“Is God a Republican or a Democrat?”- Sermon by Rev.Laurey Murphy, November 11, 2012
Is God a Republican or a Democrat?
Mark 12:13-17, Romans 13:1-10
Sermon by Laurey Murphy
November 11, 2012
In the middle of the mall or the HEB or even here, ask “Is God a Republican or a Democrat?” and likely there would be multiple answers: a Republican definitely……no, no a Democrat, both, neither one, or who cares?!
Between stewardship and celebrating our 60th anniversary, I’ve been grateful that there has been not much opportunity this Fall to preach in light of this being an election year. Honestly, it has bothered me seeing church marquees on how to vote and hearing a clerk of session propose a flyer be put in new member church packets which political party is the biblical one. Both political parties have claimed God is on their side….and God probably is but frankly, I’ve felt like the 4 year old named Abbi whose mother caught her on camera crying. When asked why she is crying, little Abbi says “Brock Obama and Mitt Romney and all this fighting.”
But for me to keep silent and say nothing about our faith and politics is to imply that what happens beyond these church doors doesn’t matter….that our faith has nothing to do with politics…that “what is Caesar’s is Caesars and what is God’s is God’s” and Jesus said so and that’s that.
But is that what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel lesson—the separation of faith and politics? Let’s go back to this story that is not only in the Gospel of Mark but also in Matthew and Luke. What’s going on here? It is part of the final days of Jesus leading to his arrest, trial and crucifixion—all a part of faith and politics intertwined. He has made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his adversaries are ramping up their attacks on him and his authority. In Mark’s account, the authorities send some Pharisees and some Herodians—strange bedfellows of the most religious and the most political conspiring together.
Here, the trap lies in the question to Jesus: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” If Jesus says, “Yes!” then he’ll offend the people of the faith for Rome was a pagan government who crowned their emperors as divine gods. And if Jesus says, “No!” then he’ll be arrested for treason against the state.
What does Jesus do—but calls their hand when he asks for a coin. Note that he doesn’t pull one out of his own pocket for to do so would have been a strike against him in the faith. Given the coin, Jesus then asks whose head is on it and the title. It is the image of the current Roman emperor—Tiberias and the title would be the “Son of the Divine Augustus.”
With the coin being shown, Jesus says cleverly—“Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.” He’s not just being wishy-washy here—nor is he talking about the separation of church and state…for that is rather a modern idea in American history stemming from Rodger Williams.
Instead, Jesus is making a powerful statement of faith and politics, a statement of how the dual roles of being a citizen and a servant of God fit together.
His answer affirms that his followers can’t just withdraw from the world and live a purely “spiritual” life. They must take part being in the world and in the political process of the place in which they live.
But at the same time, note that Jesus is NOT placing the realm of the emperor and the realm of God on two separate but equal parts of life. “Give to the emperor what is the emperor’s,” yes…but even the emperor and his things ultimately belong to God, the Maker…of all life, of all creation. This belief is deep in our roots of the Old Testament. Just look at the stories of the kings and the prophets. Read the Psalms especially the royal Psalms like Psalm 2 that deal with the kings and rulers.
And throughout the Bible, whenever there are conflicting loyalties, God is the one whom we are called to ultimately turn to and serve. It is THE basic belief that God is ultimately sovereign….King of Kings and Lord of Lord. In faith and politics, it’s not whether God is on our side as a Republican or a Democrat; but instead the question for each of us is: “Are we on God’s side?”
But I think that we have to be very careful of how we view the election on this side of the vote, especially if our candidates won. In his rise to power, Hitler claimed that God was engineering his rise to power and the salvation of the German people through the Nazi government. It was tough economic times and the churches in Germany even preached that Hitler’s rule was blessed by God. From a church, Hitler proclaimed the establishment of a new nation built on traditional values.
But not everybody in Germany fell for this. In 1934, there were a handful of Christian pastors and teachers, including Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who wrote a protest called the Barmen’s Declaration. It is now a part of our Book of Confessions. It states that Jesus Christ alone—not a nation nor any political party—-but Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all and head of the church. Faith and politics are dangerous for together they can get you killed even if you aren’t the Messiah.
So let me just say and be clear: Any election, including the one this past week is about fallible people choosing between fallible candidates in an electoral process that is fallible itself. Yet we are not called to turn away with our faith from politics in the world and times in which we live.
So what if you can’t stand the new president or congress– where does our faith come in?
Apostle Paul says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.” In making such a claim Paul is drawing on Jewish tradition which stress that the order and structures of human society have been divinely established…including government for our good. Paul knows our human need for authority—by the God who created order out of chaos.
There is a new tv series called “Revolution” that is about a time in the future when for some reason all power around the world is cut off—including electricity, transportation and communication. Governments collapse and the world is thrown into chaos. There is no safe place to live as gangs of militias roam and the basic necessities of life are scarce. It makes you realize how important government is for the common good!
When Apostle Paul wrote these words about government, he himself was under the Emperor Nero. Remember your history lessons— Nero is the one who executed his own mother and brother and was fiddling while Rome burned not to mention the horrible things he did to Christians. Paul certainly didn’t support everything Nero did; in fact Paul was in prison for his beliefs. But he submitted to prison, respecting the authority of the state. So Paul tells us to “respect the governing authorities.” Why—because of our human need for order. But also, Paul distinguishes between the ideal of the governing office and the fallibility of the human beings who governed. Paul reminds us that we are ennobled when we respect and cherish the offices that govern us….whether or not we respect the people who occupy that office at any give time.
John Calvin, the father of Presbyterianism, took Paul’s teaching one step further. For centuries medieval Europe had taken Paul’s words to support the divine right of kings: that a monarch derives the right to rule from the will of God and is accountable only to God. Although Calvin believed good government is a gift from God and established for our well-being, he differed in believing that individuals had the right to elect government officials AND in the church, congregations had the right to elect their pastors. IT is one of our basic beliefs as Presbyterians that “God alone is Lord of conscious.” No one can tell you how to vote…not the government, not the church, not even the preacher including me.
So is God a Republican or a Democrat? What do you believe?
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