Saturday, October 18, 2014

XXIX:O.T.
At some time, every older sibling has pulled this on a little brother or sister who had a nickel they wanted.
"Okay," older child offers, "let's flip for it. Heads I win, tails you lose."
The little kids agree: "Sure!" Then when heads appears the older proclaims "Heads, I win!" Of course if tails comes up the declaration is "Tails, you lose."
At this point it suddenly dawns on the younger child that this is truly a no-win situation. Whatever way the coin lands it's going to land in their sibling's pocket.
In this week's gospel text the Pharisees think they've concocted the perfect no-win question to present before Jesus: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" If Jesus says yes, he'll alienate all those who continued to struggle against Roman rule and who ardently believed Israel must only be obedient to God and God's Torah. If, however, Jesus answers no, then he's immediately at odds with the entire Roman Empire and has identified himself as a dangerous opponent. Rome would deal swiftly with such a threat.
What amazed the Pharisees and the Herodians about Jesus' response was how he refocused the issue to something much bigger than they had intended. In essence Jesus said, give Caesar what he has coming, a silver coin with his image on it. It's already his anyway, so let him have it back. But give back to God all that God deserves, which is everything, including yourselves.
From this passage we cannot learn how or when to turn Christian convictions into public policy or how to vote in the next election. The fact of the matter is that Jesus did not say much about such things; and the rest of the New Testament provides different responses believers should have in response to human government. In Romans 13 Paul paints a positive picture of the role of government and commands Christians to obey it; but in Revelation 13 the author describes a government gone demonic and warns believers to resist it unto death. According to the book of Acts, it did not take Jesus' followers long to discover that "we must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
What we owe to God is infinitely more than we owe to Caesar. The Words of 1 Peter 2:17 help put the issue into perspective: Fear God, honor the king." There is a world of difference between those two obligations, no matter where we draw the line between God and the government.
Every Christian holds dual citizenship, each one of which has its own benefits and duties. Our birth made us citizens of an earthly nation; our baptism made us citizens of a heavenly Kingdom. Sometimes they overlap, but in the end, our earthly citizenship will finish, while our heavenly citizenship will last forever. It's obvious then which one is more important. Through the centuries, the many Christian saints and martyrs have taught us that if we are ever forced to choose between the two, if ever Caesar tries to take what belongs to God, we must be faithful to our true, everlasting homeland, even if it means suffering painful consequences here on earth.
The movie: A Man for All Seasons, is based on the life of St. Thomas Moore, the Chancellor of England. By profession he was a lawyer. He loved his king. He loved his country and he loved its laws. Then a terrible dilemma developed for him when the king decided to end his allegiance to the Pope in Rome. Moore was conflicted. While he loved his country and his king, he also loved the church. He was faced with two deeply personal loves, and yet he realized he could no longer have both. As he weighed his options, he considered the fact that both the king and the church had its problems. The king he loved could be ruthless and he wasn’t faithful in marriage. The church he loved, on the other hand, was full of all kinds of sinful men. What was he to do?
In a powerful scene from A Man for All Seasons that takes place in the sweating walls of the Tower of London, his wife visits her prisoner husband and asks why he won’t just sign the statement of allegiance to the king so they could get back to their life of comfort and prestige. With anguish, Moore cries in a gut-wrenching scene that he is not made of the stuff of martyrs. He doesn’t know for sure if he is doing the right thing.
In the end, Moore is convicted of treason for his refusal to acknowledge that the king was the supreme head of the Church of England. Moore defended his actions by saying, “I am the king’s servant, but God’s first.” He weighed all decisions relative to his commitment and love for God. Even if it results in his personal loss of freedom.
What exactly belongs to God? Do we owe any taxes to the heavenly IRS?  All of us know the answer immediately; it is written in the very first pages of the Bible. All that we are, all that we possess, and all that we can hope for has come to us from God. Just as the Roman coin bore the image of the Emperor who made it, so the human soul bears the "image and likeness" of God (Genesis 1:26), our Creator and our Father.
He called each one of us into existence; he wants each of us to exist, so that we can enter into and develop a personal relationship with him. This is the whole purpose of our lives: to live in communion with God, starting now and leading into everlasting life. Anything coming contrary to this purpose is not worth fighting for.
As followers of Jesus Christ, our ultimate obligation is to "seek first the kingdom of God," and all other obligations have to have a lower priority. There can only be one top priority.
As you will be going to the election booths, remember that there is nothing politically right that is morally wrong. Governments cannot legislate morality, that is God’s domain. If any government tries to take the right of God, it is our duty as Christians to resist that as did the early martyrs did with their lives. Let’s pray that people may seek light from the Holy Spirit before they choose to vote for a Candidate. And may we honor God by giving what belongs to Him.



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