Text: Matthew 22:15-22
October 18, 2020
As I look around the neighborhood, I see all of the leaves changing, beautifully colored on the trees and falling to the ground, it can only mean one thing: it’s Autumn. It’s football season, which is another topic altogether. But, there’s one more thing that many people are happy to see come this time of year. Hunting season. Deer season in Wisconsin is epic. Many may be out there already bow hunting.
Hunting season reminds me of a photo I’ve seen floating around the internet recently. The photo depicts a scene where someone in the household put out feed corn for the deer. However, with the corn, they spelled out, “Run. It’s a trap!” as if they are trying to signal the deer. As if deer could read.
Jesus finds himself in a situation where the trap didn’t need to be spelled out in corn. The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus with a trick question. The question they posed of Jesus about the necessity of paying taxes…a trap. Within their question, they even give Jesus a backhanded compliment, saying that they know Jesus shows no partiality and is far. And Jesus comes up with this interesting retort to the Pharisees. “Who’s face is on that coin?” Of course, they answer, “the emperor.” Jesus continues by saying, “Give to the emperor (to Caesar) what is the emperor’s, and give to God what belongs to God.” We know all things come from God. Everything we have comes from God. What about us? Are we to pay taxes? As law-abiding citizens of the world in this country, the answer is an emphatic yes. We are taxpayers. We are also Christians. We worship God, not an emperor or a movie star or other political leader. Through paying of taxes and supporting the economies in the world, we are obedient to Christ. Being a voter or a taxpayer reminds us that within each of us there are many facets to who we are as Christians. Who are we as beloved of God? Perhaps we are a sibling, a parent, a cousin, a child, a friend, a nurse, a teacher, a doctor, a pastor… all of these roles and vocations and aspects of our lives in Christ. We are taxpaying citizens who abide by the law. We are voters who go out and cast our vote. We are caregivers for our friends and family. All of these parts make up the whole.
I like to use an illustration for this, especially since it is apple season and I like all things apple. I know there are many folks on team pumpkin spice, but I prefer all things apple. So here I have this lovely apple. I have this device which is a slicer and corer. Maybe you’ve used one of these. (Slice and core the apple using the corer) If we think of these facets like this each of these parts, we remember that we are still part of the apple as a whole. Just as each of us is one part of the body of Christ, our individual selves have various parts: the taxpayer part of us, the voting part of us, the parent, the friend, the teacher, the nurse, the doctor, the pastor…all parts of our Christian discipleship.
However we choose to look at the individual pieces, however we peel back the layers, sin threatens. In the example of an apple, if we leave a sliced apple to the fresh air, oxidation occurs and it starts to turn, reminding us of the invasiveness of sin in our lives. Fortunately, we serve a loving, graceful and forgiving God who restores us when we repent and seek forgiveness. Like an apple, we humans have a core, at the center of it all. Deep within our core, the deepest part of our being, is the truth that we are God’s beloved children. If you were to peel back all of those other layers, if everything in our lives got stripped away, the core remains. We certainly have been feeling that during the pandemic season. A year ago, we never would have imagined worshiping in the parking lot on October 18th. That’s one thing that we may be feeling has been stripped away. What else? Our ability to gather in person together, give hugs, handshakes, not being able to gather with our families, not being able to grieve in the ways we are accustomed. Stripped away. It hurts. Own that pain. Name it as part of the whole human experience. The core of our call in Christ is that we are beloved.
Back to the apple. The seeds are found in the core. That is where seeds of faith that have been planted throughout our lives are found. Those seeds are helping sustain our spirits and persist through these days with resilience. What a mighty God we serve…a God that has planted those seeds.
Did you know that you can grow an apple tree from the seeds of an apple you pick at the orchard or buy at the grocery store? The process requires persistence and patience. The harvested seeds must stay in a cold, dark place for weeks until they germinate. These weeks and months and pandemic may feel like that dark, cold place. In this space, God is growing something new within and through us. After that time of darkness and coldness, the seedlings are taken out, planted in a little bit of soil, not quite ready for the great outdoors yet. Potted in soil, the grower tends to the seeds with loving care, providing the ingredients for growth: nourishment, light, water and air. Our creator does the same for us in this time of growth: God gives us the light, living water into which we are baptized, and the breath of the Holy Spirit.
Before you know, growth will pop up through the surface of the soil. The seedling will eventually outgrow that tiny pot. In time, the baby tree will be planted into the ground. God’s not done with that tree, or us, yet. The tree grows for years before bearing fruit that is edible. God is growing us, too. No matter which stage of pandemic we are in, many say we are in the disillusionment phase these days… if you are feeling disillusioned, know without a doubt that God is at work in you and through you because at the core of it all… in the deepest part of our heart and soul and being is the spirit of God. Be encouraged. Go and bear fruit in God’s good and gracious time, giving back to God what belongs to God. Know that you are the apple of God’s eye. Amen.