Rev. Mark Schaefer
Kay Spiritual Life Center
October 20, 2002
Exodus 33:12-23, Matthew 22:15-22

I. INTRODUCTION

In psychology, there is something known as a double-blind question. They are those no-win questions that you feel that no matter how you answer you will be answering the question wrong. The classic example of this is the question, “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” There is no way to answer this question with a simple yes or no. Another more likely double-blind question is “Can’t you do anything right?” Answering ‘no’ is admitting inadequacy. Answering ‘yes’ is admitting that you’re not doing what you are capable of doing, and thus laziness or lack of success.

There are times when we are faced with difficult questions that we cannot easily answer. There are times when the complexities of the world present us with problems that our spiritual ancestors had not considered. Questions that are not clearly explained in Scripture or in Christian tradition. Sometimes we are faced with these difficult questions where we feel that however we answer the question, the answer will be wrong.

II. THE TEXT

Such is the question that is put to Jesus. The religious authorities think they’ve got one of those questions that is a classic ‘no-win question’: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” This is one of those no-win questions. If Jesus says it is lawful, then he will alienate those who feel oppressed by Rome and be considered a collaborator. If he says ‘no’ then he will be seen as a tax resister, an insurrectionist. a rabble-rouser, and a potential threat to Rome. It is a question, like the “Have you stopped beating your wife?” question that is designed to trap a person.

Jesus asks to see the coin used to pay the tax and he is handed a denarius. He asks, “Whose image and title are on the coin?” They respond “The emperor’s.” And he says, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” It’s a brilliant answer. They are ‘amazed.’ And we are, too. I remember when I read through the New Testament in college, I was so impressed by Jesus’ answers to all these questions and tests. He’s so smart! What a keen wit! I would think.

There’s just one problem with Jesus’ answer to the question: he doesn’t answer it. He doesn’t actually say whether it is lawful to pay taxes or not. In fact, all Jesus does is tell us how to answer the question. He gives us a formula: give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. But the difficult question remains: what is Caesar’s and what is God’s?

III. CHURCH AND STATE

Many people have looked at this text and have seen in it the Biblical foundations for the separation of Church and State. They see in Jesus’ words explicit warrant for the division of the world into the sacred and the secular. There is a problem with this attitude, however. Jesus follows in the prophetic tradition of Israel. The Prophets never made a split between religion and the political aspects of life. They were interwoven. Indeed, all throughout the ancient world, religion was an integrated part of social and political life. It was only after the Thirty Years War that the idea of separation of church and state gained any currency. This is not the idea that Jesus is promoting.

Because neither Jesus, nor the prophets before him, would ever agree with the idea that there is a realm where God is in control and there is a realm where the state is in control. God’s dominion is not a federal republic–there is not a separation of powers, there are not some powers reserved to the states. God has dominion over everything.

So the question really becomes, what are the things we are willing to give to the state, and what are the things that we insist be given to God? This is really the crux of Jesus’ question. Since Jesus does not give for us an easy formula, he challenges us to decide what are the things that are “Caesar’s” and what are God’s.

IV. CHRISTIANS AND THE STATE

A. Anarchism–Objection to the State

There is a long tradition of Christian anarchism and pacifism. There are many that believe that there is no fit system of government that may exercise authority over people. Only God can have that power.

They take their cues from a couple of sources, the Book of Judges in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation in the New. Judges describes a period in Israel’s history when there was no king. There was no centralized government. There was something akin to a tribal democracy, but there was nothing like the existence of a state. When Israel was threatened, God would raise up a judge to defend Israel from her enemies. When the Israelites beg Samuel for a King in 1 Samuel, he responds with great disappointment and even God acknowledges that in choosing a king, the Israelites are rejecting God as their king. It is from this perspective that Christian anarchists believe that all governments–even democratic ones–stand in the way of Christian faith and Christian life.

B. Fascism–Submission to the State

But there have not been many, if any, occasions where Christians were able to live in anarchy. In fact, as a practical matter, most Christians have determined that some measure of a state is necessary. And if it ended there, there wouldn’t be much problem. But unfortunately, many Christians have often sided with the state, even when it was engaging in tyranny and oppression.

In the early 1930′s the following statement was made concerning Adolf Hitler:

In the person of the Führer we behold the One sent from God who places Germany in the presence of the Lord of history.

That statement was made by the German Christians Faith Movement. “In the person of the Führer we behold the One sent from God…” The German Christians continued to speak of Adolf Hitler as if he were the messiah himself. It was a disturbing abdication of Christian faithfulness to the true Messiah, God’s anointed Son Jesus Christ. (Perhaps it is no coincidence that the Nazis abandoned a Jewish Messiah in favor of a Gentile one)

C. Confessing Churches–Resistance to the State

Not all did so, however. Reverend Martin Niemöller began a movement called the Confessing Church which refused to go along with the Nazis. Niemöller was quoted as saying that “Unquestioning obedience to the state is incompatible with Christian faith.” He is also the author of the famous statement:

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade-unionists–but I did not speak out because I was not a trade-unionist. Then they came for the Jews–but I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Niemöller was joined by others, including the famous Dietrich Bonhöffer, who became so convinced of the Christian’s need for resistance to the Nazi state, that he was a participant in the bomb plot to kill Hitler. (So no pacifist he). He was executed by the Nazis for his opposition just weeks before the end of the war. Niemöller spent the war in the Dachau concentration camp.

