The
Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity
The
Collect.
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God, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness; Be
ready we beseech thee to hear
the devout prayers of they Church; and grant that those things which we ask
faithfully we may obtain; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The
Epistle
Philippians 3: 17-21
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rethren, be followers together of me, and mark them
which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have
told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the
cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose
glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our citizenship is in
heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who
shall change the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed unto the body
of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all
things unto himself.
The Gospel. St. Matthew xxii. 15
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hen went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they
might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with
the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way
of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the
person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give
tribute unto Cæsar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money.
And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto
him, Cæsar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore
unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are
God’s. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him,
and went their way.
I would like
to begin with a tribute to our Veterans:
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and
degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is
worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to
fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a
miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by
the exertions of better men than him.
John Stuart Mill
English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)
As a special tribute to our Veterans, I would like to read some verse
from Rudyard Kipling. You know, when I was young, reading Kipling sort of
labeled a person as well-read and sophisticated. But today it elicits a puzzled
question: Who in the devil in Kipling? Hear these words to be heeded by
our present generation - As the favorite writer of my childhood, Rudyard
Kipling, has prayed them:
For God and the soldier we adore,
In time of danger, not before!
The danger passed, and all things righted,
God is forgotten and the soldier slighted.
And
RECESSIONAL #147 hymnal:
God
of our fathers, known of old
God of our fathers, known of old,
Lord of our far flung battle line,
beneath whose awful hand we hold
dominion over palm and pine
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
lest we forget lest we forget!
The tumult and the shouting dies;
the captains and the kings depart:
still stands thine ancient sacrifice,
an humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
lest we forget lest we forget!
Far called, our navies melt away;
on dune and headland sinks the fire:
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the nations, spare us yet,
lest we forget lest we forget!
If, drunk with sight of power, we loose
wild tongues that have not thee in awe,
such boastings as the Gentiles use,
or lesser breeds without the law
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
lest we forget lest we forget!
For heathen heart that puts her trust
in reeking tube and iron shard,
all valiant dust that builds on dust,
and guarding, calls not thee to guard,
for frantic boast and foolish word
thy mercy on thy people, Lord!
Words:
Rudyard Kipling, 1897
Thank God for those valiant souls whose crosses dot the landscape of
Arlington, Flanders, and hundreds of other National cemeteries around the
world. Visiting the Marine Corp
cemetery at Guadacanal – we found it overgrown and not well kept.
Now, let us get to the Sermon text for today, Matthew 22:15-22:
We read how those wicked men of the Pharisees conspire with their
mortal enemies, the Herodians, to entangle Christ in His words and ministry.
Strange how enemies can unite against One they consider of greater
threat. They fear that One who speaks truth cannot be bested by those whose
works are fleshly.
They fear their little positions of authority and seek to murder Him to whom
ALL truth and authority belongs. It is a deaf EAR they turn to the Gospel
of Christ. They only seek something of which to charge Him or of which to
complain. They have witnessed more of His miracles of healing, restoration to
life, and acts of mercy than most of His own disciples, yet, they fail to
believe – WHY?
It is because
they refuse to believe!
Such contentious ones have not the Mind and love of Christ in their
hearts. True love and mercy are not divisible. That Love of Christ which
we have received is authenticated by that same love and compassion we show to
one another. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus (Phil 2:5)
Where the
love of Christ is, there can be no division. Christ is not divided against
Himself! His Mind is also constant – the same yesterday, today, and forever.
They cunningly say to Jesus: Master, we know that thou art true,
and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou
regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is
it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
Like good politicians, these men will use deception, or even
flattery, to ensnare a good man.
We pay tribute today in the form of taxes. Taxes are essential to
provide those limited government services necessary to ensure defense, order
and a suitable environment for trade. It is something we owe Caesar
if we are to live within the borders of his dominion. If Christ insists
that we pay tribute to Caesar, He will have lost the support of the people. But
if He says that we should NOT, He incurs the wrath of Rome.
So how does Christ respond to these scoundrels? “But Jesus
perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye
me, ye hypocrites?”
Christ never hesitated to call a spade a spade. He was not very
politically correct was He?
He then says: 19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? In Rome, Caesar money, inscribed with his
image, was the coin of the realm. But are we not citizens of another kingdom.?
Do we not bear a dual citizenship? Though we must remain IN the world, we are
not to be part and party to it.
Ships are
wonderful vessels constructed for the purpose of bearing great burdens of
merchandise across the sea. They are, in fact, made to be in the sea. As long
as they travel in the sea, all is well. But when the sea gets into the ship,
tragedy stands at the door. Ships are like the church. The Church is made to
season the world and to be a sweet savor to it; but when the world gets into
the Church, it will lose its savor.
21 They
say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render
therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things
that are God's.
The Image
and Superscription of God –
In the United
States Mint is an instrument resembling a hand, which is filled with blank
pieces of metal, and carries them to a die which stamps them one by one with a
clear and beautiful impress, and thus changes them into coins which bear the
mark and authorization of the U.S. government. So it is that every good thing
comes to us with an image of God upon it, and the superscription of His love.
There is nothing good in our lives but is thus marked as from heaven, and
demands we return our tributes of love to Him.
American coinage is the only in the world that has consistently
appealed to the trust of God in its mintage. In God We Trust! In
America, we the people are Caesar. We set our rulers up, and we take them
down by our exercise of the franchise. We can blame no one for the ungodliness
of our rulers…. but ourselves. We will always get precisely the kind of ruler
we deserve!
22 When they had heard these words, they
marvelled, and left him, and went their way The Words of God confuse the learned and the
deceitful. In His mouth there is no deceit nor shadow of turning.
Are we
citizens of God’s Kingdom? Are we stamped with His image of ownership and
authority?
What must we
render unto God to receive that title of coinage of the realm? All of our
selves – our being and our daily currency should reflect His Image just as the
coin of the nation represents the image and authority of that nation.
When men know
you, may they also know Christ through you. I pray the stamp of Christ is
apparent upon all who are within range of my voice today.
