Risking Challenge: Are you comfortable with Jesus? Preached online on March 15th, 2020 Scripture: Matthew 22:15-22 I was once asked, albeit indirectly, “are you comfortable with Jesus?” Today as we observe Jesus teaching in the temple courts I ask you this same question, “Are you comfortable with Jesus?” As a Rabbi, Jesus’ style of teaching includes addressing students’ questions. We can imagine huddles of disciples around the various teachers in the temple courts. Their voices might be raised as they question and even argue, trying to get to the heart of an issue. The Pharisees send some of their disciples to question Jesus. They are seeking to test or trap him with a cunning question. They are smart about it. They get together with the opposition: the supporters of Herod. The Pharisees want the people of Israel to remain faithful and loyal to God, above everything else. They want to keep the temple pure, free from Roman interference and idolatry. The Herodians, on the other hand, are supporters of Herod. They are happy to collaborate with Rome. Perhaps they see that there is a financial benefit for those who cooperate with the Empire. They admire Herod for his ability to work both sides. He keeps the enormous temple open, including an ongoing construction project. And he maintains a position of power in Jerusalem, residing in his lavish palace. Our eye witness for today, Marcus, is among the Herodians. He hangs at the back of the group, taking in what Jesus has to say. First of all the two groups flatter Jesus, for his sincerity and impartiality. Then they ask him: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" This is not an open ended question. It demands a simple yes or no answer. They are referring to Jewish law, not the law of the Empire. The Empire’s taxes are not popular with the Jewish people. The money the Empire takes from the very poorest citizens goes straight back to Rome. They don’t see the benefit. And, we can be sure, that the more wealthy collaborators have worked out some kind of a deal so they don’t have to pay so much. The Herodians want to find out whether Jesus is encouraging the Jews to rebel against Rome. If he says that it is unlawful for them to pay taxes to the emperor, they will have evidence that he is encouraging a rebellion. The Pharisees, on the other hand, are sticklers for the law of God. They are not happy about the Roman occupation in any way. They want the Jewish people to rule themselves, as a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. The law dictates that they not even bring Roman coinage into the temple because it shows the image of Caesar and declares a great blasphemy, that he is the Son of the Divine Augustus. In reply to the tricky question, Jesus cuts through the noise. He chastises the two groups for being hypocrites and them asks them to show him a coin used for tax. They present him with a Roman denarius, complete with Caesar’s likeness and inscription. And so he asks, “whose head is this and whose title?” It is the emperor’s head of course, and so he says “give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and the things to God that are God’s.” Jesus is an amazing teacher, even his opponents admit it in this case. He chastises, answers and challenges them. He’s like a teacher of unruly students. They have disrupted the class, trying to trip him up. But instead of shutting them down he gives them something to think about. We often experience our best learning when we are challenged and given something to think about. Many teachers provide good information to their students. We all need to know the facts. But it is the challenges and questions that make us think. They move us on to a whole new level. One of my most respected teachers in seminary was the, now retired, UCC pastor and professor, Rev. Dr. Mary Luti. Mary has a wonderfully warm personality. She forms strong bonds with her students and yet she doesn’t let them off lightly. She challenges them to grow as they study, to become better versions of themselves. One of the first classes I took with Mary was a preaching class. I expected good things as Mary is an excellent preacher. I was surprised, though, when she provided the class with a list of books that addressed the Jewishness of Jesus. One book on the list was written by the author of our Lenten study book, Amy-Jill Levine. Members of the class were required to write a paper on one of these books. The intent of this requirement was to make the future preachers in the class aware of the damage done to the Jewish community by so much Christian teaching and preaching. At first my thought was, “of course I know that Jesus was Jewish” and “of course I would never want to perpetuate anti-semitism in my preaching.” I picked a required book “Has God Only One Blessing?” by Mary C. Boys and began my reading. In my reflection I wrote that I began reading the book with this question in mind … “How do I discover a theology that honors the Jewish faith and maintains Christ as God incarnate?” Hmm, that is a rather convoluted question, which seems to anticipate a certain outcome. It is not open ended at all. You might say it is a trick question. I had a lot to learn. Fortunately my learning about Judaism and the damage done by Christian theologies did not end with this book review. A couple of years later, I was plunged into an atmosphere of Jewish learning, when I took a program in a Jewish institution. This program was to function as a “Border Crossing” in my preparation for ministry. I was to spend a period of time studying with people from a very different culture. In my case this culture was Judaism. And so I began my studies with a group of ordained, experienced Rabbis and another Christian minister. As a group we received training and teachings from our supervisor and the resident Rabbi of the facility. And also, each week, one of the students would present a teaching, or “limud”, for the other students. I discovered that Jewish students seem to enjoy learning much more than Christians. They are encouraged to question and push back at the teacher, just like those Pharisees and Herodians in the temple. Often they learn from one another, by gathering in pairs to do a text study or Havruta learning. This can be quite a noisy process, with a lot of arguments going on. During this time I learned more about the appalling distortions of Jesus’ teaching which sowed the seeds for cruel events such as the Crusades and the Holocaust. I learned that we can only interpret the gospel, when we understand Jesus as fully Jewish. When we understand Jesus as challenging what was troubling about religious observance for him in his own group, then we can begin to challenge what troubles us about our group. In other words, we may notice the log in our own Christian eye. I was sobered to realize that many Christians still hold a supersessionist theology. This is the theology that says that Christianity replaces Judaism. It says that Jesus’ teaching supersedes the law, even though we are told in the gospel that it does not. It says that the “New” testament supersedes the “Old” testament. That is one reason why I now refer to the earlier testament as the Hebrew scriptures. Following my learning on the Border Crossing, I replaced my original convoluted question with two much simpler questions. The first was “Why would I stay in a religion that allowed terrible things, such as pogroms, the crusades, and the holocaust?” You could argue that all religions have allowed terrible things, but this is about noticing the log in our own Christian eye. The second question was even simpler and open ended “Are you comfortable with Jesus?” These questions were posed indirectly, by my fellow students during the course of our time together. When I wrote in my final paper, I provided the answers I had in mind at that time. I also said that these questions would sit with me for some time to come. They still sit with me now. But back to the temple courts and our eye witness for today … It seems, at first, that Jesus gives a clear answer to the Pharisees and Herodians question: "Give … to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." And yet, they are still left with a question: what are the things of the emperor and what are the things of God? Psalm 24 must ring in the Pharisees’ ears: “The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for [God] has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.” It all belongs to God: the earth and everything in it. It is all to be given to God. The Pharisees may have hoped that Jesus would settle the argument for them and say that it is unlawful to pay taxes to Caesar. At the same time he would incriminate himself. But instead he presents them with a challenge: do they truly live as though everything belongs to God? The Herodians may be a little slower to pick up on this idea. Our eye witness, Marcus, ponders Jesus’ response. Not all the Herodians are Jewish. Those who are value the practicality of allegiance to Rome over devout obedience to the God of Israel. Perhaps they assume that Jesus has just answered the question in their favor: that the people should give their denarii back to Caesar. And yet, Jesus’ answer hints at resistance of the Empire. Give back those denarii to Caesar. The Jewish people’s allegiance is to God and only God. They will not carry the image of the Emperor in their pouches, they will not tolerate the inscription “Caesar Augustus Tiberius son of the Divine Augustus.” And so, today we are left with the same question as Marcus … this teacher, this Rabbi Jesus who challenges and provokes with his teaching … are you comfortable with him? May all God’s people say Amen.
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