Give to the Emperor the Things that are the Emperor’s And to God the Things that area God’

(Based on a Sermon Preached at Christ Episcopal Church, Albertville, Alabama on 10/22/17)

In the Gospel of Matthew 22:15-22 we see a group of religious and civic leaders plotting to entrap Jesus, 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.”

Certainly Jesus is moving people in the proper direction. He knows that God is higher than the state, but that there are important functions that are proper for the state to carry out. The State is charged with promoting the welfare of all of its citizens, and maintaining law and order and protecting its citizens from dangers, both internal and external. But, when a nation oversteps the mark and puts itself in the place of God, Christians are, in the last resort, absolved from obedience. We must obey God rather than other human beings. (Remember Daniel in the Lions’ Den)

But, when we as God’s people do disobey human laws, we also must be prepared to face the consequences: the law is the law, until it is changed, even if it is unjust. The consequences can include jail, job loss, ridicule, loss of friends and even death. People and groups whose allegiance to God and principle has exceeded their allegiance to state and have paid the price include Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks; and many others who have worked for justice and peace in our world. Oh, and did I mention Jesus.

In light of Jesus’ statement in Matthew 22, what is the proper relationship between God and the emperor, what is the proper Biblical attitude toward the State today?

“’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-36)

And to this I might add, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”(Matthew 7:12) God Calls us to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Based on this foundation, what is the Christian attitude toward war, the death penalty, elections, health insurance, welfare, feeding the hungry and peaceful protests? For Episcopal Christians, which is the group with which I am most familiar, the answer includes both “good news and bad news.” The bad news is that we don’t all agree on these and many other issues, nor do we even agree on what the Bible, and even Jesus, have to say. The good news is that we are committed to Christ and to each other and are willing to live into the tension and ambiguity, with the hope that as we journey together, the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us into all truth. Having said this let’s look at some of the Biblical reasons for our confusion and disagreement:

“my peace I give to you/I came not to bring peace but a sword, I came to divide families.” “if you don’t work you don’t eat/anyone who gives a cup of water or food in my name shall reap their reward.” “And when did I do this to you?” “Whenever you did it to one of the least of these my brothers or sisters.”

As the Church, the Body of Christ, we must listen to scripture, we must listen to one another, we must find ways to serve together, “doing unto others as we would want others to do unto us.” We must speak out against the evil we see in the world, even if the evil we see is the good our neighbor sees, and the neighbor must have the right to do the same, even if our neighbors’ good is our evil. And then, we must be able to talk about our differences with respect and open ears, open hearts and open souls. God calls me to respect you even if I do not respect the laws you embrace or the people for whom you voted, and God calls you to do the same.

This is not easy. It is always dangerous when we choose God over the Nation, especially when we disagree on what we are seeing. This is why we need each other; this is why God sends us the Holy Spirit daily.

Last week my wife and I were in Charleston, South Carolina, a city of beauty and history. On a boat trip in the harbor we noticed many interesting and beautiful sites, but one particular facet caught my attention. Charleston is a very “short” city: the tallest building is 11 stories and most buildings are three stories or less. There are, however, many tall Church Steeples, which can be seen from all over the city as well as from the water. As it turns out, no building is taller than the tallest church Steeple.

What a perfect metaphor for Jesus’ message in this story: “sure, give the emperor what belongs to him, and give to God what belongs to God. . .but, did I mention, IT ALL BELONGS TO GOD!

Amen!

Honor Jesus, Be Like Jesus, Honor Jesus by Being Like Jesus

When I read Philippians 2: 1-13, I usually speed through the prose introduction and then focus on the Poem/Hymn that follows it.

Today I want to hurry through the poem and then focus on the introduction, which just might give us a better idea about what God is calling us to do.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient

to the point of death-- even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly

exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the

name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under

the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the

glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-8)

This is what we normally think of when we hear this scripture, and it is right and appropriate to honor and respect Jesus. Paul is showing us Jesus as our role model: praising him, extolling him, showing us his humanity, and how Jesus gave of himself to serve others. He truly is worthy of our bowing done, of our “taking a knee” in worship and respect of Him. In the Church, in our Nation and in our families we show respect and honor and where appropriate, worship by kneeling or standing.

The Comedian, Robin Williams, himself an Episcopalian, gives a list of ten reasons to be Episcopalian: my three favorites are “no snake handling,” “no matter what you believe there is at least one other Episcopalian who believes the same thing,” and one of my favorites, “Pew Aerobics.”

“Pew Aerobics?” In the Episcopal Church, we make the sign of the cross, with or without Holy Water, we bow when the cross passes, we sometimes lift our hands up in praise. Traditionally, we sat to be instructed, we stood to sing and praise and we knelt to pray, including at the altar as we received communion. Over time, our understanding of prayer and praise has evolved and blended so that some now stand to pray as well as kneel to pray, again including receiving communion at the altar.

Having said all this, I want to now focus on why I believe Paul wrote this poem in the first place. I believe that while Paul was concerned about tradition and order, he was more concerned that we worship Jesus by how we live and how we see and talk about and think about and serve our fellow human beings.

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: 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. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4)

This is truly a foundation for “honoring Jesus by being like Jesus.” It is important to remember that being of the same mind does not mean that we all agree on exactly how we understand scripture, or politics or the kind of car we drive, or even our preference for Auburn or Alabama football. No. It means that we agree on the essence of the poem, that we agree on serving the world as Jesus served the world. That we approach God and all of God’s people, not with selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, regarding ourselves not as better or worse than others, but equal to one another in the eyes of God.

As we strive to see the interests of others as equal to and as important as our own interests, several examples come to mind: the 2010 and 2011 Tornados in Alabama, and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria which have struck our nation over the past several weeks. We these disasters occurred: friends, neighbors, the Red Cross, the State and Federal Governments, churches and other organizations joined in to care for those affected, to care for one another.

Those who look to the interests of others include all who write laws for safety and protection, all who protest peacefully for the safety and protection of others, and yes, even those who like Jesus, sometimes turn over tables and run the “Money Changers out of the Temple” for the protection and safety of others.

Again, Philippians 2:1-4:

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: 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. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4)

Honor Jesus, be Like Jesus, honor Jesus by being like Jesus!