Religion and Politics: October 18, 2020

 Matthew 22: 15-22                                                              October 18, 2020

        At some point in 9^th or 10^th grade, I became obsessed with politics.  I think it was the presidential election that got me interested and maybe living in Northern Virginia, which was so close to Washington DC. I remained obsessed all the way through high school and majored in political science. My honors thesis senior year was on religion and politics. For a long time I have been fascinated by the intersection of religion and politics. One of the things that drew me to the Episcopal Church is the way that it’s governed.  The structure of the Episcopal Church was created at the same time as the structure of the United States government.  It was even created by the same people in the same city.  You will have to take the Episcopal 101 class to learn more, but there are some considerable parallels.          

Despite all of that, I have always been wary of getting too close to politics especially in the pulpit.  I preach the Bible and how it applies to our lives.  Sometimes there is some overlap, but I will never tell you how to vote or what I think of our current tax structure. Yet, I believe that Jesus was willing to confront the political and religious leadership of the day.  Since he was God, he had the right to do that as he had the absolute moral authority.  He deserved that right.

This Gospel reading is a familiar one. People like to depict it as Jesus’ definitive stance on the separation of church and state—as if Jesus had a political platform and this was part of it.  “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  The popular interpretation is that Jesus was telling people that there are two spheres with a clear wall in-between them--religion and the government. 

            There are a few problems with this interpretation.  First of all, we cannot compare the political environment of Jesus’ day to ours today…and thank goodness for that.  We live in a democracy, an imperfect democracy, but a democracy none the less.  Jesus was a Jew living in an occupied territory.  Israel was under the control of the Roman Empire. Because they were a people in an occupied territory, they had no rights.  They didn’t get a vote on who their leader was.  Even the Roman citizens didn’t get to choose their leader. They had an emperor—not an elected official. To complicate matters further, the Roman emperor considered himself a god and demanded the devotion of a god. There was no separation of religion and government.  That is impossible when the leader of the government portrays himself as a god. This put the Jews in a very difficult situation because the first commandment is to worship no other god but the one true God. 

            The Romans, while not known for their overall sensitivity, were fairly tolerant of other religions. They knew that the Jewish people would never worship another god.  The Jews would revolt before they did that.  The Romans were able to keep some modicum of peace by not forcing the Jews to worship the emperor.  But they did make them pay a tax…lots of taxes.  Those taxes were controversial because they actually supported the Roman occupation of Israel. The Jewish people were paying to be subjugated.  

In our story for today, there were two groups who came together to challenge Jesus.  We don’t know much about the Herodians.  There is only one other reference to them in the Bible.  People have assumed they were supporters of Herod who represented the Roman leadership. If that was the case, it was odd that they were teaming up with the Pharisees in trying to trap Jesus.  The Pharisees didn’t usually associate with Herod’s people. It just goes to show you how threatening Jesus was to every power structure that existed at the time. 

            They thought that they had the perfect question to trap Jesus. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor?” If Jesus answered the question in a way that indicated that he supported the tax, he would alienate his Jewish followers.  If he said that they shouldn’t pay the tax, he could be accused of rebelling against Rome.  Instead of answering whether it was lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, he asked for the coin…the coin that would be used to pay this particular tax.  He did not have the coin.  The people asking the question did.  That is an important detail to note.

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            They brought him a denarius.  We know what was on that coin because archaeologists have found examples.  It had a picture of the emperor with the inscription: “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus Pontifex Maximus.”  Augustus was a smart man and a very effective emperor.  When he took power, he made himself not only political leader, but a religious one as well.  When he died, he was a declared a god, making his son, the son of god.  It was his son’s picture on the coin.  Even possessing this coin was considered idolatry in the Jewish faith.  It broke the first commandment. The Pharisees should not have even had the coin, but they did.  When Jesus asked for the coin, he was proving that he was not complicit with the Roman government, they were…especially if they were allying themselves with the Herodians. It was a brilliant way to point out their hypocrisy.

            Jesus’ answer to the question wasn’t clear.  I am not sure he meant it to be.  “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God, the things that are God’s.”  Jesus paid his taxes.  We know that from chapter 17 of Matthew.  We also know it because otherwise he would have been arrested a lot earlier.  It would have been impossible to remain in a land occupied by Rome and not pay taxes.  That doesn’t mean Jesus respected the emperor or agreed with the tax. He just knew that was what he had to do.  The more important part of this response from Jesus is the 2^nd half, the half people don’t quote nearly as often.  “Give  to God, the things that are God’s.” We know (in theory) that everything is God’s.  Everything in creation is God’s.  This isn’t Jesus demarcating a separation between God and the government.  Everything is God’s.  Caesar can have his coins, but that’s because God is allowing it.  God doesn’t want part of our love and commitment.  He wants all of it—not just the change in our pockets.

            One commentator summed it up like this, “Live with the emperor but live for God.”[1]  We live with and within the government.  We might ally ourselves with a political party or a certain leader, but that is not our identity---that is not the heart of who we are.  Our heart is with Jesus, the one true God. We can never stop living for God, because then we lose ourselves. 

