Love & Serve Who Bears God’s Image

Today’s gospel raises an important question that Christians have wrestled with for centuries: How do we balance faithfulness to God with obedience to earthly governments when the two appear in conflict?

It is a question that feels especially relevant today.

We live in a country where Christianity is increasingly invoked to justify political agendas.

We hear consistent claims that America is a Christian nation.

We hear voices that insist certain political leaders are chosen by God.

And still others that maintain government policies are God's will for our country.

Religious language is being used to say who belongs and who does not.

Who deserves protection.

Who deserves compassion.

And who can be ignored and pushed aside.

We see this in debates about immigration, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ rights.

Merging our Christian identity with American national identity to perpetuate historical white privilege is Christian Nationalism.

It is neither faithful nor patriotic.

Our faith demands that we participate in civic life.

We talked about it extensively in Adult Forum.

But when faith becomes a tool for political power, that is a problem.

When the government favors one religious identity over others, that is a problem.

Jesus offers a different vision.

In today’s gospel, he is asked a question about taxes.

But the question behind the question is about the struggle between power, allegiance, and faithfulness.

Jesus says, “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but give to God what is God’s.”

It sounds simple enough.

But the words challenge both our political assumptions and our religious loyalties.

The Pharisees and the Herod sympathizers go to Jesus with a trick question.

“Is it lawful to pay tax to the Roman emperor, or not?”

The question is posed precisely to trap Jesus.

Caesar was universally despised by Jewish commoners.

He was the embodiment of Roman oppression.

The Roman military were occupiers.

Rome collected burdensome taxes.

It maintained a societal structure that benefited the empire and its elites.

If Jesus said that paying taxes is lawful, he alienates all the people who resent Roman occupation.

If he said that paying taxes is unlawful, he is a threat to Roman authority.

It seems like a no-win situation.

Either answer can be used against him.

Jesus responds by asking them to show him the coin used to pay the tax.

“Whose head is this, and whose inscription?”

Caesar's,” they answer.

“Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but give to God what is God’s.”

And Matthew tells us that they are amazed and go away.

The issue is not simply whether paying taxes is right or wrong.

The issue is about what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God.

The coin bears Caesar's image.

But what bears God's image?

In Genesis, we read that God creates humankind in God's own image.

Not just the powerful.

Not just the wealthy.

Not just the people who share our nationality, our political convictions, our language, or our religious tradition.

All of humanity is created in God's image.

The refugee seeking safety bears God's image.

The woman in detention being denied prenatal care bears God’s image.

The undocumented man who is shackled like a criminal because he had the audacity to wait outside the Walgreens on Jersey Avenue looking for work bears God’s image.

The children who refuse to go to school because they’re afraid their parents won’t be there when they get home bear God's image.

The person of color who doesn’t get the job interview because they have a foreign-sounding name bears God’s image.

The black teen who wonders if he will get home to see his parents when the flashing lights of a police car appear in his rearview mirror bears God’s image.

The gay teen who resorts to sex work because his parents threw him out bears God's image.

The trans servicemember who is denied gender-affirming healthcare bears God’s image.

The Muslim neighbor who is called a terrorist because of his faith bears God's image.

The Jewish neighbor whose place of worship is defaced with swastikas and hate speech bears God's image.

The children who will suffer lifelong trauma from hiding under their desks because a shooter rampaged through their school bear the image of God.

But—and this can be the hard part—the person whose political views we disagree with also bears God’s image.

Our dignity is not granted by the government.

Our dignity comes from God.

And, because it comes from God, it cannot be revoked.

We must never give in to the demands of a political power that tries to revoke the dignity that comes from God.

We cannot claim that we honor the Creator if we dehumanize the people God has created.

We cannot be faithful if we support a national vision that says some people are more worthy of protection than others.

More worthy of compassion.

We cannot say we are followers of Jesus and ignore the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized.

Jesus does not say that Caesar has no authority.

But he doesn’t allow Caesar to claim everything either.

Caesar may issue coins.

Caesar may collect taxes.

Caesar may command armies and govern territories.

But Caesar is not God.

No nation is God.

No political party is God.

No president is God.

And Christian Nationalism cannot claim God’s authority, no matter how loudly it invokes the name of Jesus.

An important part of our theology is what Luther called the two kingdoms—the two ways in which God works in our world.

God works through earthly institutions, including governments, to maintain civil order.

Government has a responsibility to serve the common good.

Christians should participate in civic life, advocating for just laws and holding leaders accountable.

But earthly government is not the Kin-dom of God.

By the same token, the church is not called to wield political power.

The church is called to proclaim God's Word, administer the sacraments, and announce God’s grace.

The church must also speak out when the responsibilities of the government are neglected or abused.

Faithful Christians must challenge policies that marginalize or oppress our neighbors—any actions that try to revoke the dignity that comes from God.

Luther’s two kingdoms doctrine is a warning for us to not confuse earthly political authority with God's redemptive authority.

Government cannot save us.

The nation cannot redeem us.

Political power cannot create the Kin-dom of God.

That work belongs to Christ alone.

And because Jesus has freed us, we are free to participate in civic life without confusing political victories for salvation.

God calls us to serve our neighbors.

That call dictates how we are to treat people.

How we are to use our resources.

How we are to respond when our neighbors are suffering.

That means our response to Christian nationalism cannot end with verbal disagreement.

We must welcome the stranger.

We must defend the dignity of immigrants.

We must challenge racism—not make excuses for it.

We must make sure that LGBTQ+ folks are treated with dignity—not made into political targets.

We must protect the religious freedom of our Jewish, Muslim, and other neighbors—even those who do not practice any faith.

We must hold our government leaders—both Democrat and Republican—accountable when they abuse their authority.

We must be the congregation that we profess to be: a welcoming and affirming community where no one has to hide who they are or prove that they belong.

And, as hard as it might be, we must refuse to view our political opponents as enemies of God.

That doesn’t mean we have to agree about every political issue.

Faithful people can disagree about the best ways to address complex social problems.

But disagreement must never become an excuse for dehumanization.

We are called to love our neighbors—ALL our neighbors—as God first loved us.

God does not call us to make everybody think like us.

God calls us to love and serve our neighbors.

And we serve, not to earn salvation.

We serve because we have already received God’s grace.

So, my friends, let us give to Caesar what is Caesar's.

Let us pay the taxes we owe.

Let us participate fully in civic life.

Let us work for a society in which all God’s people thrive.

Let us never surrender our conscience to political power.

Let us never forget whose image we bear.

We belong to the God who creates every human being in love.

We belong to Jesus, who redeems us by grace.

And we belong to the Holy Spirit, who gathers us into this community.

May Emanuel always be a place where no one ever has to prove that they belong.

And may our public witness always be loving and serving our neighbor who, like us, bears God’s image.

May this meditation on God’s Word keep our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus. Amen.