11 min
The Luminous Space Podcast | Everything Else The Luminous Podcast
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- Religion & Spirituality
The Rev. Chad E. JarnaginEverything Else (is God’s)The gospel reading today says ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s’... but perhaps the hinge of this passage is understated... “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Maybe Jesus is saying, everything else is God’s? This is a portion of what we mean when we say God in all things... and all things in God.The term Jesus is Lord, was and is a political statement. In the context of Matthew, it was meant to say, Caesar wasn’t their Lord, but governor... Christians during this time were violently persecuted. They didn’t simply have inconveniences as a people... they had to navigate true persecution.Eventually, when the leaders of the Jews shouted ‘We have no King but Caesar!’, they reveal a radical division in their own minds between the hopes they place in God and their recourse to political power. In response, Caesar (in the person of Pilate) orders a sign to be put above the dying Jesus. It reads ‘King of the Jews’. The imperial power of Caesar ruled the ancient world. It counts for nothing now. At the time of his execution Jesus was virtually unknown. Yet the Resurrection revealed him to be the Incarnation of God. As the real Christ, long awaited by Israel, he counts for everything now.Against this background, the instruction, ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s’ warns us about getting our priorities wrong... or misplaced. Even sincere Christians with the best of intentions, it seems, can be drawn to its false allure... and it is fleeting...Psalm 991 The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2 The Lord is great in Zion;he is exalted over all the peoples.3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.Holy is he!Be reminded where our hope is: Do not misplace hope, influence, and power.5 Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!Be reminded that you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God first and foremost.7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees,and the statutes that he gave them.8 O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.9 Extol the Lord our God,and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.Anything less than the Creator is simply less... smaller. God grant us the perspective of all things you have created, and we among them. We are yours and you are holy. AMEN.
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The Rev. Chad E. JarnaginEverything Else (is God’s)The gospel reading today says ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s’... but perhaps the hinge of this passage is understated... “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Maybe Jesus is saying, everything else is God’s? This is a portion of what we mean when we say God in all things... and all things in God.The term Jesus is Lord, was and is a political statement. In the context of Matthew, it was meant to say, Caesar wasn’t their Lord, but governor... Christians during this time were violently persecuted. They didn’t simply have inconveniences as a people... they had to navigate true persecution.Eventually, when the leaders of the Jews shouted ‘We have no King but Caesar!’, they reveal a radical division in their own minds between the hopes they place in God and their recourse to political power. In response, Caesar (in the person of Pilate) orders a sign to be put above the dying Jesus. It reads ‘King of the Jews’. The imperial power of Caesar ruled the ancient world. It counts for nothing now. At the time of his execution Jesus was virtually unknown. Yet the Resurrection revealed him to be the Incarnation of God. As the real Christ, long awaited by Israel, he counts for everything now.Against this background, the instruction, ‘Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s’ warns us about getting our priorities wrong... or misplaced. Even sincere Christians with the best of intentions, it seems, can be drawn to its false allure... and it is fleeting...Psalm 991 The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2 The Lord is great in Zion;he is exalted over all the peoples.3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.Holy is he!Be reminded where our hope is: Do not misplace hope, influence, and power.5 Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he!Be reminded that you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God first and foremost.7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees,and the statutes that he gave them.8 O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.9 Extol the Lord our God,and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.Anything less than the Creator is simply less... smaller. God grant us the perspective of all things you have created, and we among them. We are yours and you are holy. AMEN.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
11 min