A common thread running through the lessons this Sunday is descriptions of who the living God is, God’s nature and purpose on behalf of all people, and the creation that has come into being through God’s power (“I form light and create darkness,” Isa. 45:7; “you O Lord have made the heavens,” Psalm 96:5; “the one who made the earth so firm” Psalm 96:10.’’  In this running thread, the relationship between God and the creation is positive, invoking praise and joy and hope throughout the lessons.

Isaiah 45:1-7

Here the prophet has God speak about God’s plan to use the Persian King, Cyrus, to bring the Israelite people out of Babylonian captivity and back to the promised land.  God will accomplish this miraculous event through a king who doesn’t know the creator God of Israel. In verse 7 God is depicted as the God of light and darkness, a direct challenge to Persia’s belief in two distinct gods - a god of light and a god of darkness.  Thus God declares Godself to be a living, active, powerful, compassionate source of all being and no idol.

I would also suggest adding verse 8 for purposes of using a creation theme.  “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation may spring up, and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also; I the Lord have created it.”   It is a metaphorical depiction of God bringing about righteousness as a gardener takes care of a crop.

Psalm 96:1-13

There are many passages in the Old Testament that depict the natural world as praising God, and God paying attention to the created world God has brought into existence.  I love those kinds of passages because it reminds us that humans aren’t the only part of creation which God pays attention to, loves, and redeems.  The psalmist asks humans and the earth to sing God’s praises.  God has made the heavens (v. 5).  All the earth is to tremble before the presence of God (v. 9). The heavens and earth are to rejoice, the sea thunder, and the field is to be joyful, and the trees shout for joy (vv. 11-13).  The psalmist is declaring that the whole creation should make a lot of noise in praise of the LOR who is coming to judge the world with righteousness.  The theme of the psalm begs the singing of “Joy to the World.”  “...and heaven and nature sing.”  “Let all their songs employ, while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy.”  Also vv. 10-13 states that God will judge the peoples with equity, which triggers the joyful response of creation.  God will “judge the world with righteousness.”  Judgment isn’t a threat when one considers the compassionate, loving, forgiving nature of God, which the psalmist declares.

I Thessalonians 1:1-10

In what is most likely Paul’s first letter, he praises the Thessalonian people for their work of faith and receptivity to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is important to note Paul attributes this newborn faith to God calling them through the power of the Holy Spirit. And it is important to note that Paul describes the people as imitators of “us” and the Lord.  In regard to our caring for creation, our concern for the earth, preserving and protecting the natural world, it is important that we, as Christians, bear witness to creation care so that others might choose to imitate that attitude toward the earth.  Paul praises the Thessalonians for their “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Paul applied that praise to waiting in hope for salvation through the return of Jesus.  I think it appropriate to also apply our faith and hope to sharing concern for caring for the earth in the name of the creator God.

Matthew 22:15-22

Jesus doesn’t fall into the Herodians’ trap of declaring loyalty to Caesar or opposition to his rule.   If Caesar’s image is on the coin, then it is in Caesar’s authority.  But then what bears the image of God that should be given to God or is under God’s authority?  Perhaps Genesis 1:26 can help: “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the sea, etc.”  That doesn’t mean we are God, but that in our humanity we reflect the intentions and nature of God.  Not only are we in the image of God, but we are to give to God that which is God’s. We are not created in the image of Caesar, stamped by his authority, but in the image of God the creator of all things.

David Lose, put it this way in his podcast In the Meantime/Where Faith Meets Everyday Life (2017):

My Christian faith in the creator God, leads me to believe God has a loving intention, a compassionate creative purpose for the world. If, then, humanity bears God’s image in the world, we are called and empowered to participate in that created world in a way that reflects God’s intention.  Polluting, exploiting, consuming, and destroying are not what God had in mind when we were created in his image.  Perhaps the tension coming from Jesus’ response to paying taxes and the image on the coin is that Christians do have an obligation to be law-abiding citizens.  Which means we also have the obligation to bring our faith, our image of God in our humanity to bear witness to Caesar that he or she also belongs to God and is accountable for caring for that which God cares for, the whole earth and how humans live in it.  An interesting, but controversial, question might be

“What does it look like to belong to Caesar in contrast to belonging to God?

Pastor John Hanson