Gospel text for Sunday 18 October 2020

Matthew 22:15-22        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.

Reflection

Are you Republican or Democrat? I say, “Yes.”

Are you pro choice or pro life? I say, “Yes.”

Are you capitalist or environmentalist? I say, “Yes.”

I experience these as forced choice questions, questions designed to assign me to a particular category or group, questions aligned with a narrowly defined set of values or ideology, questions meant to make me smaller and separate me from you. I do not want to bite. 

Do you want drinkable water and breathable air or freedom from government over reach? What answer could we possibly have but, “Yes?”

Using forced choice questions to distract, divide and entrap people is nothing new. This is what we witness in our gospel text as the Jewish religious officials, the Pharisees, along with the men who profit by collecting taxes for the Romans, the Herodians, try to entrap Jesus with their question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”

The first thing to remember is, the Pharisees and the Herodians are opposing groups. The Pharisees enforce strict worship of God in prayer and study of the Jewish law. The Herodians support the monarchy of Herod who is the source of their livelihood. Together they are trying to force Jesus to choose sides. If Jesus protests against paying taxes to Rome, the Herodians will quickly accuse him of treason and inciting the people to rebel against Roman authority. If Jesus supports paying taxes to Rome he will be counseling the Jews to use idolatrous coins  that not only sport Caesar’s image but also the inscription, “Tiberius Caesar, Augustus, son of divine Augustus.” Jewish law definitively prohibits the use of such idolatrous objects. Furthermore, Jesus’ followers who are suffering beneath the burden of excessive taxes will feel betrayed. 

We have all been there, caught between a train and a platform. Are you for profitable business or are you for healthcare? Are you for free speech or for civil discourse? Are you for free enterprise or environmental regulation? Whenever we are faced with these forced choice questions our antennae need to rise and we must become wise, wise as Jesus, and refuse to be distracted, divided and entrapped. Refuse to bite.

Let us with wisdom look at a contemporary example of a forced choice question intended by each party to entrap and incriminate the opposition. Are you for environmentalism or capitalism? How do we begin to wisely engage this question? Wisdom begins by asking, what are the fundamental values and downsides of each? Please pardon this simplified description.

Capitalism affirms peoples rights to private ownership (many of us own our home and car). Capitalism maintains our freedom to use our resources for profit (invest our money), and privileges individual rights (to own property including guns and to have custody over our bodies). Overall, capitalism has led the U.S. to great economic success. 

Environmentalism values protection and conservation of natural resources (many of us are mindful of our use of power and water). Environmentalism privileges the common good (we care about our neighbors and our planet). Environmentalism has protected public lands and provided national parks and seashores available for all to enjoy. 

A downside of environmentalism is that action aimed for the common good can impinge on individual rights eg to do fracking on my privately owned land.  A downside of capitalism is private ownership of resources does not incentivize action aimed at the common good, eg manufacturing practices tend to privilege profit over the side effects of contaminants on the shared resources of earth and air. 

So let me ask again, Are you for capitalism or environmentalism? If we are honest with our selves what can we say but, “Yes?” What then shall we do?

As people of faith I believe we must refuse to be distracted, divided and entrapped. Distracted by the high emotion with which each group spins their story, divided by shrinking ourselves to fit into a singular category or group, entrapped by political ideologues, who, like the Pharisees and Herodians are bent on winning by getting us to shrink into their side. We must not bite.

As people of faith we affirm that all of creation is good, including the earth and all that dwells in and on and around her, so, we are environmentalists. As people of faith we affirm that from the beginning human beings are very good with the right to freedom and fullness of life, so, we are also capitalists. Therefore, the question is not, “Are you for capitalism or environmentalism?” The question is, “How do we embody our value for both the individual and the collective, for personal agency and the common good?” 

Is it fair to appropriate Jesus’ words and say, “Give therefore to the individual the things that are the individuals, and to collective the things that are the collectives?” 

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Gospel text for Sunday, 18 November 2012

                               

Mark 13:1-8      As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?" Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, `I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs."

Reflection   A little more than three weeks ago the news was flodded with images of Hurricane Sandy’s effects . But when I saw one photographer’s still photo of New York’s shadowy skyline it stole my breath, and like NYC I was stopped in my tracks. This grand edifice, the economic center of the world, a beacon of Western civilization and culture, stuttered in shades of pale and grey. From Staten Island to Yonkers the lights were out. The great buildings were dark. Jesus’ words echoed in my heart, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another...” But is that the end of the story? I don’t think so. 

Jesus said, “This is but he beginning of the birthpangs.” This is not the end. It is meaningful anguish and suffering. It is productive labor. And this is a lynchin of Christian faith. We understand that anguish and suffering need not be pointless or futile. In God’s economy anguish and suffering are the productive labor that leads to new life. But what are we to do?

I imagine that is the very question millions of folks in the northeast were, and still are, asking. What are we to do in the wake of hurricane Sandy? And they dug in. Shoveling away tons of sand, cutting up fallen trees, inviting strangers into their homes, feeding them, giving them clothes and a warm dry place to stay. Because anguish and suffering are not the end. They are the beginning of productive labor.

Since the Age of the Enlightenment western civilization has elevated the status of the individual, individual rights, privilege and entitlement. We’ve all heard the mantra, “It’s all about me.” In the wake of a storm such as Sandy those words dissolve like dust in a hurricane as millions of people are stopped in their tracks with the realization that, “It’s all about US. Not only are we inextricably interconnected, we are also utterly interdependent.” Of course some people take more kindly to the news than others, but none can escape the fact. We are in this thing, this life, together.

The blistering winds and raging waters of hurricane Sandy were the beginning of the birthpangs, the productive labor that gave birth to kindness and generosity among strangers, to mass efforts to kindle new light and life in the midst of anguish, suffering and loss. Now, if only we would not forget and would continue to live our lives “provok(ing) one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together... and encouraging one another.”