April 15 – tax day! Tea parties were held across the United States ostensibly to protest high taxes, big government, and excessive government spending. During the recent presidential campaign, there were many questions about which candidate was going to raise his taxes. Which one would lower them? What would be the best policy for the country? What would be the best for you? Even after elections, when the attention of national leaders turns to government, politicians continue to talk about fiscal policy.
His talk had a sharp edge when an economic crisis turned into a global recession, at the very least! Just as dangerous and debilitating as the credit crunch, business failure, and rising unemployment is the fear and anxiety that accompany many. Meanwhile, many politicians continue to accuse each other of raising taxes or giving excessive tax breaks to those who already have a lot. Even many churches in Kansas City have been drawn into the discussion.
The subject of taxes has always been controversial. There is a familiar story in the New Testament in which the leaders of the Jerusalem Temple tried to engage Jesus in a discussion about taxes. In response, Jesus described God’s fiscal policy. As members of an opposing political party on the prowl, the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus into making a misstatement or taking a controversial position on taxes that would offend public sensibilities or challenge Roman authority.
As is often the case, there is a backstory that, when understood, sheds light on the religious leaders’ question and on Jesus’ response. Some of the religious leaders were Pharisees and we know about them. They were the religious scholars who presented themselves as the supreme authority on Jewish religious law. But there were also others who came to question Jesus.
They were called Herodians, obviously followers of King Herod. These were the ones that collaborated most closely with the Roman occupation. Together, this group represented a Jewish leadership struggling to balance its responsibilities in terms of its own people with its obligation to personal and civic survival under the realities of Roman rule. Jerusalem’s survival seemed to depend on appeasing the Romans and keeping its own people at bay. Of course, these leaders were also concerned about their own interest.
The answer to all these questions was taxes. “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus was caught in a no-win situation. If he answered that it was lawful to pay taxes to Rome, it would seem to legitimize Roman authority and the people, who considered him a revolutionary leader, would feel betrayed and turn against him. But if he answered “no”, there would be a real danger. Jesus would be seen as promoter of sedition against Rome.
The religious leaders questioned Jesus and he responded by asking them a question. This is usually a good way to answer a difficult question. The evangelist says that “Jesus knew they were up to no good.” Before they knew it, Jesus’ counter-trap was sprung. Sounds innocent: “Do you have a coin? Yes? Let me see it.” What was Jesus doing? “Whose head is this and whose title is it?” Cautiously they replied, “It is the Emperor’s head, of course, Caesar!”
The crowd may have gasped when they learned that these religious leaders were carrying coins with engraved images. By this revelation, they were instantly discredited in the eyes of the crowd. Then Jesus sealed the deal: “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s. The Pharisees were speechless. They walked away shaking their heads.”
What was Jesus talking about? Was this, as many think, Jesus’ formula for balancing being citizens of a nation and citizens of the kingdom of God? But balancing doesn’t necessarily mean dividing the difference between extremes, in this case between God and Caesar. In fact, Jesus’ whole point is that there is no balance between God’s and Caesar’s. Everything belongs to God and nothing belongs to Caesar. In terms of citizenship, Jesus taught that the balance between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Caesar is not achieved by dividing loyalties. Libra finds himself alone giving absolute allegiance to God. Loyalty to any national kingdom, or to any nation, must come second.
“What is God’s fiscal policy? The underlying question is, ‘What belongs to God and what does that mean to us?’ What belongs to God and what is left over? I came to Kansas City in 2002 to pastor a church I came with over twenty years of experience in pastoral ministry I came with training and education I also came with a clear idea about the nature of leadership: the importance of a leader being part of the congregation, but also with some Space A certain distance is present so that the leader can maintain some objectivity and a strong sense of self.
I still believe in maintaining a close connection, but also a proper distance. This balance is very important. However, something funny has happened. After almost seven years of being with you, the nature of relationships changes. You have come to trust me a little more, trusting not only what I say, but who I am. And I have come to trust you with my livelihood, my family and, to a large extent, my future. That is what Jesus meant when he spoke of what belongs to God and what belongs to Caesar. Ultimately, we have to choose in our lives which we trust more: Caesar’s world or God’s world, the security that comes from money in the bank or the security that comes from entrusting our lives to the movement of the Spirit.
The journeys of our life have many moments of crisis. These include the loss of a loved one to death, the failure of a close relationship, the loss of a job, school failure, the onset of a serious illness, and even a serious global economic crisis that threatens our financial and, of course, future. extension, many of our hopes and dreams. These crises threaten our sense of well-being and security. They can question our basic identity and cause us to lose confidence in who we are and what we can achieve with our lives.
But all these times of loss also offer us opportunities. I’ve heard tennis great Billie Jean King call the stress and anxiety that comes with competition “pressure.” That pressure reveals your character. Similarly, the stress, anxiety and even fear that are part of living in crisis are opportunities, through pressure, to take stock of our character and reveal how much we have grown since the last crisis.
Jesus’ message was that the world belongs to God, that the reality behind everything is the Spirit. His challenge to us is to trust this reality more than the realities of power, security and protection that the world offers us. During the current economic crisis, I have found the pressure to be almost unbearable at times as I worry about losing savings, mounting debt, and increasing uncertainty. At the same time, however, I have found in myself the ability to stop, take a deep breath, and remain open to what is to come. In those times, I believe that my well-being is completely in the hands of God. I trust that future, but embracing it requires that I actually go there and put my trust there. That is the journey.
In 1960, the Secretary General of the United Nations was killed in a plane crash while coordinating relief efforts in Africa. After his death, his aides discovered a manuscript of reflective writing that was later published. In this book entitled Marches, Dag Hammarskjold described this journey:
I am being led into an unknown land.
The pass becomes steeper, the air colder and sharper.
A wind from my unknown goal shakes the strings of expectation.
The question still remains: will I ever get there?
There where life resounds a clear pure note In the silence.
The good news is that the church is in the business of this journey. We can walk together and help each other. God’s fiscal policy is not a flat 10% tax. Churches talk about tithing, giving 10% of one’s income to the church, but a tithe of our income and also of our lives, is not what we owe to God. The 10% is not the portion of myself that belongs to God. Everything I am and have comes from God. My whole being is in God and the challenge for us is to give ourselves everything to live as citizens in God’s world.
Let us not hold back out of fear, let us not commit only when it is convenient and let us not leave open the option of going back. The direction is forward, into the future. Put your feet on the road. Go out into the darkness and put your hand in the hand of God. Of all the treasures, only walking with the Spirit is truly precious. Of all the strategies, only living in the Spirit by faith is safe.