When we say that God doesn’t have a place in our government or that our faith and our politics can never touch, then I fear that we are missing the bigger picture.  God has no interest in a portion of our loyalty.  He wants all of it and he wants all of us.  Politics is occupying  large part of our attention these days.  Can you imagine if we spent as much time worshipping and serving God as we do complaining about politics? Try it. Just for a day.  Then maybe we will understand what it means to “Live with the emperor but live for God.”

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[1] http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?m=4377&post=5458

Rejoice? Peace? Really?: October 11, 2020

 Year A, Pentecost 19                                                              Philippians 4:1-9                                          

            “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice…The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything…”  When I read this, my gut reaction was, “Whatever Paul, you aren’t experiencing 2020.”  I am not proud of that, but I doubt I am the only one who had that reaction.  That said, Paul would never be confused for a Pollyanna.  As I mentioned in my last sermon, everything was urgent and of the utmost importance because all things circled back to Jesus Christ crucified for us.  While 2020 has been a rough year, I haven’t been beaten, shipwrecked, or imprisoned….not once.  Any of you?  But Paul experienced all of that after he became a disciple of Christ.  He experienced each of those things multiple times. He was writing this letter to the Philippians from prison.  Therefore, for him to be able to advise people to “Rejoice in the Lord always…” is rather astounding.

            If you look at the word “rejoice” in Greek, which is the language most of the New Testament was originally written in, you will find it is in the plural form.  He isn’t telling individuals to rejoice because their individual lives are joyful.  He is referring to the collective act of rejoicing.  It’s not a personal state of being, but a communal experience.  This communal joy doesn’t even come from communal good fortune, it comes because of the faith of the community. This is interesting given that it comes right after he has urged Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind.  Given that message and the reference to dissension in previous chapters, there is a clearly some division in the community.  It is a concern for Paul, but also an opportunity to a deeper experience of community.   

When he tells these two women to be of the same mind, he isn’t telling them that they need to agree on everything.  We all know that it is impossible.  He is reminding them of what they do agree on.  Right after he tells them to be of the same mind, he reminds them and the community that they have struggled beside him in the work of the Gospel.  Whatever their differences are, they believe in the same Gospel, the same Jesus Christ.  Not only that, but they have given their lives to proclaiming the Gospel, even though it is a struggle.  If they can do that, then they can get past these differences. 

I think the only thing harder than rejoicing in the time of COVID is Paul’ next request: “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God.”  Do not worry about anything—except a pandemic, wildfires, hurricanes, murder hornets, a national recession, racial tension and an election more divisive than any other in recent history. Other than that, it’s smooth sailing.  It’s so annoying when people tell you not to worry because it feels as though they are downplaying a concern of yours, one that they probably don’t understand. The other thing that irritates me about Paul’s advice, is that he doesn’t seem to be able to follow it. Earlier in this very same letter to the Philippians, he said that he was sending his co-worker and minister so that he (Paul) would be less anxious.  But remember, for Paul, it was always about the other.  He was worried for them, God’s people, not about his own life.  He wasn’t stewing about when he would get out of prison or if he would get out of prison.  He was worried for this new Christian community.  So he sent his colleague, a fellow Christian who would carry the Gospel, which would in turn alleviate Paul’s worry.

Paul didn’t deny that there were things to be anxious about, he just didn’t want people to dwell on it.  He didn’t sit there in prison worrying about his friends.  He sent someone, someone he knew would help them and thus alleviate his anxiety and theirs.  “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  For Paul, as long as the relationship between Christians was strong, as long as the relationship to God was strong, then anxiety would never prevail.  It would never be the all-encompassing emotion it can be so often.

The following verse is my favorite part of his letter…the part that comforts me every time I hear it---the part I don’t feel the need to argue with. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” We could try to do all the right things, follow all Paul’s advice and every single commandment.  And things could still unravel around us.  There is so much in our lives we cannot possibly control.

Yet God’s peace operates beyond our daily life.  We often hear people refer to inner peace.  I think that’s because people want to hold on to it and claim it as their own.  They want it to be something that they can attain.  God’s peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding is bigger and  bolder than whatever peace we think we can attain and grasp by ourselves.

Paul says that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. I love that image. I have never thought much about it until I read a commentary explaining it this week.  It said that the literal translation is “The peace of God will stand sentry over your hearts and minds.”  I read that as I sat on my deck, ½ mile from Norfolk Naval Base as planes flew over my house, so close the pictures hung on my wall are always a little slanted because of the vibrations. I feel safer when I hear those planes and helicopters, knowing that such strength and power is so close and omnipresent.  I wish that I, like Paul, felt God’s peace as strongly as I feel the planes that fly overhead.  I don’t now, but I believe I can one day, I will one day.  That feels more attainable than never worrying or always being happy. The thing about God’s peace is that like so many things Paul discusses, it is best experienced communally.  God’s peace doesn’t just guard us…it guards everyone. If we can accept that, then we will know that God’s peace isn’t simply guarding us, it is enfolding us.

