Global Warming, Ebola and ISIS, Oh My!

The Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew the 22^nd Chapter

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, 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.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

It’s harvest time and the world is producing a bumper crop of things to worry about this fall!  Do you worry about the big stuff like ISIS, Ebola and Climate Change... that sort of thing... or are you a more close-to-home worrier... worrying about heating oil, a rough ferry trip, who is going to be the next pastor or maybe a friend’s illness?  You can worry about the big stuff or you can worry about the close to home stuff OR you can be like me and worry about EVERYTHING!  I worry about the big global things like ISIS and Ebola but I also go above and beyond and worry about less known international problems like reduced freedoms in Indonesia, protests in Hong Kong and growing global income inequality, just to name a few... and believe me there are more than just a few!  BUT I also worry about things closer to home: rent, college tuition, if there is enough tread on my tires to pass inspection this month and how will the world be for little Lilly, who we baptized today, in 20 years.  

On the surface of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is simply sneaking out of a trap again.  Two political groups who normally can’t agree on anything have found the one thing they CAN agree on... that Jesus has got to go!  The Herodians were the rich and powerful who had gotten that way by sucking up to the occupying enemy... the Romans and supporting their puppet king Herod.  The Pharisees were the group that thought that by following a much more strict, fundamentalist understanding of the Law, God would bless Israel and the BIGGEST of those blessings would be that God would get rid of the Romans and the Herodians!  So, you can see how they wouldn’t normally get along.  The trap they set, put Jesus (they thought) in a no-win situation.  If Jesus said, “don’t pay taxes” the Herodians would get the Romans to literally crucify him for trying to start a revolution and if Jesus said, “pay your taxes” the Pharisees could get him killed as a heretic because, on that coin was not just the picture of Tiberius Caesar but also his self-claimed title of “Son of the Divine” both of which made that coin a big, giant idol!  

So, once again the Herodians and the Pharisees came to another battle of wits with Jesus.... again, they came totally unarmed... and of course they lost.  BUT!  There’s WAY more going on in this little scene than just Jesus making a bunch of politicians look like idiots.  (Although you really can’t ever get too much of anyone making a politician look like an idiot, can you?)  BUT, the REALLY important thing happening here is a powerful reminder of who is really in control of what.  

Look past the zinger Jesus gave the politicians and think about what he said: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  On the surface is a question about who is in charge of what parts of life.  But underneath that, Jesus is reminding us that God is the One who is in control of EVERYTHING!  On the surface, the question was whose face is on that coin, but underneath that question, Jesus is asking them who do you think gave the emperor his face to begin with!?  Now, I don’t want to forget about Jesus making fun of politicians... because, let’s face it, that’s just fun... BUT the REAL take home lesson is WAY bigger than that.  The real lesson is that this whole creation, including all the things and people and political situations and diseases and wars and every little, beautiful baby and my rent and heating oil and pastoral searches and how Christianity will become known to a new generation on Vinalhaven and EVERYTHING we could ever worry about belongs to God.  God really does have the whole world in His hands!  It’s not just a Sunday school song after all!    

Over the years though, lots and lots of people have read this lesson, and taught this lesson, the same way the Pharisees and the Herodians heard it, rather than the way Jesus told it. Jesus knew both groups believed there were places and situations in the world that were either beyond God’s reach or outside of God’s concern and many others have read this the same way... They say that over here, there are political, business, and worldly things that “belong to Caesar” apart from God and then there are the religious, church, and spiritual stuff over here that “belong to God” and the two simply aren’t supposed to mix.  God’s ways and Jesus’s teachings are fine and good for Sundays and on Christmas inside churches, inside our hearts, minds and souls; but outside the church walls during the week... God’s teachings through the law and the prophets and especially Jesus’s teachings should just not mix into how we run governments, businesses, handle violence, do politics or do justice.   But with this lesson, I think Jesus wanted us to clearly understand that God not only has something to SAY about every single aspect of every single moment of our lives, but that God has every single aspect of every single moment of our lives and every atom of creation wrapped up in God’s infinite, unconditional, loving and redeeming embrace!  

All the faith stuff, spiritual stuff and church stuff isn’t at all separate from the work stuff, political stuff and business stuff.  Because ALL STUFF is in God’s control and God really does mean for all of those upside down ideas like generosity, total forgiveness, unconditional love, justice and real lasting peace to be the way the whole world works... not just how Sunday morning works.  God really does mean for us to change the world so that there is no more poverty, no more hunger, no more homelessness, no more war, no more inequality, racism, or hate.  

Now, that doesn’t mean we need a “Christian” nation the way that idea is usually sold, where everyone believes the same way, but it does mean that as Christians, you and I are called to come out from the trenches we’ve dug to protect our personal and cultural preferences over the years and begin to work with new people in new ways to move our neighborhoods, our towns, our country and our world a little more toward working in that particularly “Jesus” sort of way. 

Worrying, it turns out, doesn’t help.  But simply “giving it to God” and not actively doing something about it isn’t the faithful alternative to worry either.  Jesus lived his life sacrificially, actively confronting the powers of the world and actively doing things to change the world for the better with ALL of his being, right to the bitter end and beyond!  Our call is to work as Jesus did, to sacrifice our pride, preferences and comforts just as Jesus did to actively make real changes where we can in our world.  AND, as we do that, we’re also called to keep in mind, just as Jesus did, that ALL of creation... the wonderful, beautiful, kind, life giving and loving parts… AS WELL AS the frightening, worrisome, horrific, death filled and evil parts... the WHOLE world... THE WHOLE WORLD… without exception, really and truly is in God’s loving and gracious hands!   Amen.