Proper 24, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Proper 24, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
Matthew 22:15-22
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifying Spirit. Amen.
This morning I want to talk about light…
God’s Light…
and your light.
Anne Lamott, in her book Traveling Mercies, says:
“The thing about light is that it really isn’t yours;
it’s what you gather and shine back.
“And it gets more power from reflectiveness;
“if you sit still and take it in,
it fills your cup,
and then you can give it off yourself.”
(Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, 21st century)
One morning a couple weeks ago I went outside around 6:30 and looked up at the sky.
It was so clear.
As I looked one direction I could see the planet, Mars, with its red hue.
In the other direction Venus was sparkling enormously just above the moon.
At that hour the sun was still below the horizon,
and yet it was shining its light
to highlight the bottom crescent of the moon in resplendent light.
Despite the luminosity of the crescent moon,
I could also see the outline of the rest of the moon in its wholeness…
the shadowy outline of the upper ¾ of the moon.
Scattered about all over the sky were numerous twinkling stars,
reflecting their own brilliant light.
It was magnificent.
"The thing about light is that it really isn't yours;
it's what you gather and shine back.
And it gets more power from reflectiveness;
“if you sit still and take it in,
it fills your cup,
and then you can give it off yourself." (Ibid.)
In today’s gospel reading, I think Jesus is asking the Pharisees which light they are reflecting.
Because of Jesus’ rise in popularity with the people
and his threat to the authority of the Pharisees,
the Pharisees plot to entrap him.
Since they don’t have the courage to go themselves,
they send their disciples,
along with the Herodians,
to ask Jesus a question…a trick question.
The Pharisees and the Herodians begin their conversation by saying,
“Teacher, we know that you are sincere….”
thus beginning their conversation with false flattery and insincerity.
The members of the questioning party lie on each side of the “yes” or “no” answer to the question they propose to Jesus, so either way he answers, someone will be angry with him.
It’s a “catch-22” proposition,
and they know it.
They aren’t really interested in genuine conversation.
They aren’t really interested in plumbing the depths of their own faith.
They aren’t interested in learning something that might transform their very lives.
Instead, they want to trip up Jesus and get him out of the way
so that they can get on with their lives.
Jesus responds to them bluntly,
“Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?”
You “hypocrites,”
those who have taken to wearing a false likeness…
those who have forgotten in whose image they were made:
the image of God.
“Tell us…is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”
Well, Jesus asks, whose head – whose likeness – is on the coin?
The emperor’s!
Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s
and to God the things that are God’s.
Apparently, somewhere along the way the Pharisees lost sight of the fact that Yahweh,
the God of Israel,
the God of the Pharisees,
is walking in their midst,
just as God walked with Moses and the Israelites in the wildnerness.
Perhaps they, too, forgot that they themselves have been made in the image of God…
that the whole of their lives belong to God…
and that they themselves reflect the goodness and mercy and justice of God.
They have forgotten that God will walk with them in their fear and insecurity and pain…
that they need not wield power over and against others to secure themselves.
They are secure in God’s hands.
In flattering Jesus they say,
“Teacher, we know that you are sincere,
and teach the way of God in accordance with truth,
and show deference to no one;
for you do not regard people with partiality.”
They speak the truth
but do not live as if it were true!
Jesus says,
Give to the emperor the things that reflect the likeness of the emperor.
And offer to God the things that reflect the image of God.
Is it possible that Jesus is asking,
whose image do you reflect?
As we read today’s gospel about asking trick questions in the political realm,
perhaps we are attuned to how almost all of our current political discourse is framed.
It seems framed to trick people up rather than to get at the truth…
a truth that can then be evaluated as to whether it will do good or not.
I wonder:
are folks really interested in getting at something true…
or, do they just want to “win?”
Jesus is about reflecting the Light in truth,
and, that is what we are called to do.
We are created in the image of God!
How do we reflect that image with clarity and brilliance?
How do we reflect lives of justice and love and mercy and reconciliation…
which is to say,
to reflect the opposite of what our systems, our “emperors,” most often reflect?
Here I want to turn to the beloved community of St. Andrew’s.
I begin with the words of the Pauline tradition to the church of the Thessalonians:
“Grace to you and peace.”
“[I] always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in my prayers,
constantly remembering before God your work of faith and labor of love
and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ…”
You have become an example to all the people of Canton…
for the word of God has sounded forth from you.
In other words…the Light of Christ is reflected by you and through you!
Year after year, you all help feed the people of Canton and Haywood County
and minister to each other in times of sorrow and need and ill health.
Backpacks of Love is now packing 8 meals each weekend for 65 children…
that’s 520 meals each weekend.
Some of you deliver Meals on Wheels,
and others give rides to doctors’ appointments and to church.
I give thanks for the opportunity to serve among such faithful people…
people faithful in prayer and service,
stewards of God’s many gifts.
Our congregation is intentional about how to live out our faith as followers of Jesus…
We actively seek out ways to reflect the Light of Christ
through not only our lives as a church community
but as people living our ordinary, daily lives…
whether in the academy,
in our family life,
or through our relationships with friends or neighbors.
We do indeed ask the question:
how do we render to God what is God’s…
that is, our very lives:
all of who we are,
and all of what we have.
This is a congregation that reaches out our hands to help one another
and the communities around us.
The people of St. Andrew’s are a remarkable beacon of Light up on this hill.
I look forward to seeing where the Spirit leads us to shine forth
in the weeks, months, and years to come!
"The thing about light is that it really isn't yours;
it's what you gather and shine back.
“And it gets more power from reflectiveness;
“if you sit still and take it in,
it fills your cup,
and then you can give it off yourself."
Amen.
