The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series Reformation Sunday(Observed) - 10/26/08

The Church Season of Trinity
The Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity, One Year Series
Reformation Sunday(Observed)
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (October 26, 2008)

“IMAGE IS EVERYTHING”

Readings:

Proverbs 8:11-22
Psalm 111
Philippians 3:17-21
Matthew 22:15-22

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Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father

and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 22nd chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verses:


Matthew 22:15-21 (NIV)

15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him (Jesus) in His words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and He (Jesus) asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

The Pharisees, who were the keepers of the law were still hanging around and they just didn’t get it. The Pharisees who were the specks of leaven in the crowd were trying to ruin the whole crowd. Oh, they had listened to all the parables, all the words, and all the teachings of this man called Christ. But, they didn’t hear or understand the words of the parables, nor did they care to try to understand. All they knew is that this man who stood before them, this man Christ was trouble and he had to go. They’d probably gone into back rooms and gathered together in secret to form the plot to fabricate the perfect trap. And they had the problem all thought through. They had it all figured out. They had read the law, both law of their church and the law of their government. Up until now they’d been standing in public, but they were scheming in the background. But, now...now the time was right. It was time to come out into the open. So they surfaced from behind the scenes and from behind their closed doors. And they were so sure of themselves that when they did choose to speak in public it was with a certain smugness. It was as if they were saying, “if you pay no attention to who people are, that means you believe:”

“THE RIGHT IMAGE MEANS NOTHING!”

They’d probably rehearsed the question and knew that there was a good way to ask, a way in which there could be only two answers. Just like the old, old trick, “Heads I win, tails you lose.” So they continued, “Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”(v. 17) The point was, they needed a question for which either of the two answers would lead to the same conclusion. But, Jesus turned the trap around and asked them, “Whose portrait, (whose image) is this? And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then He (Jesus) said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”(v. 20, 21) This was not the answer, this group expected.

As we today also celebrate the 491st anniversary of the Protestant Reformation we know that many years after this crowd slyly posed questions to Jesus Christ, a man named Martin Luther would later stand before a similar crowd who was puffed up by their smugness. A group led by the all powerful King Charles Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire who, along with his powerful political machine, expected Luther to melt in the face of their powerful questions. Martin Luther was shown copies of his writings and he was asked if the books were his, and whether he stood by their contents. The contents of these writings pointed not to the greatness of Martin Luther, but rather they all point to the unimaginable overflowing grace of God. That man is not justified by what he does, and that nothing that man can do can earn him salvation, for Luther had read and understood the scriptures which state, “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”(Eph 2:8-9) So, Martin Luther confirmed that he was the author of those writings but asked for a recess for a day to gather his thoughts. When Luther returned before these mighty politicians the next day Luther stated, "Unless I shall be convinced by the testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear reason ... I neither can nor will make any retraction, since it is neither safe nor honorable to act against conscience." He also famously is said to have added: "Hier stehe ich. Ich kann nicht anders. Gott helfe mir. Amen." ("Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.").

Luther was just a man who in the face of extreme political pressure stopped and took a day to think about the question and when he answered he did not worry about his personal image, he stood by the Word of God. The Word of God, Jesus Christ was faced with a question under extreme political pressure and His immediate answer showed that He was and always will be image of God. Christ and Luther were faced with evil men who tried to construct their our own images of what is right and what is wrong.

Today we can still look to God and see that He provides the right image which clarifies how God works in the kingdoms of this world. Our labor together is prompted from God’s love, not from the love of ourselves or our possessions. We also understand that while God uses the kingdoms of this world to provide a structure for our earthly lives, the leaders and kingdoms of this world do not give us our salvation for our eternal lives.

The right image of God does give us our eternal salvation. The right image of God, is one that we are well familiar with, and it is the image of God’s Son Jesus Christ. The right image is the realization that Jesus is the incarnate Son of God, who came from heaven to earth to make right all that man has made wrong. The right image is Jesus Christ, bloodied, beaten, and nailed to a cross, bearing all our sins, and thereby making us appear spotless and without sin before God our Father. The right image is the Holy Spirit descending upon Christ in His baptism, and the Holy Spirit descending upon us in our baptism, which is, “not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word.”(SC)

In our Gospel lesson the Pharisees and the Herodians laid a trap for Jesus, which had only two answers known to these evil men. Jesus stood before them and revealed to them that their plans were transparent. Their trickery and deceit revealed the false images of their false gods defined by earthly power and authority. Jesus calmly pointed to the image on the coin which they handed to Him and told them to, “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.” And not only did He say the words, He did what He said. Jesus the man submitted to the ruling of Caiaphas the high priest, and He submitted to Pontius Pilate, and Herod too. But more importantly Jesus the Christ submitted to God by stating, “Not my will be done, but yours,” and in so doing Jesus rendered unto God that which is God for He gave unto God....Himself.

So, is it true that image is everything? It is true. It is true that one day we will all stand before Christ. And by His authority alone, He restores image of all who would believe and be baptized. Jesus gives us the image of God. Jesus gave to God that which is God’s, and because He alone has restored your image, He will receive you unto God because He has restored your eternal image to that which God created. Amen.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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