HOMILY FROM CANON STEPHEN BAILLIE
29th Sunday of A20 – Mission Sunday
Emperor’s or Christ’s Vision?
As we continue on from last week’s Gospel, the Pharisees are not impressed with Jesus’ teachings and decide to ‘entrap’ him, quizzing him about paying taxes. It is a dangerous question they ask because a simple yes or no response from Jesus could mean he is reported to the authorities. Jesus has no time for this and is quiet direct with them asking ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?’
The response is brilliant: ‘Give to the Emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ This text has sometimes been used to argue that religion should stay out of politics, economics or culture. However, the world we live in is one that falls short of the vision and values which Jesus preached: a dream of a world of love, peace, justice and compassion. Being a follower of Jesus means that one is actively involved in striving for this vision and this includes whatever political, economic or cultural issues we are confronted with. The focus in this passage is getting our priorities straight. Yes, give the emperor his taxes but do not forget what belongs to God, that is, GOD’S VISION FOR THIS WORLD. The Pharisees, we are told, ‘were amazed, left him and went away.’
In the Gospel today, Jesus says, ‘Give to God what belongs to God.’ In a sense, this is what we try to do when we gather as a community to pray together at the Eucharist. Here, we try to make our hearts ready to experience God’s love in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. We live as vulnerable people in the face of crisis and uncertainty. We need God’s presence, power, name and word to accompany us through our lives. This was evident when the pandemic of Covid-19 gripped all our lives. We re-discovered the anchorage of prayer to keep us steady in the turbulent times. Today we remember to pray for all missionaries who ‘proclaim to all the nations: ‘God is King’.
I have a close friend who is living with cancer remission. She decided to run a marathon to fund raise for cancer research. She needed to train for this as she was not a long-distance runner. She took on an exercise regime to prepare for the race. There is a parallel with prayer. It requires a pattern, a rhythm, a consistency and a discipline. Thomas Merton says ‘that when you begin a spiritual practice, though it is difficult, surrender to God your sense of difficulty.’
May God bless and protect you and your loved one this week. Be take care and be kind to yourselves.
