Last week’s sermon looked at the famous ‘render unto Ceasar …’ passage, where the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a question about tax. If Jesus says ‘don’t pay the tax’, the Herodians would have cause to try him for treason, whereas if Jesus says ‘yes, pay the tax’, the Pharisees could denounce him as a Jewish traitor.
Jesus’ answer tells us his followers (i) are to be model citizens, following the laws of the land (e.g. taxes), but (ii) are not to give their complete allegiance to the state, as that belongs to God. In saying this, Jesus teaches us how to bring about fundamental change to our world. It is not found in earthly leaders, but in Jesus.
Earthly leaders are all looking for (i) comfort, (ii) acceptance, (iii) security and (iv) power. Psychologists tell us these are the basic human desires. Humans hate (a) missing out of life’s joys, (b) feeling left out or rejected, (c) feeling out of control, and (d) feeling powerless. Human leaders are more interested in pursuing these 4 things than in fighting injustice, immorality or poverty.
Yet Jesus (1) gave up the comfort of heaven, (2) was rejected by his friends, his creatures and his Father, (3) had no financial security, not having a cent to his name, and (4) allowed his enemies to mistreat and kill him. When the gospel sinks down into a person’s heart, they feel less anxious about pursuing these things, because Jesus has given them to us.
Rather, (i) instead of experiencing FOMO, we can spend our time giving comfort to the sick, (ii) instead of being desperate for ‘likes’ on social media, we can spend our time welcoming those others reject, (iii) instead of trying to control everything in life, we spend our money on the poor, and (iv) instead of seeking power and influence in life, we advocate for the powerless. May we be the kind of citizens who bring real change to our world.
