Jesus loved to throw great parties! He was the ultimate party planner – not the party pooper! In fact, he was the life of the party and the good news is that we are all invited to the party. But wait, there’s more, there’s no cover charge; the admission’s already been covered by the free grace of the all-inclusive host.
In the gospel story in Matthew 22, we see that Jesus found himself standing in the middle of two worlds – on a boundary between two contrasting worlds.
We read that the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” Their question was actually a set-up. A set-up to discredit him, to trap him.
If Jesus answered “no” he could be accused of leading a revolt and charged with inciting people to rebel against the Roman authority.
If he answered “yes”, he ran the risk of discrediting himself with the crowds because the Roman tax was not only economically burdensome, but also reminded the Jews that they were being forcefully occupied. It reminded them that they had no sovereignty over their own homeland; the tax was like rubbing salt in a wound.
So, the calculated, almost devious question put Jesus on the dangerous boundary between the Roman authorities and their religious collaborators and the rest of the people.
But that wasn’t the only contrasting boundary Jesus was standing on. By reading the story in a deeper way, we see that he was also standing on the boundary between the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed in his life and the kingdom of Roman imperial power/theology represented by the emperor’s head imprinted on the coins the Pharisees took out from their pockets.
One of the things that is a key to understanding this story is that the coins that came from the pockets of the Pharisees had the face of Caesar on them. Theologian J. Holub says, “Jesus called them hypocrites, not only because they were trying to discredit him, but because in the Jewish homeland of the first century there were two types of coins in circulation. One type had no human or animal images because of the Jewish laws against graven images. This was the appropriate coin for the Jewish people to have in their possession.
The other type of coin had the image of Caesar, who was actually considered divine, and even called Son of God. For a Jew to carry a coin bearing the head of Caesar was considered idolatry.
So, it was a brilliant counter-trap set and sprung by Jesus. His accusers were wearing religious clothes, but they were exposed for who they really were and whose side they were really on – the side of imperial Rome with its power to exploit and oppress the masses.”
Jesus stood on the boundary between two contrasting worlds: the realm of God and the realm of Roman imperial power and theology. It was then he answered, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Now, if you think about it, it’s really a non-answer to their trick question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
I don’t think Jesus’ answer was an endorsement of paying taxes to Rome. If Jesus wanted to say that, he could have simply said “Yes, pay your taxes.”
So, on one hand, his answer was a dismissal of their trick question, but on the other hand, the second part of his answer, “Give to God the things that are God’s,” raises the real issue that Jesus wanted to get at, “What really does belong to Caesar, and what belongs to God?”
Matthew tells us that the crowd was “amazed; and they left him and went away.”
That’s just another way of saying that they were speechless and had to go home and deeply reflect on what Jesus had just said. And as they went home and reflected, as heartfelt Jews, they could only have come to one conclusion: that everything belonged to God – as the scriptures affirmed.
Jesus stood in the middle of two worlds, and he’s not alone! Look around, there’s tremendous pressure, every day, to buy, buy, buy. To invest ourselves totally in the stuff of this world; and like the prodigal son, to trust materialism to fulfill us and bring lasting joy; pressure to collaborate with “Caesar” in ways that ignore and exploit the poor and powerless, just for a profit!
Jesus stood on the boundary between contrasting worlds, but he always walked that boundary firmly grounded in the kingdom of God, and, at the same time, not removed from the realities of life.
Jesus stood on the boundary between contrasting worlds cultivating a relationship with God, and yet always vulnerable and sensitive to the world around him, being light, bringing about the realm of God wherever he went, through his life, and love and compassion.
Jesus stood on the boundary between contrasting worlds and physically touched those who nobody else would touch for fear of religious and social contamination – he reached out to and even embraced the lepers!
Jesus stood on the boundary between contrasting worlds and he associated with those whom the respectable and religious in-crowd looked down upon – the tax collectors, prostitutes, the losers and those on the margins of society. Even when it meant going against sacred Sabbath laws and spiritual traditions, acts of mercy, works of healing and affirmation always took precedence over the law and tradition.
Jesus stood on the boundary between contrasting worlds and he crossed over a plethora of social, cultural, religious, economic, racial and gender barriers to affirm and reach out to those people hidden behind those barriers.
OK, I can’t help but comment on the big news story that broke these past weeks that Exodus International, the ex-gay movement that I signed up for in my 20s because they said they could cure the gay away from me, is closing its doors!
And they came out with a historic apology for the harm done to LGBT people. This is encouraging, and, Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, the moderator of our denomination said, “Sadly, nothing will bring back the lives lost to suicide based on pseudo-psychology and corrupt theology. Any apology for past suicides, lost years and damage to families is only as good as real actions to counter the lies spread throughout the world by past Exodus action.”
I like what Penny Nixon said, former pastor of MCC San Francisco. “I forgive Alan Chambers. But forgiveness doesn’t mean the harm done wasn’t grievous. It doesn’t mean lies didn’t go deep and down to the bone. It just means that Mr. Chambers is more than his misunderstandings, more than his terrible theology, more than his unscientific psychology. In fact, he is more than his apology. He is a person worthy of redemption, just as he is, in this moment. It is what he has come to realize about gay people. I just wish he had realized it a long time ago.”
As disciples and followers of Jesus, we are called to walk the same boundary between two worlds that Jesus walked, staying firmly grounded in the love of Jesus and expressing that love and compassion in our own lives.
What might that “boundary life” look in real life?
Paul gives us a clue in the book to the Thessalonians when he exhorts them for being people who demonstrated a “work of faith … labor of love … and steadfastness of hope …”
What might that boundary life look like?
– It looks like a woman who works as a volunteer in a hospice, especially ministering to those dying of complications from AIDS, sharing the love and compassion of God, bringing comfort and the hope that comes with God’s promises.
– It looks like the man who prays every day for the people he works with before he goes to work. He says he especially prays for grace and understanding with those with whom he has conflict and doesn’t like very much.
-It looks like the son who decided to forgive his father for childhood abuses, letting go of his resentment even when the father never acknowledged his sin.
– It looks like a courageous young woman who traveled to some of the toughest and most despairing places, ministering to the poor, powerless and diseased.
– It looks like a transgendered woman coming out at work, being brave in the midst of prejudice and criticism.
What does boundary life look like? It looks like you! It looks like your life when you follow Jesus in the middle of contrasting worlds, having firmly grounded your whole life and your whole being in the realm of God.
Then, by God’s grace, having the trust and courage to making God’s realm come alive through your “work of faith … labor of love … and steadfastness of hope.”
Rev. Dan Koeshall is the senior pastor at The Metropolitan Community Church (The Met), 2633 Denver Street, San Diego, California, themetchurch.org. Services every Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m.
