How to get away with Insurrection

Have you been watching the news lately?  It’s hard to escape the constant stream of debate on the referendum in Alberta.  Whether you are for or against separation, you are probably thinking that there is a lot at stake in tomorrow’s vote.  Many have already voted in the advanced polls or with mail in ballots.  It is good to see so much engagement in the political system that has been plagued in the past by low voter turnout.

This is a delicate topic that has ethical impacts for Alberta residents.  Catholic and Anglican Bishops have weighed in, as well as the Moderator of the United Church of Canada.  But surely churches should stay out of politics, right?  Religious leaders shouldn’t have opinions on the referendum?

This idea of the separation of church and state is important.  And that is the question that the scribes and Pharisees are asking Jesus.  It’s a clever philosophical trap; would he side with the Roman Empire and enrage the folks who were struggling with high food prices, low wages, poor jobs and physical abuse from Roman soldiers?  Or would he speak treason against the Emperor, a crime punished by execution?  The temple leaders must have smiled at the clever problem they had dumped in his lap.

Jesus, as usual, turned the question back at them.  What did they have in their pockets? Temple coins or Roman coins? A Roman coin, with a graven image of a man, in the most holy of holies, threw into question the real loyalties of the leaders.  Let’s not forget that both they and Jesus wanted to be freed of the occupying army and having to worship the Emperor, who had declared that he was a God. They wanted to be able to worship YHWH as commanded in the first of the 10 commandments.  “You shall have no other God before me”.

So, the question of paying taxes had political implications.  But Jesus turned it on its head.  “Pay to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and pay to God that which is God’s.”  In other words, pay your taxes.  But also remember your first loyalty is always to God.  This is not about taxes; it’s about dealing with oppressive government. Which is at the heart of the referendum question.  Some see the Federal Government as the heart of all oppression, others see the Provincial Government as the source of all problems.  Chances are that we will never fully agree.  But Jesus reminds us of our core loyalty.  That we are to focus on loving God, loving neighbor and loving self.  Or as the United Church says, live with deep spirituality, bold discipleship and daring justice.

The Roman Empire was not toppled by withholding taxes.  Nor was it stopped by violence.  In fact, about 40 years after Jesus was executed, Roman forces ransacked Jerusalem, killed citizens and destroyed the Temple for the last time.  Much of the New Testament was written after that event. Christ followers and Jewish faithful alike were thrown into confusion and conflict in the aftermath.

Wait a second, if it was so strong and resilient, why don’t we speak Roman or even Italian around the world?  Was there a successful tax revolt?

Taxes have often triggered revolutions.  Robin Hood is a story of oppressive taxation.  The start of the Protestant split from the Catholic Church was over indulgences, a form of excessive taxation.  Taxes are at the heart of the referendum too.  The government of Canada transfers equalization payments to help provinces provide, and I quote, “reasonably comparable levels of public services at reasonably comparable levels of taxation” end quote so that people of Canada from sea to sea to sea have similar services.  The provinces do not give the federal government transfer payments; the federal budget comes from taxation based on income.  So, people making $40,000 in Newfoundland pay the same level of federal income tax as their Alberta counterparts.

Boycotting taxes seems like an easy way to take power, but Jesus knew it wouldn’t work.  What would work was to focus on what they did have power over, their relationship with God and each other.  Our reading from 1 Thessalonians shows the result of ‘giving to God what is God’s’.  Staying focused on God grew the church of Thessalonica to the point that it was getting talked about in the rest of the country.  It was the first church outside of the Middle East, and the first church in Europe.  It was small, no more than one or two dozen people.  Yet its reputation was spreading, and the letter Paul wrote is the oldest one in the New Testament, the first to be written.  It even predated the gospels by 20 years, because there was no need to write about Jesus when they could learn from eyewitnesses like Peter and the disciples.

Growing their reputation and influence by living out the teachings of Jesus, to care for the weak, the hungry, the sick and the lonely, was why the Thessalonians were lifted up as shining examples of a Christian community.  They put into practice the command to love God, love neighbor, love self.  Deep spirituality, bold discipleship and daring justice.  How might we, like the Thessalonians, be so filled with these three things that our reputation also goes out through the land as people of God filled with the hunger to be the Message?  To be an example to an angry world that feels like there’s not enough?  To send a counter message that God’s love overwhelms and undermines all oppressive systems?  I invite you today and in the days ahead, to dive deeply into prayer for our neighbors, our province and our country, regardless of how you voted, that our witness to love and compassion be inspiring to all who know us.  And may we know the love God had for all creation, the courage Jesus showed in the temple, and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit to give us hope in these contentious times.