Scripture: Matthew 22:15-22
It seems that Jesus and the Pharisees were often at odds with each other. This is
nowhere more evident than in the Gospel of Matthew. Today we have another instance in
which the Pharisees bait Jesus and try to entrap him in statements they can use against
him later. This time, they hope he will say that Caesar is no better than any other human
being and, therefore, that no one ought to pay him taxes.
To answer their question, Jesus asks for the coin used to pay the tax. He looks at it
and asks them whose head is pictured on it and whose title is written there?
"Caesar's." "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God
the things that are God's." The Pharisees are amazed by his answer and go away. I
imagine Jesus' answer caused hours of discussion among them as they wrestled with its
complexity. Christians have been wrestling with it ever since.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God, what is God's. What degree of loyalty to
the state is appropriate, and even sanctioned by God, and when does our loyalty to God
supersede our loyalty to the state? How are we to balance and live out our dual loyalties?
These are appropriate questions for every age.
Scripture and Christian tradition tell us that right government is a gift from God,
ordained by God for the betterment and preservation of human society. Even unjust
governments are not to be overthrown at a whim.
Nevertheless, freedom of conscience, civil disobedience, passionate engagement and even
agitation in the political world are also deeply rooted in our scripture and Christian
tradition, particularly the Reformed tradition within which the Presbyterian Church boldly
stands. As Presbyterian Christians, we proclaim with our deeds, as with our words, that
God is sovereign over all creation and that the Almighty needs us to be God's hands and
feet and voice in the city streets and the halls of justice, in the jury boxes and the
ballot boxes in the boardrooms of commerce and the back rooms of Congress, God is ruler
over all.
As Christians, our loyalty to any human relationship, human ideal or human institution
is always provisional, because our true loyalty is to God, who is both our gentle
comforter and the almighty ruler of the universe. Jesus' answer to the Pharisees draws us
into a riddle in which we discover that our ultimate loyalty is never to the state, but
rather to God, who is sovereign over all. You might say our loyalty in this life is only
for rent, not for sale, because we already belong to God.
Last weekend I was in Louisville, Kentucky at our church's national headquarters,
working with a group from around the country to refine a new policy document for the
church on families. Six years in the making, the paper describes the struggles and hopes
and varieties of families in the United States today. If approved in May, the document
will form the basis of our denomination's advocacy at all levels of government on behalf
of families of all configurations and situations. Such advocacy and involvement in the
world are part of our tradition, grounded in scripture, affirmed by Jesus. We have a high
and holy calling from God to meddle in every dimension of life, from intimate to
international, so that God's will may be done.
Therefore, when people around you make racist comments or denigrating remarks, remember
that your primary loyalty lies not with them, but with God, who finds such comments
abhorrent and wants our voice to speak out against them. You're called to respond. We
belong to God.
When people around you behave in destructive, hurtful ways, your primary loyalty lies
not with them, but with the God who seeks decency, respect and compassion in all human
endeavor. You're called to respond. We belong to God.
When people around you slide down the slope of deceit and dishonesty, or perpetuate
patterns of silence and secrets, remember that your primary loyalty lies not with them,
but with God who sides with honesty and truth, goodness and light. You're called to
respond. We belong to God.
When people say that the church ought to stay out of politics and let the government do
its business, remember Jesus, who says your primary loyalty is not to the preservation of
what is now, but to God who sets before you a vision of life in all its fullness, where
justice flows down like water and righteousness like an everflowing stream. You're called
to respond. We belong to God.
Because we belong to the Ruler of the Universe, we have a high and holy calling to look
at the world with God's eyes, and when we see poverty, to act; when we see injustice, to
respond; when we see violence, to intervene; when we hear lies, to speak the truth; when
we see oppression, to let the oppressed go free; and when we hear cries for help, to add
the strength of our voices to those who have been long silenced.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's. Many people, including
some of our leaders, would have us stay quiet and accept whatever our local, state or
national leaders do. Some have even argued that to question our nation's policies on
fighting terrorism and on the Middle East are unpatriotic. It seems they have confused
nationalism with patriotism. But nationalism and patriotism are not synonymous.
