Ephesians 1:15-23
My text this morning comes from the Letter to the
Ephesians, but I also want to cite Paragraph (3) of subsection (c) within section 501 of Title 26 (Internal
Revenue Code) of the U.S. Code, which provides a tax-exempt status for:
“Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized
and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for
public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or
international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities
involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the
prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of
which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no
substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or
otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in
subsection (h)), and which does
not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing
of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any
candidate for public office.”
This
is sometimes called the Johnson Amendment, and what it did was to put into
legal form a longstanding recognition of the right of religious groups to
engage in prophetic advocacy around any issue, but draws the line at direct
involvement on behalf of candidates or parties.
How
does that work? It means that back in
the 1980’s Cardinal Krol could send out a letter to be read in every Catholic
church in Delaware County the Sunday before Election Day urging his people to
vote for candidates who opposed legalized abortion and state funding for
parochial schools but never said, “Don’t vote for Bob Edgar on Tuesday, because
he’s United Methodist clergy.” Today it
means that I can tell you that the tax bill currently making its way through
Congress would repeal this amendment, and to consider for yourself what it
would mean, especially if you think politics and the pulpit need to be kept in
a proper relationship.
Christians
walk a thin line but a clear one between the need for earthly rule and
authority and the recognition of its limits.
“Give
therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the
things that are God’s.” [Matthew 22:21]
Disagreement
on that point is what led the Romans and the rulers of Jerusalem to nail the
upstart rabbi from Nazareth who said that to a piece of wood to die as an
example to anybody who might not recognize Caesar’s full authority over every
corner of life.
The
gospel claims that the effort of earthly powers to supplant God is futile. Earthly power passes from ruler to ruler but
eternal power is God’s alone.
“God put this power to work in Christ when
he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above
every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And
he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things
for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in
all.” [Ephesians 1:20-23]
So when push comes to shove, we recognize
earthly power and the people who exercise it. but only in a contingent way.
Jesus
was the Messiah, the Chosen One of God.
Nobody else has a proper claim to the title, even though every
generation sees someone who puts himself or herself forward that way, tsars and
Holy Roman Emperors, kings and queens. Sometimes
they are totally blatant about it. In
1609, King James I told the English Parliament:
“The state of
monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth ... Kings are justly called Gods,
for that they exercise a manner or resemblance of divine power upon earth. For
if you will consider the attributes to God, you shall see how they agree in the
person of a king. God has power to create, or destroy, make, or unmake at his
pleasure, to give life, or send death, to judge all, and to be judged nor
accountable to none: to raise low things, and to make high things low at his
pleasure, and to God are both soul and body due. And the like power have Kings;
they make and unmake their subjects: they have power of raising, and casting
down: of life, and of death: judges over all their subjects, and in all causes,
and yet accountable to none but God only.”[1]
Ummm… no. And “no” is the
correct reply to anybody who says that they are going to be the savior of a
nation, much less of the world. No
politician of any party or stripe will ever bring the kingdom of God.
We find that out
time and time again. It was the claim of
Pope Pius XI in 1925 that
“If princes and magistrates duly elected are filled with the persuasion
that they rule, not by their own right, but by the mandate and in the place of
the Divine King, they will exercise their authority piously and wisely, and
they will make laws and administer them, having in view the common good and
also the human dignity of their subjects. The result will be a stable peace and
tranquility, for there will be no longer any cause of discontent.”[2]
That may be good in theory, but the problem is
that if a ruler ever forgets or denies that there is a Divine King, that is
when they begin to travel the road to tyranny.
Twelve years later, this same Pius XI had to write a letter to people in
Germany – and he wrote it in German, not Latin, which was not his normal
practice – that said,
“Should any man dare, in sacrilegious disregard of the essential
differences between God and His creature, between the God-man and the children
of man, to place a mortal, were he the greatest of all times, by the side of,
or over, or against, Christ, he would deserve to be called prophet of
nothingness, to whom the terrifying words of Scripture would be applicable: ‘He
that dwelleth in heaven shall laugh at them.’ (Psalms ii. 3)."[3]
Then Hitler began sending Catholics to
concentration camps along with Protestants and Jehovah’s Witnesses and Jews.
The
Church of Christ is not here to push any political agenda, but to proclaim the
gospel. That means that the Church is always
going to be questioning – and urging others to question – whether the policies
and laws of a nation match the will of God as expressed in scripture. It isn’t because we have the answers to all
human situations. It’s because we admit
that we do not know everything. Somebody
who experienced that intensely was Jimmy Carter. In his memoir, Living Faith, he talks about the need to exercise any kind of power
with humility.
“Whether within a church, among a crew of workers building a house, in a
family, or in a nation, I have noticed that isolation comes with increasing
power or prestige. This can breed
arrogance, as truth and sharing suffer when others are not willing to speak up
to us or to correct our errors. This is
true in military organizations and in governments, including democracies like
ours, except that in a free society even the top officials can expect
criticism, both constructive and otherwise, from political adversaries and the
news media. Appreciated or not, this
provides a very beneficial self-corrective influence.”[4]
And he goes on to confess,
“Knowing how many lives could be affected by my decisions, I felt a
special need for wisdom and a sense of God’s presence. Although I had a lot of advice from all
sides, it was a lonely job during times of crises or when the issues were
especially controversial.”[5]
No
less than anyone else, those in office remain human beings. If it’s our place to remind them of that,
it’s also our place to remind ourselves of that. No human being is without need of God’s
grace, nor beyond it. Some of those in
the highest places may in fact be the most deeply wounded or troubled. One reason we don’t endorse candidates is
that we have the duty to be supportive in a different way. We should be asking the Lord’s help for them
as people, which is hard to do when we get caught up in seeing only their good
points or only the bad. So we read in I
Timothy:
“I urge that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and for all
who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and dignity. This is right
and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” [I Timothy 2:1-4]
Pat
Robertson should be praying for Nancy Pelosi.
Franklin Graham should be in prayer for Barney Frank. Jim Wallis should be keeping Mitch McConnell
in God’s light. Anyone who’s up for a
real challenge might want to take on the grand slam: Kim Jong Un, Donald Trump,
Vladimir Putin, and Xi Jin Ping.
“For
there is one God;
there is also one mediator between
God and humankind,
Christ
Jesus, himself human,
who gave himself a ransom for all.”
[I Timothy 5-6]
Yes,
the scripture says, “All.”
[1] https://www.jesus-is-lord.com/kjdivine.htm
[2] http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas.html
[3] http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_14031937_mit-brennender-sorge.html
[4]
Jimmy Carter, Living Faith (New York:
Random House, 1996), 96
[5] Ibid., 97.
No comments:
Post a Comment