19 October 2008 St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
Pentecost 23 Vienna, VA
“Pulpits
of Peace, Not Politics”
Text:
Matthew 22:15-21 (Isaiah 45:1-7; 1 Thess 1:1-10)
Grace, mercy, and peace
to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Three weeks ago, on
Sunday September 28th, thirty-one pastors in twenty-some states got up in their
pulpits and endorsed one of the candidates running for president. They did so
specifically to challenge the IRS, which prohibits such activity if your church
desires to keep its tax exempt status. But these pastors think that prohibition
violates their first amendment right to free speech and so they decided to
provoke the IRS in the hopes that they could get this prohibition overturned,
even fighting this battle all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary. I
haven’t yet heard if anything is going to come of this or not.
What is interesting to
me is the debate that has gone on regarding this, most of which has focused on
the Constitution and what it says and how you interpret it. But you know what?
This is not a Constitutional issue. This is not a matter of the
separation of church and state. And it really has nothing to do with taxes. In
fact, what a pastor says from his pulpit is an issue that spans every country
and every form of government, in every time and place - even long before there
was a United States Constitution. Because
when a pastor steps into his pulpit, he does not have the right of free
speech; this is something he willingly gives up. For he is not there
speaking for himself, or as a citizen of any country, but as a representative
and ambassador of Christ. He may only speak what he has been given to speak as
an undershepherd of the Good Shepherd, and anything else is out of place and
out of line - not because the government says so, but because God says so! This
is the place for His Word alone. Not what I think
God is saying to me now, in my heart - but what He has said in His sure and
certain Word. For this is the place where
a holy God speaks to His holy people the forgiveness of sins which makes them
holy. And any other word, that offers any other hope, or that has any other
agenda, is not the Word of the Lord, the true God, but the word of a false
god, and therefore idolatry.
If those are strong
words, perhaps they need to be, in a world where what the church does
and what the church is for has become so confused. And it is not a new
problem - the Pharisees and Herodians tried to challenge Jesus and get Him
mixed up on the wrong end of the IRS also. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Casear, or
not?” they asked Jesus that day. But Jesus wouldn’t step into their
trap. The kingdom of the church and the kingdom of the state are both God-given
kingdoms under God’s authority. Both are good, yet with different
responsibilities. Both are used by God, but in different ways and for different
reasons. And it is important to keep their realms distinct. And so, Jesus says,
“give
to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Now clearly, taxes,
among other things, are given to Caesar and belong to the state. The question
for us today is: what is it that we give to God, that is rightfully His? St.
Paul gives us the answer when he told the congregation in Thessalonica: “We
give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our
prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and
labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ.” Paul was praising the Thessalonians here because they were
giving to God what He wanted: their faith, hope, and love.
A faith which trusts in
Jesus for all things, a confident hope in His work now and in the future, and a
love which overflows from faith in service towards our neighbor. Where these
are right the heart is at peace. Where these are wrong there can be no peace.
And that is the danger
of bringing any other word into the pulpit that belongs to Jesus alone - it
robs us of the peace and hope that is our in Christ Jesus by offering us false
gods and false hope. For it is not the right president, or a good supreme
court, or better laws and reforms enacted in our country that are going to
solve our problems. There is a far deeper and greater problem that has caused
all of our problems - and you know what it is: our sin. Laws can ban guns, but can do nothing about the violence
and hatred in our hearts. Laws can limit abortions, but can do nothing about
the murder and lust in our hearts. And laws can regulate financial dealings,
but can do nothing about the greed and selfishness in our hearts. And so while the law is good (as even St.
Paul affirms), and has its place, it is limited; it can only do so much; and we
dare not ever place our hope in the law or in governments.
And so pastors, as
pastors, are not to be about politics, but if they are faithful stewards, about
one thing only: they are to faithfully dispense the Lord’s gifts to His bride,
the church. To you. To give you life and hope in the forgiveness of your sins.
A pastor that speaks any other word is a thief and a robber - for he is robbing
you of the gifts, the joy, the hope, the life, and the forgiveness of Jesus,
that Jesus wants given to you here. These gifts that Jesus earned for you on the
cross, and that He has placed in His word, water, bread, and wine, here, for
you. For this Saviour and these gifts are the only thing that can save us from
a world gone mad, from a constantly attacking satan, and from the sin in each
of us that keeps dragging us down and diverting our eyes from Christ. From the
pulpit is to sound forth the voice that cuts through all the false gods and
false hopes in this world - that we often wrongly put our faith in - and
proclaim to us a Saviour, here for us. That you and me and all people put our
faith in Him alone.
That is what Isaiah did
in his day, from his pulpit. In his words spoken to us today he foretold of a
time when a King Cyrus was going to rise in power and release the people of
Israel from their captivity and exile, that they may return to their land. But
in King Cyrus they were not to put their hope! This was all done so “that
people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is
none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create
darkness, I make well-being and create calamity. I am the Lord, who does all
these things.” The Lord does all these things - giving both well-being and calamity - to this end: that all may
turn to Him and live. That we turn from our idols, and receive His forgiveness
and life.
So what are they for you? The idols that
you are clinging to and need to turn from? Those people or things you think
will give you life but which, in fact, are robbing you of life? That which you
love more than your Saviour, or fear more than your Lord, or trust more than
your Father? That to which you look for the answers to your problems, or for
hope for the future? What are they for you?
. . . Repent. And today and everyday, cling instead to Him who clings to you. To Him who does not reject
you for your sins, but who came and took your human flesh as His own. The Son
of God who came and was born as your brother, Jesus, to do what no one else -
politician or pastor - could: die for
your sins and then rise from the dead. That your sins and their penalty be dead
and buried once and for all, and you be raised to a new life as sons of God. And that is what you are, for it is what He
has made you.
For the Gospel that is
given to you here is powerful. The
Gospel is not like the grandiose words and promises of political campaigns,
telling you of what they hope they will
do - the Gospel is words telling you what has
been done by your Saviour, and is now given to you here. For here the image
of God is restored in you. Here the name of Jesus is inscribed upon your head
and your heart. Here the body and blood of your Saviour is placed into your
mouths and poured over your lips. And you are forgiven your sins, raised from
the dead, and given a new life. For you belong to your Saviour, who created you
and redeemed you. And so to
give to God what is God’s is to give Him yourself - to trust in Him as your Father, and
to live as His child.
And so what the Law and
governments are unable to do your Saviour has done. For while the Law can only
change the actions of the outside, it is Jesus who gets to the heart of the
matter - your heart - creating in you
a clean heart and giving you His Spirit, to guide and direct and sanctify you
all the days of your life. That you rely and trust and live only in Him. For He is
the Lord and there is no other. He is your life, and there is no other.
So with election day
coming up in a couple of weeks, vote - elect the best president and other
officials that you can. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s -
but do not give him what is God’s alone. That no matter who wins the elections,
your faith, hope, and love remain unshaken. For not in mere men is our faith
and hope, but in the God-man, our Saviour Jesus Christ, the King of kings. And
nothing is hopeless when your hope is in Him.
In the Name of the
Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now the peace of God
which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in
Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.