Living in the Spirit
October 22, 2017
Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:15-22
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’ They answered, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. –Matthew 22:18-22
Jewish leaders seemed dedicated to disgracing Jesus according to Matthew. Challenging him to address the unpopular issue of paying taxes to Rome was just one attempt. There are a lot of “gotcha” moments played out in our time, too. These appear on regular media and social media some with the bias of the reporter. It is distracting and often not worth our time or energy. Such discourse usually plays on our greatest fears or biases. I think that is rather what Jesus was telling the Pharisees in our scripture today.
The Jews did not like being under Roman rule much less paying taxes to them. Jesus caught between unhappy Jews, and the Roman authority called the Jewish leaders out for their attempt to discredit him.
There is a lesson here for us. We must pick our justice battles well. Many distractions are tossed at us sapping us of precious energy and resources while bad policies slide through with ease.
I learned from a New York Times and 60 Minutes report that a law passed in 2011 is enabling the spread of the opioid problem across our country. The law appeared apparently to be innocent but was well crafted to limit the DEA’s ability to oversee the transmission of these drugs to local pharmacies and doctors. There is a lot of money to be made in addictive drugs. Greed is a strong motivation thus the need for strong accountability.
More than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016, including illicit drugs and prescription opioids–nearly double in a decade.*
We can do better than that. By the grace of God and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will.
Prayer: Lord, help us find our way out of the marshes of divisiveness and come together in oneness to find wholeness for all those caught in the folds of addiction. Amen.
*https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates