Looking for Loopholes

 

Do you ever wonder how other people seem to have an unshakable faith?  How they seem to have all the answers? How they know with certainty what we wish we could believe in with such certainty too? 

I know I have moments where I wonder if there’s a God and what kind of God there is.  Why the world is the way it is, especially right now, and where is God in the midst of all these changes.

So it’s really refreshing to hear today’s scripture about Moses.  How he had experienced a burning bush and that wasn’t enough to make him sure and certain.  How he had gone back to Egypt despite his fears and certainties and was allowed to talk to the very Pharaoh himself and that wasn’t enough to erase his doubts.  How he had been reunited with his birth family and that wasn’t enough.  How he parted the reed sea and that wasn’t enough.  How his people were fed in the desert and found water in the rocks and that still wasn’t enough.  How he had clouds leading by day and fire by night and that still wasn’t enough.  How he was given a constitution for his community and even that wasn’t enough.  Somehow it seems like maybe he was looking for a loophole.  Looking for an excuse that would weasel him out from having to do the hard work of leading the people.  Of having these difficult conversations on the tops of mountains where he was maybe half-afraid of what God would ask him to do next.  Or maybe he was looking for a guarantee that the difficult things were behind him and with God in his pocket, the future was going to be nothing but sunshine and roses.

The scribes and Pharisees were also looking for loopholes, a way to get rid of Jesus, and a way to duck out of taxes.  Paying the government with money carved with the image of a man and words on the coins declaring that man a God contravened the second commandment about graven images.  Looking for a loophole that meant they could disregard Jesus or discredit him in front of the people he was teaching.

We look for loopholes in our lives too, look for ways to duck taxes or avoid changing our behaviors.  When I hear of people suing schools and restaurants over masks without a doctor’s letter, or wandering around in grocery stores defying the signs clearly posted, or when I listen to store clerks frustrated with customers coming in deliberately putting the clerks in uncomfortable positions, I wonder why they are so determined to look for loopholes.

When it comes to loopholes, Christianity doesn’t make it easy. We are to engage in the present circumstances with an eye to the future, what Jesus called the Kingdom of Heaven, something we work towards while living in the now in all its uncertainty.  On one hand, we pay taxes.  On the other hand we keep vigilance for abusive uses of those same taxes.  We are called to both obey and challenge.  Pay to the Emperor what is the Emperor’s and pay to God what is God’s.  Be clear that the Emperor is not God and be clear on our own loyalties.

We are living in a time when many people don’t think about God.  They may not have a connection with God.  They may have bought the idea that they are God and expect to be treated as such.  No regulations or rules for them!  They are not interested in community or what is best for their neighbors or even their family.  They are interested only in making a comfortable life.  This time in history has profoundly shaken up that ideology. 

We may not be able to change them, but we can look at ourselves.  Like Moses, we can take time to ask God some tough questions.  Where are you God?  How do we know you are with us?  How do we know you will be kind to us?  How do we know you are leading us?  We may need to prepare ourselves to hear some tough questions back.  Are we putting God first in our lives?  What does that look like?  How does that impact what we do and how we do it?  Are we paying taxes to our community in appropriate ways or are we looking for loopholes to dodge our responsibilities to the land we live in?  What belongs to God and what do we need to do to pay it back? 

Thinking about putting God first in my life was a big part of my sabbatical this summer. I spent a lot of time reading and praying about leadership and about this community of faith.  One of the practices I added was a daily moment of self-reflection modelled on Ignatius of Loyola.  He recommended we take some time each day asking ourselves if we have given to God that which is God’s, where we have looked for loopholes and where we have seen God’s face.  Like Moses, we mere humans can’t see more than God’s back side, but if we pay attention, we will see God at work in our lives.  Give it a try this week.  Last thing at night or first thing in the morning, ask for God’s help to understand and appreciate the day.  Look for things to be grateful for.  Review the feelings you had.  Choose one of those feelings (positive or negative) and talk to God about it.  Look toward to the new day and ask that God be with you.  We can use these as prayers or journal prompts.  The practice has brought me a sense of peace and hope that has renewed my commitment to you and to God.  It might not be as dramatic as what Moses experienced on the top of the mountain, but in these difficult times it has certainly helped me remember to give to God that which is God’s, my daily living.  It’s comforting to know that God is with us, nudging us along, and quietly growing and supporting us so that one day we may be able to see God face to face like Moses did.  In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us, we are not alone!