March 30 - Lenten Devotional

Jesus said to them, "Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." (Luke 20:25)

In Luke’s Gospel the contest between Jesus and the “priests and keepers of the law” continues to escalate. Now there are spies working for the priests and they have devised yet another way to trap Jesus – to get him in trouble with Rome over taxes. And so a clever trap is devised. Of course, Jesus again turns the questions on them.

There are always nuances to a text. Here many ideas swirl about exactly what the trap is – partly at play may be that a faithful Jew should not even have had coin with stamp of Rome on it that held messianic claims for Caesar. However I say “may” because while that meaning might be in play historically, it isn’t the meaning that holds the most powerful implication for us as disciples. I think we have to look closely at Jesus response here and then note exactly what this means for our life.

“Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Imagine drawing up a line in your front yard… now imagine that you have pulled out everything you own. Item by item, ask Jesus’ question – does this belong to you, or to God?

Two things occur to me as I think about this in connection with Jesus’ answer. The first is that when Jesus separates things between what is the emperor’s and what is God’s – very little, if anything, would end up on the emperor’s side of the line. Secondly, that those things that may end up on the emperor’s side are trivial to Jesus. Not only might Jesus say that you can go ahead and give them to the emperor… but I imagine Jesus might even more forcefully say – what are you bothering collecting things that have nothing to do with God?

Now a third thought comes to mind. Have you ever watched one of those television shows on the organizers that help people who have collected too much junk in their houses? I’ve seen them put a tarp in the front yard and say – you can only keep what will fit on this tarp… everything else has to go. What makes the cut – and what do you use to measure what makes it and what doesn’t?

Jesus is not concerned about taboos around money and images and false claims of far off authority figures. Jesus actually is remarkable ambivalent to Rome. His problem isn’t with Rome – it’s with the faithfulness of the Jews… his disciples… and those he meets on the roads, pathways and journeys of his life. ‘Go ahead,’ I hear Jesus say, ‘give it to Caesar. I don’t care. What I care about is how you are living your life. If this thing… this money… this (fill in the blank) is causing you so much worry and concern then by all means get rid of it!’

And of course this invites a whole next level of questioning… what happens if we did the same exercise again but rather than with the “things” of our life – we did it with our time and energy… what belongs to us and what to God? And what would our lives look like if we understood that it all belongs to God?

Has your life become cluttered with things that distract, concern and worry you?

Are you caught up in games and traps that make you forget the real question of living a life reflective of the life of God?

How do you measure what is a priority in your life; what belongs and what does not?

Creating God,
You have created the world and all that is in it. And yet we divide it up and make claims of ownership. We strive to possess things to the point of distraction, anxiety… even bloodshed. Help us to reprioritize our life in line with your life.
Amen.