October 19, 2008
The Ven. Richard I Cluett
Isaiah 45:1-7 ~ Matthew 22:15-22
Let's review for a moment what was going on in the time of Cyrus and in the time of Jesus. A littler review won't hurt, will it?
The Isaiah passage is the part of the Isaiah prophecy known as Second Isaiah and it was written in the time of the Babylonian Captivity of the people of Israel. For generations Israel has been captive in a foreign land, held completely at the mercy of a foreign power. They had lost whatever self-confidence, self-assurance they had as a people, as a nation and now were living at the mercy of these foreign powers, forced to live lives foreign to their own ways. They were at the mercy – and there was none.
Into that situation Isaiah speaks a word of hope that their deliverance will surely come and it will come from a direction they never could possibly have imagined. Common wisdom was that if, indeed, Persia was going to conquer Babylon, the only change for the Israelites would be at whose mercy they now would be forced to live; a change in masters only. Isaiah prophesizes that Persia, and Cyrus in particular, will be the means of their deliverance into freedom and return to their homeland.
So don't lose faith. God is God and has not and will not leave his people bereft.
In the time of Jesus, Israel is once again in the grasp of a foreign power, living at the mercy of Rome; Roman governors, Roman soldiers, Roman tax collectors, Roman judges. Living at the mercy of other's power, as were their forbearers, except this time it is in their own land.
The Herodians, known to us as King Herod and his brothers and cousins, were Jews who governed on behalf of Rome. The Pharisees were strict constructionists of Jewish faith, life and law, but were not above cooperating with the powers-that-be to protect themselves. And so we have the trick question in today's gospel.
The context of their encounter is the hopelessness of living at the mercy of foreign powers, with no hope of deliverance, no great warrior on the horizon; blind to the possibility that ultimate deliverance, true freedom would be brought in the person of the carpenter from Galilee – in Jesus.
So there you have the Cliff Notes summary of today's scripture and the question remains, "What has that to do with us?"
Let's look at some current context for our lives today. How did you feel when gas prices were racing up in cost to $4 and $5 dollar levels? Did you feel able to change the course or did you feel at the mercy of international and corporate powers?
How did you feel when the mortgage crisis hit and the culpability of banking institutions in the housing collapse was made known and clear to be appallingly malicious and rapacious? Did you feel able to make a difference or did you feel at the mercy of institutional powers?
How did you feel when you realized that we were going down the slippery slope of recession and none of our leaders would own up to it and the policies that brought it about? Could you do anything or did you feel at the mercy of uncaring governmental powers?
How are you feeling in the rollercoaster debacle of the worldwide stock market, and the collapse of credit, and what it means for life today and for the foreseeable future? Do you feel in charge of your destiny or do you feel at the mercy of powers?
The Associated Pres reported this week, "The world's poorest people will be hungrier, sicker and have fewer jobs as a result of the global financial crisis, and cash-strapped aid agencies will be less able to help… The charities that provide food, medicine and other relief … say cutbacks have already started, but it will take months or more before the full impact is felt in the poorest countries…"
Sorry. When I began writing this sermon I didn't set out to be depressing, and I may have achieved that with some of you. But I do want us to realize that we, too, all of us, live at the mercy of powers beyond ourselves as our forbearers did in their day; powers mediated by individuals, institutions, computer buying and selling programs, governments, etc; many of whom operate solely in terms of their own self-interest.
We are all at the mercy of powers beyond ourselves, we all live at the mercy of forces outside ourselves, so "What do we do? Do we wait for deliverance? Do we give in to the cynicism of the age? Do we buy into the Greed Creed of the powerful? Despair? Hope? Look in the usual places for a savior who will make it all better, make it all like it was? Or do we go back to the basics, to what we know and believe and have bet our lives on day in and day out until this very day?
In the church calendar we are creeping up on Advent, just a few short weeks away when we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation. Remember that God did send the Messiah. That God did redeem the world. That the baby grew up, that he gave his all for us, and that he is coming again to judge the world – with a judgment of light, not of darkness, a judgment of hope, not despair, a judgment of life, not of death. It is a judgment of rejoicing, not of weeping, a judgment that "none shall hurt in all my holy mountain…" It is the judgment of the God who is Creator, Savior, and Power of Life.
So where do you look for the power to claim your life, the power to live your life, the power to share the stuff of your life your life with those in need?
Look to the One who is faithful and will deliver and keep on keeping on; doing what you know and believe is good and right and just and true; and sharing some of what you have that others may have some too. And God who is faithful and just will deliver.
