Isaiah 45.1-7, Matthew 22.15-22
The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, 18th October 2020
Clapham, Eldroth and online
If you’re tired of all the troubling news in the world, weary of the posturing of pompous politicians, wound up by the rants and chants of protesters, fed up of the chatter of TV news and the dark provocations of social media memes, rejoice, for here’s some good news - Jesus really wasn’t at all interested in politics; he did all he could to avoid taking sides in those sorts of arguments.
Like when the Pharisees and the Herodians tried to trip Jesus up by asking him whether or not they should pay taxes to the emperor. They were miffed with Jesus for challenging their authority. So they thought up that clever question designed to force Jesus to incriminate himself.
If he’d replied, 'Yes, pay the emperor’s tax,' they could have accused him of supporting Rome - and so being against the Jewish people. But if he’d said something like, 'No, don’t pay your taxes; serve God alone,' they could have dubbed him an opponent of Rome - and either handed him over to the authorities as a dissident or manipulated him into joining their political campaign.
But as we know, Jesus cleverly sidestepped their trap. Holding up the coin they’d given him he asked, ‘Whose head is this, and whose name is on it?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they said. ‘Then give Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and give God the things that are God’s.’
In this brilliant turn of phrase Jesus avoids getting embroiled in their political argument, whilst affirming in no uncertain terms his absolute commitment to the greater laws of God. It was embarrassing for the Pharisees and the Herodians who, in this moment, were exposed as being so focussed on their opposition to the Romans, so embroiled in factional politics, that they’d forgotten their calling to be faithful first to the ways of God.
It’s a devilish trap that anyone who cares about the world, any faithful Christian, can easily fall into. You see, if we get fixated on arguments of the political sort we’ll be drawn apart from God, unable to live out our faith effectively. For the more we involve ourselves with arguments, political gossip, and obsessing on the faults of people we have never met, the less time we have to work at our personal virtue, our character, and the things we can control. If we’re in a constant state of angst, frustration and general disdain towards the rest of the human race then we’ll have no space for any kind of charity or inner peace to develop. It’s a devilish diversion when we’re led to believe that the problem is 'out there' in the 'broken system' rather than recognising there may be a problem with ourselves which we can ask God to help us fix. [1]
Imagine the joy of being free from letting other people’s attitudes wind us up; imagine being so full of God’s grace that we’re really not bothered by the twists and turns and posturing of those who are so keen to have our attention and our support.
So Jesus teaches us to put aside our concerns about the way the world is going and to focus on following the laws of love for God and our neighbour. The wonderful irony is that when we do that, then we’ll find ourselves quite naturally living in ways which make a real difference to those around us. By walking in Jesus’ way, untroubled by earthly conflicts, we can beautifully transform the world. By not being ruled by the dramas and disputes of life we’re released to be more and more involved in bringing help and healing, hope and unity to our neighbourhood.
Now it should be clear that following Jesus doesn’t mean separating ourselves completely from political life and social action, it doesn’t mean retreating from the hard realities of living in a pagan empire, of not being involved in programmes and protests for change. But Jesus wants us always first to address the question of what is in our heart - what is our deepest motivation for our actions in the world? Is our desire to follow Christ the thing which influences everything else?
Remember that Jesus taught: ‘No one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other.’ I think this is a fitting verse for us to contemplate as we honour him with our worship today. It raises the question of how do we best serve Jesus first, and him alone. We might start by considering being Red Letter Christians. [2]
What is a Red Letter Christian? Well, I wonder if you have a bible like this one [demonstrates] - one in which the words which Jesus spoke are all printed in red? A Red Letter Christian is quite simply one who most of all, before anything else, takes Jesus seriously by trying to do what Jesus said in Scripture, and especially following his teachings in the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus calls us away from the consumerist values that dominate our society (remember that when he spoke about serving two masters he went on to say, ‘you cannot serve God and money’). Instead, he calls us to meet the needs of the poor. He also calls us to be merciful, which has strong implications in terms of war and punishment. After all, when Jesus tells us to love our enemies, he probably means we shouldn’t kill them. [3]
Now, being a Red Letter Christian releases you from so many of life’s anxieties and tensions. Remember these Red Letter words, from the Sermon on the Mount:
‘Do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.’ [4]
As The Father feeds the birds of the air, so He feeds us. And as The Father clothes the lilies of the field, so He clothes us. So we pay no heed to those voices filling us with anxiety to consume more and more, to keep on looking for that perfect something, for God will give us all we truly need. Neither need we slavishly follow politicians with their promises to improve our well-being, for The Father’s promise is sufficient; nor defend leaders who will exploit the earth’s resources or take up arms against others in the cause of our material gain, for all we need The Father gives us. So Jesus’ words teach us.
Red Letter Christians are simply Christians committed to first and foremost following the teachings of our Lord. Anyone can be one. It’s a challenge, learning how to put Jesus’ words in our hearts before anyone else’s. But it’s better than just a challenge, it’s the way which leads to joy, and eternal life.
Notes
[1] Based on an anonymous online source inspired by C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters: Letters from a Senior to a Junior Devil.
[2] See my Red-Letter living in the time of Trump, preached in Somerset, 2017 at a Methodist Covenant service. The Methodist Covenant Prayer: “I am no longer my own but yours. … I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal. And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.” The Methodist Church in Britain: A Covenant with God; also Keith Giles, Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb.
[3] From Red Letter Christians: Mission Values (US website). See also Red Letter Christians: Living Jesus' Red Letters (UK website).
[4] Matthew 6.25-34.
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