People's Prayers: Prayers of the People: Flipping Our Own Tables ~ 21st Sunday after Pentecost RCL Yr A

For Sunday, October 18, 2026, Readings: Isaiah 45:1-7, Psalm 96:1-9(10-13), 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, Matthew 22:15-22

I form light and create darkness, I make weal* and create woe; I the Lord do all these things. [Isaiah 45:7]

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the whole earth. Sing to the Lord and bless his name; proclaim the good news of his salvation…Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness…He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth. [Psalm 96:1-2, 9a, 13]

For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you...in every place your faith in God has become known...how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God... [1 Thessalonians 1:8a, 9b]

The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said...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." ...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." [Matthew 22:15,18-21]

We are in the early part of what is known as Second Isaiah now. The Book of Isaiah, according to scholars ancient and modern, begins with Chapters 1-39 and are attributed, for the most part, to a man known as the Prophet Isaiah. As with other Old/Hebrew Testament Books under individual names, the oracles and sayings have been arranged in an order that pleases those who edited them, that is, not necessarily chronologically or direct quotes. The words themselves may be in part from the individual or from a compilation of what was said about or, as one commentary says, in the tradition of , insofar as what he might likely have said or written. The early chapters of Isaiah were probably written beginning in the year 740 BCE [Before the Common Era which replaces BC, before Christ] when Jerusalem was still standing. Second Isaiah, whoever he may have been, wrote what is essentially noted to be Chapters 40-55, at least 100 years later, in the mid-sixth century as we count down to the Year 1 CE [Common Era which replaces the AD from the Latin Anno Domini, or after Christ].

So, what is happening here is that the Persian King Cyrus is nearly ready to release the captives from the Assyrian destruction of Jerusalem. The Assyrians are long gone, the original captives are also gone from life, except for their children now parents or even grandparents but who know the stories of their homeland and their God. What we’re hearing in the words of this newer Isaiah is God saying the punishment that triggered their captivity is nearly over and God is explaining what he has done by anointing Cyrus to subdue nations. Now God will open the doors so that you will know that it is I, the Lord the God of Israel who call you by your name. And while Cyrus knows little or nothing about the Hebrew God, he is still doing God’s work by allowing the exiles of Judah to return home. This is also reflected in the joy of the Psalm. The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Ishmael is at work as one God of the WHOLE Earth, as WE are part of today. We ~ Christians, Muslims, and Jews ~ are ALL Children of Abraham. And just to finish a thought, Third Isaiah will come along in Chapters 56-66, a few decades later.

Paul, in his joint letter to the Thessalonians with Sylvanus and Timothy, is reminding us through them to recognize and live into our deep relationship with God with our trust and faith, to feel the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Each breath we take comes from God and that awareness gives us the willingness, however tentative at times, to begin to act upon it. The more we are conscious of living our faith, the more faith grows, and our prayer and action become a truer reflection of the image of God that we already are.

The subtle twist in the Gospel lesson of Jesus and Caesar's money is often lost, much like the obscurity of an inside joke that only works when everyone "gets it." Remembering that this passage takes place just after the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to cheers and high excitement, provides a heightened sense of tension in this week of weeks in Christ’s brief human experience. We already know what is ahead in the few short days beyond. On the surface, this seemingly casual exchange appears as a teaching on the separation of Church and State but wait… As so very often happens, Jesus is turning the tables on those almost-smart-enough Pharisees. Instead of falling into their trap, he caught them in his. The coin with the Emperor Caesar's image also contained an inscription that proclaimed the divinity of Caesar. While the coin was the mandatory currency by the occupying Romans, for the Jews the image alone was clearly as blasphemous as the inscription regarding divinity. All Pharisees would know that from the prohibitions in both Genesis and Exodus against graven images and proclamations of divinity other than the God of Abraham. While the coins were required in everyday life, especially for paying Roman taxes, anyone on Temple grounds with such a coin in his pocket would be guilty of the very serious offense of blasphemy. That's why there were money changers at the Temple to exchange Roman money for an acceptable coin for Jewish offerings, coins that contained no human or animal images. The Pharisees' followers were expecting Jesus to uphold the coin, perhaps even on Temple grounds, and then they could proclaim him as a blasphemer. No such luck. When Jesus tosses off the "Give therefore to the Emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's," the Pharisees' followers were amazed because they suddenly knew the irony and that the not-funny-joke was on them."

We are each individually created in the image of God and we are each called to give the currency of our selves to God's purpose. We might not feel that we are able to worship the Lord in the beauty of [our own] holiness. However, if we sincerely want to increase our faith and our intentions to improve our faithfulness, we can find a variety of ways to remind ourselves of the ways to live into those intentions each day. Set reminders on your phone, or sticky notes with a shorthand message on the dashboard of the car, or fridge, and/or bathroom mirror such as SaP ~ say a prayer; or ToJ ~ think of Jesus; or BITL ~ Breathe in the Light. Write them on your calendar for each day. Give time, some money, food, clothing, or find other ways, that you can give to organizations you trust to do God’s work. Let’s each move from what we plan to do, what we think we’ll do, and what we mean to do, to what we actually do. Making a new and positive habit requires flipping our own tables spiritually and mindfully to begin to offer God what God deserves.

Someone somewhere suggested that when someone else asks the question, "What Would Jesus Do? One answer might be, "Flipping the tables isn't out of the question!"

*The word weal is not a typo which was my first thought. Not a modern word, it’s definition is: 1. Prosperity; happiness. "in weal and woe." 2.The welfare of the community; the general good. "the public weal," a sound, healthy, or prosperous state: well-being

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ O Lord our God, we humbly ask You to re-awaken our faith through every breath You give us, to hear You call us by name and feel Your presence in the light and in the darkness. Keep us moving toward You always, that we may serve You with joy, in the hope of Christ, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.