REMEMBER THE BIG PICTURE: September 27, 2020

Year A, Pentecost                                                                               
Philippians 2:1-13                                                                           

                                                                             

           The Apostle Paul was in intense man. He was not the kind of person you wanted to bring over for dinner for casual and enjoyable conversation.  Sometimes I like to imagine what he would have been like in an age of e-mail and text.  There probably would have been a lot of ALL CAPS, and cross emoji✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞✞. For Paul, everything was urgent and significant. Most points that he made eventually came back to the cross. 

 Paul was most likely writing to the Philippians during one of his imprisonments in Rome. He knew the community he was writing to and was obviously fond of them. He had been to visit them before and was hoping to return. It doesn’t appear that they had any major issues like other communities Paul wrote to.  He commends them for their obedience.  But they weren’t perfect. There was clearly some dissension in the group.  There is evidence of that in our reading for today.  Paul is even more explicit in the 4^th and final chapter of this letter when he mentioned two women and encouraged them to “come to an agreement in the Lord.”  Paul was incredibly concerned about the unity of the Christian community.  We see that theme over and over in his letters.  He didn’t need everyone to agree all the time, but he wanted people to care for one another and live alongside one another, even when they were disagreeing.

In our reading for today, it’s not clear what the dissension is. He says, “be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.”  He goes on to talk about the importance of considering the interests of the other above your own interests.  This has come up a lot lately in our readings from Paul.  For him, it was always about the other, never about the self.  That was something he was continually preaching.

That’s a tough pill to swallow because it is contrary to everything we experience in this day and age.  I mean, most of us walk around glued to a device called an “iphone.”  However, we know from reading Paul’s letters that even before Apple products, people were preoccupied with themselves.  Otherwise, Paul would not have had to talk about putting the needs of the other above your own as much as he did. 

What makes this text distinct from the ones we have been reading over the past few months is verses 6-11.  They are familiar verses because we hear them every Palm Sunday.  “Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but emptied himself…he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death---even death on the cross.”  This is often referred to as a Christological hymn, which means it was essentially a statement of belief about who Jesus was.  It’s an interesting thing to put in the middle of a letter—it almost seems out of place.

But that is the beauty of Paul.  Paul felt that every problem, every disagreement could be solved by knowing Jesus and knowing the sacrifice that Jesus made for God’s people.  You don’t agree on what traditions to follow in this new community, remember that Jesus died for you.  You are having some leadership disputes, remember that Jesus was a born a human and died a horrible death, for you.  It almost seems a little manipulative, as if nothing we face compares to Jesus’ sacrifice.

It was more than that for Paul.  For Paul, every issue was theological. In other words, it always came back to Jesus Christ—but not just the name of Jesus, but who he was and what he did.  How can we squabble about who gets to make decisions or be in charge when Jesus (God in the flesh) agreed to come down to the earth, be born in a barn, live like one of us, then be betrayed, denied and ultimately killed by humans who he was trying to save.  He truly emptied himself of privilege and to some degree power by living with us on earth.  So when Paul says, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…” he is talking about embodying Christ by emptying ourselves from selfish ambition.  It’s the opposite for being full of oneself. 

            Apparently there has been significant debate about what Paul really meant when he said, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”  Was he saying that we have to follow his example, perhaps even make the same kind of sacrifice?  I think it is more than that---because it is so easy ignore that.  Who wants to follow Jesus’ example of death on the cross? It’s impossible.  If that is what we have to do, it’s tempting just to give up.

 What if Paul was talking about something deeper…the idea of being in Christ.   It comes back to the mission statement of St. John’s: “To live in the Spirit of Christ.” That is more than following an example.  It is living the Christian life knowing deep down what Jesus did for us.  It is being transformed by that understanding of radical love and acceptance. 

Jesus is not a role model to follow.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  Often times when I am facing a difficult decision, I start combing through the Bible, hoping I can find the verse to convince myself and ultimately everyone else.  But you know what, that almost never works.  What might be more effective is too back up and look at the big picture like Paul does.  Don’t ask what would Jesus do.  Ask: What does a person transformed by Jesus’ sacrificial love do?

Throughout our Sunday morning liturgies and virtually every other liturgy of the church, we have reminders of who God is and what has done for us.  If you just look at the Eucharistic Prayer, it is full of prayers to remind us of who Jesus is and what he did for us. What if we extended that idea beyond Sunday morning and found a way to remind ourselves of the way and the truth and the life, every day. The last verse of our reading reminds us that God is at work in us, enabling us to do God’s will.  God is at work in us---- but we also need to make space, empty ourselves so God can do that work.  We need to remind ourselves of the sacrificial love that God poured out for us, his children. 

In a time of our lives where everything is different—nothing goes according to plan—hold fast to Jesus Christ.  Perhaps find a Christological hymn for yourself, something you keep coming back to.  It could be the one we had in our reading for today.  It could be “Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again” from our Eucharistic prayer.   Write it down, put it on your iphone as a daily reminder. Embrace it as the part of our world that doesn’t change, that remains true and holy.  Embrace God as not simply part of the world, but a part of who you are, the best part.  Don’t let anyone or anything take that part away from you.  God is bigger than any disagreement or conflict the world will ever see, as long as we give him the space.