V. THE ISSUES

How then does a Christian decide about these issues? How does a Christian know what to think about government? What to think about these difficult issues of power and authority?

A. Privacy and Security

Since September 11, we have become a nation obsessed with security. Airline security has increased to new levels of invasiveness. Places that are not even likely terrorist targets demand ID checks and boast of tighter security. And every day, the government cites the need for greater law enforcement powers to combat the terrorist threat.

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that government are instituted to secure the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” It may fairly be argued that in order to preserve the lives of its citizens, the government has to take some fairly extraordinary measures to protect us against a threat heretofore unknown.

The attorney general seeks to use broader investigatory powers. Immigration hearings are being held in closed courts–for the first time in the history of the Republic. Some chilling questions about the right to counsel and other constitutional rights now being challenged.

We can imagine the question: “Rabbi, is it lawful to grant the government more authority to protect us from terrorism or not?”

B. War

At this moment, our nation is gearing for war in Iraq. Our president insists that he will use force as a last resort and yet the drums of war beat on. Saddam Hussein’s government has time and time again thwarted the efforts of UN weapons inspectors to examine Iraq’s facilities that are capable of producing weapons of mass destruction: biological and chemical weapons of the kind used against Iran in the 1980s, and nuclear weapons that could be launched against our allies in the region or perhaps used against us. Debates rage around the topic of pre-emptive war–defending oneself by attacking first. And we are in the process of sending tens of thousands of young men and women into harm’s way.

“Rabbi, is it lawful to go to war against a nation that has not yet attacked us, but is in the process of developing dangerous weapons in order to do so?”

VI. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

So Jesus has helped us to frame the question. Jesus has given us the guidelines. But we need more. What else do we need to consider in order to make sure we follow in the footsteps of the “Confessing Church” and not of the “German Christians”? For that we must turn to the fundamental truths we proclaim.

The tradition of the prophets steadfastly maintained that earthly sovereignty was a reflection of heavenly sovereignty. We might call this the ‘divine right of kings’ but there was more to it than that. The divine right of kings was used by monarchs to assert their authority as an extension of God’s authority. But the relationship is much more of viceroy, that is, the person who rules in the place of the true king. That person is ultimately accountable to God and cannot exercise power unjustly.

All sovereignty flows from God. Human systems of government must reflect the ultimate sovereignty of God. Many have argued convincingly that those systems that promote equality among citizens are the best for recognizing God’s sovereignty. That is, where no one person is naturally in charge of others, the recognition that God is in charge is easiest. This has been the key theological basis for Christian support of democracy.

But even democracy is a state. And there are very few pure democracies in the world. Our nation is a democratic republic, governed not directly by the people but by their elected representatives. In some cases, those representatives are elected undemocratically, for example, in the senate, where representation is on the basis of states, not population. So, even in those systems of government where it is easier to recognize God’s sovereignty, we must still ask ourselves what our relation to the state is. Jesus calls us to something else:

Mark 10:42-45 So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

VII. THE IMAGE OF GOD

Earlier in this semester, the title of our sermon was “Who am I that I should go?” In that sermon, we talked about the issue of names and of what it means to take upon us the name ‘Christian’ as identifying us as the people of God. Who we are is a result of a relationship we have with God. Who we are determines what we do and what decisions we make.

In the scripture lesson for today, Jesus asks, “Whose image is on the coin, and whose title?” Caesar finds his image in the coin, in money, in the materialism of consumption and wealth. God finds his image in each of us, as we find the image of God in one another.

VIII. CONCLUSION

“All the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof…” says the Psalmist. There are not two spheres of dominion. God is at the center of everything. And yet, we inhabit a world in which it is necessary to grant to some the lawful exercise of authority and power for the safety and welfare of the people. There are times we need to decide what we can rightfully give to earthly authority.

So we turn to the question of privacy and security. “Is it lawful to grant the government more authority to protect us from terrorism or not?”

This is not the kind of sermon where I tell you what you need to think as Christians. This is the kind of sermon where I tell you how you need to think as Christians. In looking at an issue such as this we must be honest and ask ourselves whether giving more power to the state actually protects us, or does it simply raise up the power of some over others? Do such measures create masters ruling over us instead of fellow citizens serving the least? A Christian cannot ignore questions of this kind.

We turn to the question of the war. “Is it lawful to go to war against a nation that has not yet attacked us, but is in the process of developing dangerous weapons in order to do so?”

Is the war necessary for our self defense? Is it necessary now? Is it necessary at all? Are we in mortal danger? Or is it that we are failing to see the image of God in those we would brand our enemies? A Christian cannot ignore questions of this kind.

There are many times when we are going to be confronted by ‘no-win’ questions. Difficult questions about war and peace, rights and liberties, individuals and community. There are times when we will feel that no matter how we answer the question it will be wrong. But we take our cue from Jesus. We take stock of our selves and our communities, we hold them up and ask ourselves, “Whose image do you see there?” Do we see the image of Caesar or the image of God? It is in knowing who we are that we are able to answer.