The Twenty First Sunday After Pentecost - Matthew 22:15-22 - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr

 

October 18, 2026 – Matthew 22:15-22

We have an interesting Gospel reading this week. Jesus is asked what seems like a simple question, but his answer leaves us wrestling with a much bigger one.

It’s no secret that the Pharisees are not fans of Jesus. Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, we’ve been reading about the ongoing battle between the religious leaders when it comes to their authority versus Jesus’ authority. They’re looking for any way to discredit him in front of his followers. The Pharisees resented Roman rule and the taxes that were imposed on the Jewish people.

The Herodians were supporters of Herod’s ruling dynasty. They supported the system that imposed Roman taxes. They supported Roman authority. While the two groups had very different views about Rome, they both agreed on one thing: Jesus was a threat. In the most unlikely of pairs, the Pharisees and the Herodians come together to try to “trick” Jesus. They ask him, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” It’s a trick question because if Jesus says yes, the Jewish people may become angry with him because they don’t like Roman rule. If he says no, the religious leaders can report him to the Romans for encouraging people to break the law. Either way, they think Jesus will get in trouble.  

What does Jesus do? Instead of answering directly, Jesus asks them to show him a coin. He asks, "Whose image is on this coin?" They answer, "Caesar's." Jesus then says: "Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." In other words, Jesus is saying that paying taxes is part of living under the Roman government. But our responsibility to God goes much deeper.

The coin has Caesar’s image stamped on it. That means it belongs to Caesar’s system of government. But whose image is stamped on us? Genesis 1:27 tells us. “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” So, if Caesar’s image is stamped on the coin, and God’s image is stamped on us, then what belongs to God?

We do. And not just part of us. All of us. And here’s where Jesus’s answer becomes more challenging. If I am created in God’s image, then so are you. So is the person sitting next to you. So is the person who looks different from you, thinks differently from you, or lives differently from you. Every human being bears the image of God.

On December 1, 1955, a woman named Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. When the driver ordered her to give up her seat for a white passenger, she refused. Rosa Parks knew what was expected of her. She knew that refusing could get her arrested. But she also knew that she deserved to be treated with dignity and respect. And so did every other person on that bus. Her refusal became a defining moment in the civil rights movement.

Her story reminds us of something Jesus was teaching long before Rosa Parks ever stepped onto that bus. Human worth isn't determined by our position in society, our accomplishments, our wealth, or what other people think of us. Our worth comes from the fact that we are created in the image of God. Caesar's image may have been stamped on a coin, but God's image was stamped on Rosa Parks. And it was stamped on every other person riding that bus.

But recognizing God's image in others is only part of what Jesus is asking of us. Because if we belong to God, then everything we have—our time, our talents, our resources, our very lives—is something we can offer back to God.

Of course, offering ourselves to God isn't always as easy as it sounds, is it? Because it's easy to think of our lives as belonging entirely to us. Our time is our time. Our talents are our talents. Our resources are ours to use as we choose. And yet Jesus reminds us that everything we have begins with God.

And perhaps that's where stewardship really begins. Not with a pledge card or a commitment to volunteer, but with recognizing just how much we've already been given. We didn't create ourselves. We didn't choose the gifts and abilities we were born with. And none of us has gotten to where we are entirely on our own. Along the way, we've been shaped by people who loved us, encouraged us, taught us, and believed in us. And behind all of those blessings is a God who created us, loves us, and calls us his own.

When we begin to see our lives that way, something changes. Instead of holding tightly to everything we've been given, we begin to see opportunities to share it. We begin to recognize that our gifts have a purpose beyond ourselves. Our time can become an act of love. Our talents can become a source of encouragement. Our resources can become a blessing to someone else.

And the wonderful thing is that God doesn't ask us all to give the same things. But each of us has something to offer. And when we offer those gifts with gratitude and love, trusting God to work through us, even the smallest gift can become part of something beautiful.

When we recognize God's image in ourselves, we discover that we have something to offer. And when we recognize God's image in others, we discover why that offering matters.

Today we’re beginning our stewardship campaign, "Let's Make Something Beautiful." I love that theme because I think it describes what we're already doing here at St. Thomas'. Every time we gather for worship, every time we care for someone who is hurting, every time we welcome a stranger, every time we share our gifts with someone in need, we're making something beautiful. Not because we're doing something extraordinary, but because we're allowing God's love to work through us.

And here’s what makes this even more beautiful…none of us can do it alone. Each of us has something different to offer. Some of us have financial resources to share. Some have time. Some have talents and abilities. Some have a gift for listening, encouraging, teaching, or simply being present. And when we bring those gifts together, God can create something far more beautiful than any one of us could create on our own.

The question Jesus leaves us with today is more than, “What belongs to God?” We’ve already answered that question: We do. The question is, "How much of what belongs to God are we willing to give back?" Because when we give God what belongs to God—our hearts, our hands, our gifts, and our lives—we become part of something beautiful.

We don't give to God in order to become valuable. We give because we already are valuable to God. Caesar's coin bears the image of an earthly ruler. We bear the image of God and that gives us a worth that no amount of money can measure. And stewardship becomes our grateful response to that gift.

When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on that bus, she wasn't just standing up for herself. She was standing up for the dignity of every person on that bus. She recognized something that others refused to see: that every human life has value. And while we may never be called to do something as courageous as Rosa Parks did that day, we are called to recognize God's image in the people around us and to use what we've been given to make a difference in their lives.

God has already made something beautiful in each one of us. Now imagine what God can make when we bring all that beauty together.  Amen.