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Sermon - CITIZENS OF HEAVEN, CITIZENS OF AUSTRALIA - 28th January 2007
Saint Aidan’s West Epping 8:30am
Readings: Deut 28:1-9, Psalm 33:12-21, 1 Thess 5:12-24, Mark 12:13-17
We are all familiar with the questions that current affairs interviewers use to try to trip up politicians and high flyers: the old “have you stopped beating your wife?” type of question, where “yes” will get you into trouble, and “no” will get you into even more trouble. Jesus spent a lot of his time dealing with those type of questions, and when the Pharisees and the Herodians, people at the opposite ends of the political and spiritual scale, got together to ask Jesus about paying tax to Caesar, they were sure they had him in a corner.
If Jesus said they shouldn’t pay the tax, he would be arrested by the Roma authorities. If he said that people should pay the tax, he would get himself offside with the majority of the people, who hated the Romans who controlled their land.
We know how brilliantly Jesus answered their questions: with about as much difficulty as Roger Federer had in dealing with the challenge of Andy Roddick in the tennis at Melbourne.
Of course, if the answer had been merely brilliant, we’d be impressed. But the answer was also profound, and so we need to see its real significance.
Jesus had been given a coin with the graven image of Caesar, idolatrous to the stricter Jews. It was clearly Caesar’s coin. “Give Caesar what belongs to him,” was his answer. But then came the deeper point: “And give God what belongs to God.”
Of course, Jesus was not dividing life into compartments: as if we have certain obligations to the government, certain obligations to our employers, certain obligations to our family and so on, and then we also have certain obligations to God. What do we owe to God? Everything - our lives! That is our obligation to God.
But, as servants of God living in this world, we take on particular obligations, including obligations at home, at work, and in the community. So we are called to render Caesar those things which Caesar, under God, has the right to ask of us. Jesus’ words also indicate that the rights of Caesar are not absolute: there are things he has no right to ask of us, and of course, there are many stories of Christians over the centuries who have had to disobey or resist the claims of governments and leaders who have demanded that they disobey the clear will of God.
The New Testament describes us as citizens of heaven, and it is as citizens of heaven that we live our lives as citizens of Australia. And that is a relevant fact for us to keep in mind this Australia Day weekend.
Now let me say that I know of no place in this world that I would rather live than in Sydney, and no country I would rather live in than Australia. We have so many wonderful things: we have peace, freedom, democracy, a settled lifestyle, prosperity, a comfortable the tradition of mateship, and the list goes on. So much to be thankful for! And I guess, so much to be proud of, although I am wary of politicians urging us to move from our low-key but genuine nationalism to a more pushy type.
Of course, Australia is not perfect. And loving our country does not mean we have to approve of everything that happens, or every decision our governments take. I wish our governments would look at the bigger picture, and see beyond the next election. I wish they would see finance as a means rather than an end in itself. I wish that there was less racism, and more concern for the outsider, the refugee and the struggler. I wish our government was more generous with foreign aid. I wish we didn’t overreact to the threat of terrorism, using it to justify laws and actions that we would normally see as unjust.
And, no, I can see no justification for the way David Hicks has been treated, and his neglect by both Government and Opposition, no matter what he may or may not have done. Everyone is entitled to a fair trial in reasonable time, regardless of what he is accused of.
I find it sadly ironic that it took a major economic report on the financial implications of climate change to get our governments thinking seriously about the environment. But even then it seems that many policies still put short-term profit before the well-being of our future citizens.
And of course, I also wish that everyone would see that my political opinions are the right ones to have! Perhaps I wish too much! But I am thankful to be a citizen of this blessed country. Maybe we are not specifically blessed because our God is the Lord, as the Psalmist put it, but we have been given so much. That surely means an obligation to use it with responsibility and with generosity.
In Jesus’ day, people reacted in different ways to the realities of community and political life. There were those who totally withdrew from society, believing it too corrupt to have anything to do with. One significant group which did this was the Essenes, who produced the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are groups which claim to be Christian, but are more like cults, who do this today: the Exclusive Brethren have been in the news, and there are others we may have heard about. But I don’t see any encouragement at all in the New Testament for this approach.
There were people in Jesus’ day who conformed, adopting the standards and lifestyles of those in power. The Saducees, nominally religious, but really very cynical. The Herodians, who found it more comfortable to go along with the system than stand up for their own people. And it is always easier for us today to just fit in, rather than allow ourselves to stand out when the Christian way is different from the popular way.
And there were those who condemned: people like the Pharisees stayed in the world rather than withdrawing - they did not allow the world to squeeze them into its mould. But they stood on the sidelines, condemning those who did not live up to their standards, looking down their noses at the ignorant unrighteous majority.
And there is always the temptation for us to present ourselves as “holier than thou”, to exclude those who do not live up to our standards. It is easy for discipleship to descend into Pharasaism.
But Jesus took none of those paths. He did not withdraw from the world, even when it rejected him, attacked him, and even crucified him. He had come to serve and sacrifice himself for us, and he never handed in his commission. He did not conform to the world: he stood up for the ways of God, he clarified misunderstandings of the law, and he lived a full and consistent life. And he did not condemn those who fell short. He had strong words for those who knew better, and used religion to take advantage of others. And he condemned the Pharisees who judged others, but refused to be honest about their own failings. But he welcomed all to came to him with their weaknesses and failings and sins.
No, the way of Jesus does not cut us off from the world around us. We are to live as the salt of the earth: adding something positive to life in our world, stopping things from going bad. We are to live as the light of the world: revealing God’s righteousness and goodness and love to those around us.
Withdrawal is not the way of Jesus. Conformity with the world’s priorities and standards is not the way of Jesus, and there are times when we must take God’s way, not the easy way. And the judgemental and arrogant way which condemns those who fall short is not the way of Jesus, and must not be the way of his church.
As followers of Jesus, let us seek to live lives that honour him, as obedient, law-abiding and helpful citizens of this blessed country. Let us pray for our leaders: for wisdom, integrity, compassion and a clear vision of the things that really matter. And let us individually and as a church seek to play a positive role in our community and our society.
Ultimately our citizenship is in heaven. But here and now we have lives to live here where we have been placed in the providence of God. We know that behind every ruler stands the ultimate ruler. We must seek to serve him. But one way we serve him is by serving one another, and by actively loving our neighbour in this world, whoever they may be.
We are indeed blessed to live here in this wonderful country. Let us by all means celebrate these blessings. But let us play our part as citizens of Australia as we serve the one who is ruler of all.