seeking and serving Christ in all persons; striving for justice and peace; and respecting the dignity of every person.[2]

These fruits may or may not be to your taste. But I pray that these or others like them do appeal to you. For heaven is the garden where these are cultivated; heaven is that place where these things have grown to full maturity; and heaven is the place where people love to be because they have themselves fully matured by producing these fruits for the greater glory of God.

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[1] Saint Matthew 22:21.

[2] The BCP, pages 304-305.