German,ae Htstorica, Ep 5, 25.39-40, it was thought right to attach this fragment to the preceding
SERMON 229W
FRAGMENT ON THE RESTORATION OF THE IMAGE
Date: unknown1
God seeks his own image and likeness in man, just as Caesar looks for his in the coinage
And now pay attention;2 there's man, set down firmly in his punishment— and the vestiges of the image of God which have remained in him, how much are they worth now? He has worn down that image by sin, and it is refashioned by grace, after being ruined by lust. Just as a coin, you see, if it's rubbed with earth, loses the emperor's image, so the human mind, if it's rubbed with earthy lusts, loses God's image. However, along comes Christ the master of the mint, to strike the coins afresh. And how does he strike the coins afresh? By pardoning sins with grace; and he will show you that God is looking for his image.
Because when he was asked about taxes for Caesar, Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?—they were trying to catch him out, you see, so that if he said they shouldn't be paid, they could tell tales about him through the tax collectors:
"Look at the man who's teaching that we don't owe taxes!" While if he said they should be paid: "Look at the one who has cursed Jerusalem, and put her under tribute! "3 So what did he say, and what advice did he give? Why are you trying to catch me out, you hypocrites? Bring me a coin. And they offered him one. Whose image and inscription has it got? They answered: Caesar's. So pay back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's (Mk 12:14-17). That is, "If Caesar can look for his image in a coin, is God not to look for his image in man?" 6
NOTES
1. See Sermon 229V, note 1. It is easy to see why, perhaps in an edition called Monumenta German,ae Htstorica, Ep 5, 25.39-40, it was thought right to attach this fragment to the preceding one. But I am convmced this was a mistake. The style is so totally different, this one having the