The Things that are God’s

 Matthew 22:34-40, I Thessalonians 2:3-8

In Matthew 22 the Pharisees and Herodians come up to Jesus to entrap him asking him if it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. You see to agree would be against the Jewish Nationalists – the Zealots while not to agree would be a crime of state. Jesus answers cleverly saying “give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” Now if I would have been in that crowd I would have asked, “What are the things that are of God?”

Later in chapter 23 Jesus will tell the Pharisees that they’re concerned with insignificant things yet neglect the weightier matters of the law which are justice, mercy, and faith.

This is a common theme you will read throughout the Old Testament which is summarized in Micah 6:8 as it tells what is required of you – what are the things of God that we are to give back. These are to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. These are the weightier matters of the law the Pharisees had neglected in their nitpicking of minor man-made rules they spent all their time enforcing and trying their best to trip up Jesus with.

Today we can read these scriptures, these Old Testament prophets, what Jesus said in the gospels, and what other New Testament writers wrote in the New Testament.

The book of Thessalonians is a letter from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. It opens with them commending the Thessalonians for their faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope in Christ. Is this not giving back the things that are God’s back to God? Even though they endured persecution, they imitated these spiritual leaders and became examples in every place their faith had been known. They are truly then living the faith. It also tells about their labor of love which is sharing God’s love and in their hospitality which includes a loving welcome.

Every tax day when we send in our tax forms we need to question ourselves as if we are giving back to God the things of God. Do we have a strong faith, do we let the love of Christ shine through us. Do we advocate for justice and practice mercy. Maybe this is a time when we evaluate our income and what goes back to Caesar – AKA IRS – that we evaluate also the things of God we give back in our lives. May we be worthy of the praise the Thessalonians received. Amen.

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