Nationalism is unable to bear any words of critique or question shining a light into the
crevices of policy and action. Nationalism claims a hallowed place for the state,
denigrating and demonizing those who disagree with its leaders and policies.
I am a patriotic American and I am a faithful, though still sinful, Christian. And it
is precisely my deep patriotism and my deep Christian faith that convince me we must not
wed the two into an American Christian nationalism. Doing so is dangerous to the world on
every level, just as it always has been, and it makes us guilty of the sin of idolatry,
for in so doing, we place human leaders and ourselves above the judgement and mercy of
God.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, says Jesus. Surely this includes our loyalty, our
faithful citizenship, our watchful eye on our nation's values. Surely this includes the
openness of our hearts, the service of our hands, and the sharing of our resources to help
the weaker or less fortunate members of our society. Surely this includes our willingness
to risk our life for the common good and to support those who do so on our behalf these
are all a part of what we give appropriately and generously to the government by which we
are held together in a civil society. This is true patriotism.
Give to God, what is God's, says Jesus. Whether it is in the race for the governor's
mansion, seats in the statehouse or the Congress, legislative action or war resolutions,
the school board, the police department or community development, we have a high and holy
calling from God to question, debate, advocate and agitate in order that God's will be
done. Our fundamental loyalty to God calls us to look beyond rhetoric, beyond smoke and
mirrors and outright lies. God calls us to look beyond legitimate fears and hungry egos to
the greater good, to the long view that moves us towards communities and a world of
shalom/ salam/peace.
Our ultimate loyalty as Christians is never to a particular party or ideological
perspective, nor even to a particular country. That is why many churches, including this
one, do not have a flag in the sanctuary. No matter how grateful we are to this country,
no matter how patriotic we are, no matter how quickly we would give our lives to preserve
its great ideals for future generations and use its mighty resources to protect others,
our fundamental loyalty is not to any nation, but to God alone, who is Lord of the
Conscience.
In each of this country's greatest moments, debate nourished by deep wells of faith has
led us forward into a closer approximation of God's will for us. So, too, in our day, much
is at stake in every quarter: environment, economy, immigration, education, Israel/
Palestine, Iraq, terrorism you name it, there are enormous issues which need our attention
as faithful Christian citizens. As in every age, so too, today, God calls us to join in
vigorous debate with one another, and with our leaders. Christians have a God-given
responsibility both to respect our governments and to call them into accountability and
righteousness. Our loyalty to all human institutions is always provisional; our ultimate
loyalty belongs only to God. Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.
I close with these words from that great preacher, Martin Luther King, Jr., words which
are just as true today as they were in August, 1967 when first spoken aloud.
"...Let us go out with a 'divine dissatisfaction.' Let us be dissatisfied until
America will no longer have a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds.
"Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of
wealth and comfort and the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by the
battering rams of the forces of justice. Let us be dissatisfied until those that live on
the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security. Let us be
dissatisfied until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history, and every family is
living in a decent sanitary home.
"Let us be dissatisfied until the dark yesterdays of segregated schools will be
transformed into bright tomorrows of quality, integrated education. Let us be dissatisfied
until integration is not seen as a problem but as an opportunity to participate in the
beauty of diversity. Let us be dissatisfied until men and women ... will be judged on the
basis of the content of their character and not on the basis of the color of their skin.
Let us be dissatisfied.
Let us be dissatisfied until every state capitol houses a governor who will do justly,
who will love mercy and who will walk humbly with God. Let us be dissatisfied until from
every city hall, justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty
stream. Let us be dissatisfied until that day when the lion and the lamb shall lie down
together, and [all] will sit under [their] own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.
Let us be dissatisfied.
"I must confess, my friends, the road will not always be smooth. There will be
still rocky places of frustration and meandering points of bewilderment....When our days
become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than
a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe,
working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way
out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc
of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice" (MLK, "Where Do We Go
From Here?", SCLC annual meeting, August 16, 1967).
And all God's people said, "Amen."
