How we see things affects how we relate to them.
Some years a go a man who works in the area of caring for the homeless was asked by a journalist,
“how come you seem to have so much respect for them”
“no matter what mood they are in, or how they are acting you show them more love than anyone else I have seen.”
His reply was, “I don’t see them as homeless and helpless,
but as individuals loved by God and having the image of God.”
He went onto say that he has been greatly influenced by Matthew 25:31-46
And in particular verse 40 which says
‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.
How we view people will affect how we treat them.
Likewise how we view life affects how we live?
As disciples of Jesus,
something that is very important for us is that everything is sacred.
Everything is sacred.
From Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 we hear
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
Unfortunately not every Christian recognises this.
Satan loves it when we fall for the belief that some things are sacred and some things are not.
Some people try to act as holy as God himself when they are in the walls of a church building
but as soon as they step outside,
or are out of sight something changes,
they act as if God can’t see them.
But the fact is God is everywhere.
And where God is that is sacred space.
And this is the point Jesus was making in today’s Gospel reading.
To understand this we need some background.
The Jewish land was under Roman rule, lead by Caeser.
Caeser was not like our politicians who are elected and if we don’t like them over time we vote them out.
He is more like a king,
but he was also more powerful, by law you had to worship him.
The only ones excluded were the Jews.
Now the two groups in today’s reading
the Pharisees and the Herodians despised each other.
The Pharisees were committed to following God as they understood God
from what we know as the Old Testament.
They hated their country being ruled by a foreigner Caeser.
They considered the authorities as wicked.
The Herodians on the other hand were Jews who saw benefits in being ruled by the foreigner Caeser.
Even though at times, he did things against the God of the Old Testament.
There was one thing Pharisees and Herodians had in common.
They were threatened by Jesus.
So even though they hated each other they joined forces and ganged up on Jesus together whenever they could.
Now picture the scene.
The Herodians in the background like a lion ready to punce.
The Pharisees ask Jesus a loaded question.
“Is it right to pay taxes to Caeser?”
Jesus appears to be in a no win situation
Now there is also something else that we need to clarify.
For the Jews they were obliged to pay two taxes.
One to Caesar, which was a little like the taxes we have.
And a tax to the temple, which was a flat fee, more like a membership fee regardless of how poor or wealthy you were.
And so in difficult times the pressure was on.
How Jesus answers the question is significant.
The Pharisees expected him to choose sides.
In fact they probably expected him to say pay taxes to God first and instead of Caesar
And if he did the Herodians would have pounced and said he was promoting treason against the government.
But He doesn’t choose sides.
He says
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
He is actually saying we have responsibility to both the government and to God.
They should not be played off against each other.
Why?
It is not because they are equal, but because God uses the government to do many good things.
Occasionally in church and political circles you will hear something called the two kingdoms.
It is often misunderstood.
It is not a doctrine or teaching that says God is good and the government bad.
It is a teaching that says God works through both the church to bring salvation and care for Christians
and also through other parts of his creation including governments to care for the world.
Now many people love bashing the government and politicians.
At times they seem to do some very oddball things.
They are not perfect.
However for a moment think about it how much good they do.
Without the government we wouldn’t have a police force, rubbish collection, roads, organised health care, subsidies, regular quality water, laws to keep order, and many more things.
So maybe this week you might want to thank a politician or government worker for the work they do.
But God is not just present in the church and government.
He is present in all aspects of your life.
Listen to part of Psalm 139
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, a you are
there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast
That means for you and me,
God is present wherever we go.
And where God is present it is holy, it is sacred.
Yesterday wedding I officiated at a wedding at Princes Square in Launceston.
When the couple first approached me about being married in a park, they weren’t sure how I would respond.
Now tell me how often will I be invited to stand in a park and talk about Jesus with a microphone
with people listening.
But not only this God was present.
He was present because His word was there and Christians were there.
Now if you are baptised and believe in God you are bearing God’s image.
Genesis 1:27 says
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Every aspect of your life is sacred.
So when you go to work God is present
When you go to bed God is present.
When you go out and socialise God is present.
No matter where we are God is present.
And in every aspect of life we bear God’s image.
Think about what this means?
If every aspect of your life is sacred.
Then every aspect of your life is to be used for God’s will, and that will is,
to show love to Him and His love to others.
Now think about what this mean for your work, your social life, your sex life, your school life, your volunteering and anything else you are involved in,
Think about how can you use the things, the people, the relationships, to primarily love God and love others?
For those of you who don’t know.
There was a period of around 5 years in my life when I stayed far away from the church.
And after I returned this was my biggest change in my view of life.
Instead of Christianity only being about Sunday and church.
I recognised that everything I was involved in
God was present and was for His purposes.
Now I know some people view this as oppressive
in that they can’t get away from God.
But I ask you
Why would you want to get away from God?
Why would you want to avoid God?
It is God who gives you life.
And even when you sin, and you repent
God promises to forgive.
And also don’t you want the people you are interacting with
to join you and God in heaven?
Better still God is there to guide you, to help you and to love you wherever you are.
When you view everything as sacred
you see everything as a gift from God.
Something to be used for his purposes.
And so you begin to think about
and explore how can I use this moment,
this opportunity,
these things I have
not to make me richer, or to avoid doing things, or to benefit myself
but to love God and to love all those I am encountering.
So when Jesus said
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s,
and to God what is God’s.”
He was actually saying give everything to God.
Everything is sacred.
And why, because as Romans 8 verse 28 says
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
So this week two things I would encourage you to do.
First see everything as sacred, to be used to love God and love others.
And secondly live your life knowing God is always with you
Amen
