SolLuna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

12/4
Matt. 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"

But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax."

And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."

When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

We have read and written much on this passage. Today's meditation will be laser focused. It will not be about taxes, citizenship responsibilities, how-to-shut-up critics, hypocrisy, or money. Those are all part of the context and backdrop scenery of the lesson, but our focus today is, "What Do We Owe God?"

What indeed?

There is a sense that, in Advent, we are recognizing that Jesus claim to reclaim what belongs to God.

We owe God our "stuff" because all stuff belongs to God.

When we recognize God's ownership over our "stuff," we are liberated from our "stuff owning us."

Those are really the only two choices. God owns it or it owns us. When it owns us, it controls our thinking, our living, our choices, our anxieties, and our vision of the future. It defines and defiles our purpose in life.

Let's look at "stuff" as an acronym for breaking down what God claims in us and from us in the coming of his Son into the world.

• S – Self. The first claim of God that i owe God is me. I owe God my life, my love, and my loyalty.

• T – Time. What defines my priorities most is my calendar and my clock, my time and how I spend it.

• U – Undefined everything. If you can name it; if you cannot; if you can conceive it or not; it's God's.

• F – Faith and faithfulness. We owe God a mutual trust for Him and trustworthiness in response to Him.

• F – Future – We owe God our futures and, in response, God gives us a bright and beautiful future.

Living this way foes not negate our freedom; it expands it. It does not limit our blessings; it brings them meaning. It does not deprive us; it enhances all that we receive as gifts from God's hand.

When people sought to sidetrack and detract Jesus, he went back to the basics. It is all God's stuff and we must render to God what is God's.

It is not about a competition between Rome's taxes and Temple taxes.

The Kingdom of God movement is about God.