{"id":16428,"date":"2021-03-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-5th-march-2021"},"modified":"2021-03-05T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T06:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-5th-march-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-5th-march-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion 5th March 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday 5th March<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

St Mark 12: 13 – 17<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, \u2018Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?\u2019 But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, \u2018Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.\u2019 And they brought one. Then he said to them, \u2018Whose head is this, and whose title?\u2019 They answered, \u2018The emperor\u2019s.\u2019  Jesus said to them, \u2018Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor\u2019s, and to God the things that are God\u2019s.\u2019 And they were utterly amazed at him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cRender unto Caesar\u201d, it\u2019s one of those phrases which has passed from the Bible in common speech. We use it when we sigh and fill in our tax returns. At least this year we know it\u2019s doing good, supporting our wonderful, but woefully overstretched, NHS. And it\u2019s good (both for giver and receiver) to give some of our cash to benefit others.<\/span><\/p>\n

The trouble is, Jesus wasn\u2019t talking about giving. That word \u2018render\u2019 is not very helpful. The Greek is <\/span>apodidomi, meaning to give, pay or (and here\u2019s the relevant one) pay back.<\/p>\n

In many ancient cultures, and in our own not so very long ago, the monarch owned everything. Really, everything. That\u2019s why Queen Elizabeth I could go on a grand tour and stay at any noble\u2019s home she chose, eating, drinking and moving on without any thought of payment. Everything was hers anyway. The nobles were only looking after it on her behalf. Anything they \u2018gave\u2019 her was just giving her back her own stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mind you, I don\u2019t suppose it felt like that when they\u2019d been used to spending their groats and sovereigns however they liked and then the actual sovereign comes by and demands a reckoning. (Didn\u2019t Jesus tell a parable about that?)<\/span><\/p>\n

And so it was with the Roman tax money. It was all Caesar\u2019s anyway, said Jesus, it had his picture and inscription, so paying taxes was just giving him back his own stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

And what about rendering unto God? When I \u2018give\u2019 to God, do I think of it as giving, or giving back? The time that I have is from God. The money I have is from God. The job I have, the family I have, the house I have, the health I have, the opportunities I have, all are from God. But it\u2019s easy to forget. It is all God\u2019s anyway and I\u2019m just giving him back his own stuff.<\/span>
 
Prayer<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Yours, O Lord,<\/span>
    are the greatness, the power,
        the glory, the victory,
            and the majesty.
For all that is<\/span>
    in the heaven
        and on the earth is yours.
All things come from you,<\/span>
    and of your own
        have we given you.
Amen.<\/span>
 
(from 2 Chronicles 29)<\/span> <\/p>\n

  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friday 5th March St Mark 12: 13 – 17 Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, \u2018Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but … <\/p>\n

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