July 2, 2006 (Jimmie Johnson)

Lamentations 3:21-33

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth, to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it, to put one’s mouth to the dust (there may yet be hope), to give one’s cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults. For the Lord will not reject forever. Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.

Mark 12:12-17

When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Jesus said to them, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.

In a way this is what is going on in the lesson from Mark’s gospel. Opponents of Jesus are trying to trap him so that he will be publicly humiliated and his increasing public support will erode. Make no mistake some religious leaders of the Pharisee persuasion and their political cronies known as Herodians were trying to trap Jesus. They wanted to frame Jesus’ response on this issue of paying taxes to a pagan government as being out of step with the people, and if they could do this, they would weaken his growing popularity while securing their own base within the political power of Jesus’ time.

They probably were tipped about where Jesus would be that day. They probably alerted the news media. They said, “Jesus, how do you feel about paying taxes to a pagan government?” This was a very controversial issue among the religious people. His opponents were hoping Jesus would put his foot in his mouth and discredit himself. They were hoping Jesus would look anti-God or anti-patriotic in his response. Either way would suit his opponents.

Would he go for the bait? He did. He didn’t shy away from an answer. But he did some re-framing of the issue himself. He told them that, yes, as believers in God, you should fulfill your obligations as citizens, you should pay your taxes, and you should participate
in the political process of your country.

Wow. He is very clear. He tells us believers in God that we are not to withdraw from the world, not to leave governmental responsibilities to others, and not even to feel the obligation to support religious candidates that we consider “pure” or “religiously orthodox.”

Jesus is warning against the arrogant temptation that believers can have to try to be pure and separate from real life, real world experiences. In my opinion, there is little more arrogant than a desire to be pure. I know Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart,” but I think he is the only one who has ever pulled it off. The rest of us are all pretenders.

Even if the government is secular, atheistic, or oriented to some other religion, Jesus indicates we are to be legitimate participants, exercising our citizenship. But then, he gets tricky. Jesus not only avoids the trap, but he raises an issue that his opponents had not asked about. Jesus says all that is belongs to God. Only God is sovereign. All belongs to God including Caesar and the coin that bears his image. God is concerned and involved in all aspects of life.

Jesus is telling his followers not to withdraw from political decision making, not to shrink back from national or local debate but rather to use their voice to seek the common good of all citizens as a way of honoring their loyalty to God above all other loyalties and to serve God by serving the common good of your country and even the larger world of God. As Pablo Casals is reported to have said, “Love of country is a wonderful thing, but why should love stop at the border?” That statement reflects a beautiful understanding of the world belonging to God and being the concern of God’s heart. That’s beautiful patriotism.

Now when I reflect on all the possible issues raised by this text on the 4th of July weekend when we Christians are so aware that we wear the hats of citizenship in God’s kingdom and citizenship in the good old USA, too, I propose this to you for the purpose of starting conversation, not to close it down. No, my sermons are to be heard as I hope you read the Bible: to initiate and enliven the civil discourse, to start conversation,
not close it down.

So I propose that any minister who seeks elected office should surrender his or her religious ordination to the proper religious body and then run for office as a citizen, not as a minister.

Secondly, I propose that any candidate who proposes that you vote only for Christian office holders be ignored and counted as ignorant and not only ignorant but dangerous
to our common good.

Thirdly, I propose that any preacher who from the pulpit, let me say that again, who from the pulpit, endorses a political candidate for office, as if he or she is speaking for God, should be fired.

Lastly, any congregation or denomination, no matter whether it is primarily Anglo, African American or Hispanic or any ethnic group, no matter its creed or theology, any congregation or denomination which officially endorses a political party or candidate should lose its IRS exempt tax status.

God bless you all. Amen.