I've been struggling with Lent this year. I started off pretty well. I ate my share of fat on "Fat" Tuesday. I attended services at UCC Bayberry on Ash Wednesday evening where pastor Mark Lawson imposed ashes on my forehead. Each day as part of my spiritual discipline I've been reading and praying from the UCC Calendar of Prayer and the Still Speaking Lenten Devotional. But then things go awry.
It's politics. You know the football season is over. Spring training is just getting underway. I haven't really gotten into much basketball. And, I can't play golf yet. But, politics! I'm obsessing. I can't get enough of it. I anticipate watching the results of various caucuses and primaries on T.V. and find myself rooting for my candidate like my life depended on it. I take it personally when my candidate looses and rejoice when my candidate wins. You might think the New York Giants or Boston Red Sox were running for President! I'm pretty annoyed with myself, really.
The relationship between religion and politics has always been complicated. A year ago I had a rather heated discussion with a young man in one of our churches about this issue. He felt very strongly that the church had no right to intervene or to say anything about what belonged in the political or governmental sphere. And, he was unmoved by my various arguments to the contrary.
In the Christian era, after the Church became the official religion of the Roman Empire, theologians like Augustine of Hippo and popes like Gelasius I developed ways to think about this relationship. In his treatise "The City of God" Augustine spoke of the realms of the flesh (the City of 'Man') and of the Spirit (The City of God). While both needed to be governed according to God's precepts, the City of God was superior.
Gelasius I developed what was later called the "two swords" theory of the relationship between Church and State. Remember when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter tried to defend Jesus by cutting off the ear of one of the soldiers. Jesus healed the man's ear and rebuked Peter by saying that, "They who live by the sword will die by the sword." Along the way of directing Peter to turn over his weapon, however, Jesus asked Peter how many sword he had. Peter responded, "two." To which Jesus concluded, "It is enough."
From this story Gelasius and others saw a metaphor for the relationship between church and state. Gelasius wrote a famous letter to Emperor Anastasius speaking about the Church's duty to speak to various governmental issues of the day and of the government's duty to listen and obey.
"There are two powers, august Emperor, by which this world is chiefly ruled, namely, the sacred authority of the priests and the royal power. Of these that of the priests is the more weighty, since they have to render an account for even the kings of men in the divine judgment. You are also aware, dear son, that while you are permitted honorably to rule over human kind, yet in things divine you bow your head humbly before the leaders of the clergy and await from their hands the means of your salvation..." -- translated in J. H. Robinson, Readings in European History, (Boston: Ginn, 1905), pp. 72-73
In his book The Crisis of Church and State 1030-1300 Brian Thierny wrote, "From the eleventh century onward if became very usual to regard the "two swords" as symbols of spiritual and temporal power, and a whole inverted pyramid of political fantasy was erected on the slender basis of this one verse of Scripture." (p. 8)
Slender as this basis may be, the Church (and even the State) has recognized that the Church will have a voice in the governance of earthly affairs. Sometimes this has meant that the government recognizes and supports an official religion, as in England, Russian and Germany. Sometimes the Church has voiced its objection to governments from the standpoint of hunted rebel (as in Communist Romania or East Germany, or the pre-Revolutionary north American colonies). And sometimes the Church has had much to say in governments that have respected its voice and listened with varying degrees of willingness (as in the United States).
Indeed, where would we be as a nation if churches and church leaders had not spoke out against British taxation without representation and had not provided the leadership and the meeting place to organize the Revolution itself?
Where would we be as a nation if churches and church leaders had not spoken out against slavery, worked with the organizers and provided way stations for the Underground Railroad, and worked through the American Missionary Association to provide education, social services and advocacy for African Americans once they were emancipated?
And where would our nation be if churches and church leaders did not speak up for the rights of laborers, women, African Americans, gays, lesbians, bi-sexual and transgendered folks?
Where would our nation and where would our world be if churches and church leaders had not and spoken out and advocated for the rights of refugees, those suffering from HIV/AIDS, the hungry, those suffering from mental illness, those suffering from the ravages of war?
And so, the World Council of Churches "absolutely condemns" the attacks on civilians in Gaza and Israel. http://www.globalministries.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2169&Itemid=1
In like manner UCC supported Churches for Middle East Peace issued this statement.
"We grieve the tragic loss of eight young lives in the attack yesterday by a Palestinian extremist against Israeli yeshiva students in Jerusalem. Such terrorism is never acceptable or justifiable. Unfortunately it is only the latest event in the current spasm of violence and retaliation that started in southern Israel and Gaza and that has led to scores of dead, mostly Palestinian. All efforts must now be taken to achieve an urgently needed cease-fire.
CMEP heads of churches and organizations sent a letter to Secretary Rice a week ago expressing concern for all civilians caught in the conflict, urging her to help "achieve a ceasefire, end the Gaza blockade and achieve real security at Gaza's borders". They warned of the danger of even greater confrontation and the risk this posed to the peace process. Sadly history suggests one can expect more violence and killing in the months ahead as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators continue the peace process initiated by the United States at Annapolis last year. Both sides, Israeli and Palestinian, deserve respect and support for continuing to negotiate in the face of efforts to derail them.
While not underestimating the forces arrayed against peace and with ample reasons for skepticism, there is no acceptable alternative to pursuing a negotiated two state resolution of the conflict. We pray the time is coming soon for all the children of Abraham to live in peace and security in the land called holy."
So, what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God? Jesus' response to the testing of the religious leaders was clever, indeed. While avoiding the trap of denying Caesar his due, Jesus maintained the integrity of the belief that all things belong to God, even the things that the Caesars of this world think belong to them.
Therefore, the Church speaks out against unjustifiable wars and those who justify the unspeakable use of torture, and speaks up for those who work for justice and peace. Thus, do we in faithfulness seek to render to God the things that are God's
Blessings,
Rick Cowles
2 comments:
Heard a good word the other day, "Stand for something or you will fall for anything."
There are times when the Church must stand up for something or it will fall. Nazi Germany is a prime example when the Church took no stand.
"And so, the World Council of Churches "absolutely condemns" the attacks on civilians in Gaza and Israel. "
When I was a "little Congregationalist", we stood with Israel. As a "big UCCr", I feel we have forgotten that.
Palestine's problems are Palestine's. Most of the recent attacks have been when their missles haven't gone far enough to get out of their own territory.
And Palestine's problems predate the state of Israel, as do Israel's.
We can't impose our own form of government onto a bedouin culture. We've seen that the past 5 years
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