"Give to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's."

Scripture: (RCL) Exodus 33:12-23 and Psalm 99 (Track 2: Isaiah 45:1-7 and Psalm 96:1-9, 10-13); 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22

We have studied the parables of the vineyard owner, workers and tenants, and those invited to the feast of the king, including the one last week who didn't come with a robe - all stories about the nearness of God, being in the kingdom, and of judgment - God's judgment and our choices. At this point in his mission, the week before the cross, Jesus is challenging us to fish or cut bait. Now is the time for God's presence, and entrance into the kingdom. The table is set, and prefigures, like Psalm 23, the great heavenly feast at the wedding of the Lamb, to his bride, the church. We concluded last week with reference to the wedding garment - one of shining linen, made of the good deeds of God's saints - those who choose to accept God's continual calling and reaching out to and for us, and who put on the baptismal robe, dying to old lives of what we discussed last week - vanity, self- righteousness and possessiveness - and, with God's help, taking up a new life where we give our selves in service to God's call, and others. Grace, not cheap, but costly.

This week I include a charming story of a young woman who becomes a teacher for a year in Mexico, in “The Wedding Dress “ by Mary Sue Dehmlow Dreier from the book The Home Stretch - Matthew's Vision Of Servanthood In The End-Time as she ponders the meaning of a favorite hymn and Jesus' answer to the trickery of the Herodians and Pharisees "Give to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's." She tells us "We cannot really give to God what is already God's. But we can release ourselves and our possessions to God's purposes. It's a matter of the heart."

What does Jesus mean by that? Is he speaking of a dichotomy of matters of church and state, matters religious and secular, or obedience to secular authority? What belongs to "Caesar? To us? To God? What are we to do with what we have?  What does this have to do with the kingdom of God, and the "wedding feast?" As John Donahue says in his exegesis "Tax Time in Autumn," "Paul summons his community at Thessalonica to persevere and grow in 'the work of faith, the labor of love and endurance in hope.' What better way is there to repay to God what is truly God’s?"