coins

 

Lectionary readings for Holy Communion today: 1 Thessalonians 1.1-10 and Matthew 22.15-22.

One time, those who were opposed to Jesus tried to trap him into speaking out against the Roman emperor, over the well-debated topic of taxation. Jesus asked for a coin, and asked, whose head is this, and whose title? The emperor’s, they replied. Then give to the emperor (render unto Caesar) the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s. That snapped the trap shut; but Jesus was not caught in it.

How did we get here? Four centuries earlier, Rome was a fledgling republic, besieged by the Gauls. The Romans had fallen back to the Capitoline hill, the home of their gods, and in particular Juno, the goddess protector of Rome. One night, the Gauls attempted a surprise attack, but, creating the top of the hill the first Gaul came face to face with a goose—geese being the sacred animal of Juno, and thus allowed to roam freely on the hill. The goose said ‘honk,’ which as we all know means, ‘Who the hell are you?’ and then ‘honk! honk!’ which means, ‘We’re being attacked!’ and when one goose says ‘honk!’ all the other geese join in, because geese are nature’s burglar alarm. Thus were the Romans alerted, and, rising, rained javelins down on the Gauls as they climbed. Rome won the day (or, rather, the night) and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Romans built a new temple on the site, dedicated to Juno Moneta—Juno the Warner.

As the sphere of Rome’s control spread everywhere wider, they needed coins, to pay their armies, feed their citizens, oil the wheels of administration. Their coins were minted within the precincts of the temple to Juno Moneta—hence, the coins became known as money. Hundreds of workers made thousands of coins every day, from blank discs of bronze, silver or gold.

The process involved an anvil, into which was inserted a hand-cut obverse die—the head. The blank disc was heated to soften the metal, and placed on the die. Another die—the reverse, or tail—was then held in place by hand, and a hammer brought down on it all, pressing the images into the coin. Bang, bang, bang. All day long. Mind your fingers.

In the days of the Republic, the obverse side of a coin depicted the head of a god or goddess. The reverse could depict anything, usually a figure or scene expressing something significant. Once the Republic gave way to the Empire, the heads on the obverse side became that of the emperor—whose image is this, and whose inscription? Tiberius’.

Coins became a way to disseminate ideas, as well as news. From Spain to Turkey, from North Africa to northern England, coins passed from hand to hand told you who was your new emperor. For over a hundred years, he was clean-shaven; but with Hadrian, who had a wall built across the north of England, just up the road from where I live, came a big change: Hadrian, and successive emperors after him, were bearded. As well as a wall, Hadrian had coins minted in Britain; his own head on the obverse, and Britannia—the personification of the spirit of Britain—on the reverse. Any man who wanted to get ahead knew that now he had to grow a beard. On the other side of the coin, every woman of note demanded her hair and dress be in this new style.

Whose head is this, and whose title? Jesus’ implication is that we are coins pressed with the image of God.

There is something of this imagery picked up in Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica (present day Thessaloniki, in northern Greece; at the time, this region was Macedonia, and the central and southern part of Greece known as Achaia). Through their lives, the reputation of God spread out from Thessalonica to Macedonia and beyond that into Achaia, just as coins spread out from Rome through Italy and across the empire.

The obverse of their lives is the human face of God, Jesus. The reverse, inscribed with a design depicting faith and love and hope.

Like coins, their lives—and ours—are minted in the place of worship. Like coins, there is both skill and hard labour involved. The work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I have been saying a lot recently, faith and love and hope are not natural; they are supernatural. They are real—but they are evidence of the work of God in our lives. Human beings are faithless, lacking in love, despairing of hope. You only have to turn on the news, or look at the statistics on domestic violence or suicide to know this. Our family members, our friends, our neighbours, are desperate for hope, long to be loved, need someone who will not give up on them. Need to learn how not to give up on others. Especially when they are hard to love; especially when we cannot see a good future beyond a bleak present.

Paul says that Jesus rescues us from the wrath that is coming. From the brutality of the Roman empire that fell upon Jerusalem, burning it to the ground in 70AD, as it fell upon city after city, until Rome herself fell. From whatever wrath approaches our own moment in history, whatever disaster brings life as we have known it to a sudden and violent end. In Jesus, we can know hope that all shall be well, in the end, as all shall be reconciled in relationship to a loving God. That there is life—abundant life—beyond the End, beyond death in all its forms.

As we gather as church; as our lives experience the heat and press and, at times, hammer blow of daily experience; so in God’s mercy we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ—our lives, his face—and bearing his title: Prince of Peace, King of Love, Joy-giver, Hope of the Nations...the reverse of a Roman coin changed annually (sometimes more frequently, up to three times a year) and the design of our lives also changes depending on the particular work God is doing in and through is at any given time.

May our lives be confirmed to his likeness and passed from hand to hand among our neighbours, across our community, bringing faith and love and hope, the currency of the kingdom of heaven.

For more on Roman coins, see ‘Moneta: Ancient Rome in Twelve Coins’ by Gareth Harney (Vintage, 2025)

1 Thessalonians 1.1-10

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace.

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of people we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

Matthew 22.15-22

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ 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.