Proverbs 8:11–22
Philippians 3:17–21
St. Matthew 22:15–22
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| Christ the King on His throne - Ravenna, Italy |
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus is not like a politician. The Pharisees noticed that too: “Teacher, we know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and You do not care about anyone's opinion, for You are not swayed by appearances.” He says it like it is. He speaks the truth even when it’s not popular. He doesn’t run with the rich and famous. He’s honest, impartial, and sticks to His convictions. But the Pharisees’ compliment has hidden barbs to catch Jesus on their hook. They’re hoping He will put His foot in His mouth. They’re hoping He’ll do some of that straight-shootin’ talk against the Romans and their taxes. And then, Jesus will get arrested and executed all on His own, and the Jewish leaders won’t have to do a thing.
But Jesus does not get caught in their trap. Not because He’s such a slick operator, but because He really does only speak the Truth. The Pharisees had no idea just how right they were: You are true and teach the way of God truthfully. Jesus is the Truth. All Truth finds its goal in Him. He is the Creator of all Truth. And so also, He, along with the Father and Spirit, is the source of all Goodness, and all Beauty. The Holy Trinity gives meaning to our lives and to this entire cosmos. All questions are finally answered by the God who made all things, the God who has no beginning and no end, the I Am. And no political factions, no man-made ideology can box Him in.
To answer their question about taxes, and to crush their schemes against Him, Jesus speaks the Truth: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. So, there are earthly authorities established by God. First, He establishes the authority of parents in the 4th Commandment. And then through parents, He establishes the government. The family is the building block of society. And so just as there are fathers in the home, there are also “fathers” for a nation. And we are to obey these authorities established by God in this world. Romans 13, which we confessed from the Table of Duties in the Catechism, spells this all out. And so, if something belongs to the earthly government, it should be given to the earthly government: Taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed (Rom. 13:7). Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Give to the civil government what is expected. But what exactly is expected and what exactly governments should be doing, well, that can get a little complicated.
C.S. Lewis, the British and Christian scholar and author, especially of the classic children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia, had this to say about the real purpose of government:
“The State exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire, a couple of friends having a game of darts in a pub, a man reading a book in his own room or digging in his own garden—that is what the State is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong and protect such moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc., are simply a waste of time” (Mere Christianity).
In other words, if the politicians are not serving real people, real families, real human interaction, then they are a useless waste. What’s the good of a party platform or a political agenda if it doesn’t protect what is actually good and decent about human life?
Good government is an earthly gift from God. But then that means it should not promote and protect its own ideas and goals. Good government should promote and protect other earthly gifts from God: stable families, peace between neighbors, punishment for criminals, good roads, defense against foreign enemies, protection for beautiful places, natural resources, and good jobs for its citizens. Really, government is to be concerned with the simple things of earthly life. It does not have the answers to life’s greatest questions. It cannot provide meaning and direction for people’s souls. That is God’s job, and He does that by working through His Church and in the Christian Home.
Earthly rulers can learn wisdom from God if they would receive it, like it’s described in Proverbs 8, where Wisdom herself speaks: “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me [wisdom] kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly" (v.15–16). This is not describing fickle politicians who say whatever they have to in order to get elected. Wise rulers must understand how this creation actually works, the nature of things. They practice prudence, planning for the future. They are open to learning and correction, and they are able to discern between truth and falsehood. They hate what is evil, and they love what is good.
In this way, a wise ruler, a good government is after a very simple goal: to understand the reality of this world as God created it, and to protect everything that is true, good, and beautiful in this world. As C.S. Lewis summed it up: family, friends, a book, a garden—these are human things, things connected to the earth, and the home, and the life of the mind. These are “permanent things”—meaning they don’t come and go with passing fads or political movements. We, and our government, should be concerned with these foundational things—things rooted and living in God’s order, the institutions of His creation: marriage, family, community, church. And these things should ultimately point us to Christ, the Author of Life, the Architect of this Creation, the One who gives meaning to the world and to our lives, the One who is Truth, Goodness, and Beauty Himself.
And so, please pay attention to this next part: you’re not going to save the “soul” of America by voting. We will never truly change our country for the better from the top down. The heart and soul are not found in the State, but in the Home and in the Church. If the Home and the Church are weak or have lost their way, then the State will also be weak and, worse, evil. The baptismal font and the altar are far more important than the ballot box. What’s far more important than who you vote for, is how you vote with your time and commitments in your home and church. If we are so concerned about elections or government mandates but we don’t want to pay attention to the Word of Life or eat and drink that Life’s Body and Blood, then we are wasting our time.
This also means that we can be loyal, respectful citizens to our governing officials, even if we do not obey their every whim. You must only give to Caesar what is his. And Caesar, the government, does not own your mind. Government officials and boards do not have the right to teach you or your children their own definition of right and wrong. They have no business micromanaging every bit of your life. You are allowed to decide what’s good for you and your family, within reason, using wisdom, and prudence, and discretion—using God’s Word to guide your thoughts and actions.
There are plenty of busybodies running around, and running for office, who want to use the power of the government to control people, all the while claiming they’re doing it for our own good. To quote C.S. Lewis again: “Those [tyrants] who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” They only have eyes for this life and they are proud of their sin. But they stand condemned and this life doesn’t last. As St. Paul said, their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
These include people who think politics and elections are the most important thing. It’s their god. That’s why they scream and cry like their whole world is ending when their candidate is defeated. People were wrong to react that way to the presidential election four years ago, and people would be just as wrong to do so this time, depending on how the election gets settled. Regardless of who gets sworn into office in January, that sort of panic and despair can’t be our reaction. We simply cannot care about it that much.
We cannot render unto Caesar our whole heart and mind, body and soul. Government, politics, the news—it cannot be the center of our world, or the end of our world, or drive our every opinion and action. Not if we are Christians. We have the real God, the living God. We belong to Him, and we do render unto Him our body and soul, and all we have. Render to God the things that are God’s… Well, that’s everything. Jesus is no politician. He is our King. And soon, He will bring us to Himself, and make His kingdom known to all.
In times of crises, our leaders are fond of saying things like: “We will get through this,” and “We’re all in this together.” It sounds nice, but it’s not really true. Sadly, we don’t all get through it. Some people don’t make it through the crisis. And even if we all did make it through this one, there will be another crisis after it. Of course, it’s good for earthly rulers to encourage their people in perseverance. But we’ve got to keep in mind that this earthly encouragement falls short and it fails in the end. We cannot trust their word, the way we trust God’s Word. We do not render our trust unto Caesar.
Jesus is no politician. He makes promises and He always keeps them. Fear not, little flock, He says, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32). The kingdom is ours: we who are baptized in the King’s name, and eat the King’s food; we who call upon Him in trouble and praise Him for His blessings and His great deeds of salvation. We will get through this, whatever it is, even death. We are all in this together with Christ, because we are all in Christ. We don’t rely on human resilience or government strategy or health departments. Christ has made peace by the blood of His cross. He forgives our sins, and He promises to raise us up on the Last Day. Our citizenship is in heaven, and the King is on His throne. And there, with Christ and God the Father and the Holy Spirit, we have a home and a country that will never be taken from us.
In the Holy + Name of Jesus. Amen.
