Carla Pratt Keyes, pastor of Ginter Park Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia, preaches a sermon called “The Caesar Question” based on Matthew 22:15-22. In today’s passage, the Pharisees and Herodians asked Jesus a question designed to get him in trouble, no matter how he answered. They asked if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. Jesus, always resourceful, didn’t give a yes or no answer. Instead, he pointed out that Caesar’s image was on the coin. Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” Keyes reminds us that we should consider what bears the image of God. Keyes says, “If we’re going to give to God what’s God’s? That means us – our whole lives, our whole service…God has made each person in God’s image with dignity and worth and the capacity to discern how our lives should be led; that is a liberating, empowering word.”
Manuscript available: click HERE