Lk 20

The wording of my sermon title, “Some Theological Reflections of One American,” has been carefully chosen. First of all, the word “some.” There’s nothing comprehensive about this—they’re just some reflections. And they’re “theological” reflections. What I mean is: how is God involved in it? Where is God to be found? And they are “reflections.” This sermon will be somewhat autobiographical.

And indeed, this is the viewpoint of “one” American. I can only speak for myself. But though I am one, I am an “American.” In some ways, I feel like I could be nothing but an American. Having been adopted as an infant, I really have no idea who my genetic ancestors are. In a similar fashion, America lacks a clear understanding of its genetic ancestry. Our political history ties us to England, but as a whole, Americans look to all parts of the world, not to mention those who were here before the Europeans ever showed up.

So there’s that. But I do have a better reason for saying that “I feel like I could be nothing but an American.” It’s because I love my country. For better or worse, I love America.

Still, just to assure you that I won’t be rambling aimlessly, I will ask that we direct our focus to the statement by Jesus in Luke 20: “give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v. 25). Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and unto God that which is God’s. I wonder, what does that mean for us, on our nation’s 228th birthday?

For the first ten years of my life, we were a military family. With my dad being posted to various Naval bases around the country, that meant a good bit of moving around. That itself guaranteed that I would see a lot of America. My dad had also gone overseas on the USS Enterprise and other aircraft carriers. That was in the 1960s, earlier in the Vietnam War era.

But like most of us, whether or not we’re from a military background, I was taught at an early age that America had something…almost divine about it. I was taught that America had been blessed by God (which, by the way, is something I still do believe!) My young mind, unable to grasp the concept of nuance, made the assumption that since God had blessed America, we Americans were therefore better than people from other countries! (I’ve since learned that Banu was raised with a similar belief about Turkey—that’s there’s nothing more glorious than being a Turk!)

And also like most of us, I was taught that communism was inherently wrong. That’s aside from any questions about how it was implemented, such as to what degree the government was democratic. (And just so you know, I do believe that communism had some rather serious flaws!) I was taught, like so many of us, that communism was more than just a bad system, a bad way of doing things. It was actually evil, even Satanic.

I remember as a kid looking at a map of the world in a textbook we had. On all the nations with communist governments, there appeared the hammer and sickle. I remember thinking how scary they looked. I didn’t see them as the symbols of industry and agriculture—I only saw the hammer and sickle as weapons! (Kind of like the slasher horror movies!) I imagined some soldier getting ready to whack me with one and to decapitate me with the other!

Well, I could tell some other stories, but my point is that, as a little boy, I was taught that we’re the good guys. People in other countries may think that they’re the good guys—but they’re not as good as we are!

I realize that the way I’m describing all this makes it sound kind of stupid. I do believe this is a great country. Here’s a good example: compared with Europe and Asia, at 228 years old, we’re still a pretty young country. Yet, we have the oldest regime on earth. That is, we’re governed by the longest-lasting constitution on the planet. Our constitution was ratified in 1789; I don’t think anyone else is even close to that.

There are good reasons for the success of the US Constitution. The separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches, the guarantees of basic human rights, as well as other features make it a remarkable document. But even better, for all this time, we’ve more or less held ourselves accountable to that constitution.

Something else that testifies to America’s greatness is the fact that we’ve never had to build the equivalent of the Berlin Wall. We’ve never had a problem with too many people leaving the country. Instead, our challenge has been dealing with the inflow of population—from all over the world. That says something.

There is within the spirit of America a commitment, a conviction, that all people should be free. There’s a conviction that people shouldn’t be tortured, that the government shouldn’t tell them how to think, that they are truly “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” (I stole that last part from the Declaration of Independence!)

That’s why it’s such a shame when we, as a country, don’t live up to those convictions. It was only when I really started learning about our American history that I discovered these troubling realities. Of course, we all know that there were many different Indian nations on the North American continent, dating back thousands of years. The methods employed against them would today be called “ethnic cleansing” or even “genocide.” Certainly, a multitude of war crimes were committed.

But I never felt any embarrassment about being an American until I read the book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. Subtitled, “An Indian History of the American West,” he describes the disastrous nature (from a Native American point of view) of the westward expansion of the US. An incident in one chapter, dealing with the southern Cheyennes in Colorado, really got to me. In November 1864, there was an especially vicious attack on a peaceful settlement of about 600 Cheyennes and Arapahoes, two-thirds of whom were women and children. Brown quotes the officer in charge, Col. John Chivington, a former Methodist minister.

“I have come to kill Indians,” he said, “and believe it is right and honorable to use any means under God’s heaven to kill Indians.” On the question of killing and scalping all Indians, even infants, Chivington declared, “Nits make lice!”[1] When we deny the humanity of someone else, it becomes very easy to do almost anything to them. (Talk to the Jews about that; they have a few stories to tell!)

Some people, reflecting on the legacy of slavery, the treatment of Japanese Americans in World War 2, and other social ills have concluded that America is the focus of evil in the world. (There are some folks in the Middle East today who believe that!) Of course, it’s ridiculous to single out any one country like that. Evil is much too slippery to be so easily packaged.

I suppose for me, my dismay comes when we betray what is great about our country. I believe a key moment came in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks. I believe there was a real window of opportunity for some long overdue soul searching for us as a nation. There was a real opportunity to consider the question often asked in those days: “Why do they hate us?”

I’m not referring to the hatred of the mass-murdering criminals for whom the word “terrorist” is an undeserved compliment. No, I’m speaking of the millions of people, mainly in Asia and Africa, but including Latin America, who feel that the good ol’ US of A is their enemy. Why do they hate us? And if they don’t actually hate us, they do see us as hypocritical.

There are plenty of Americans who really struggle with that. Unfortunately, after 9-11, both major political parties showed a real lack of leadership in getting to the heart of the matter. Still, it’s not like we in the church have done much better.

This isn’t the time and place, and I’m not the person, to expound at length on our nation’s foreign policy. Still, I think I’m fairly safe in saying that most Americans, and most American Christians, are not…overly concerned with understanding the various European, Asian, African, or Latin American viewpoints about the US. We’re not terribly interested in learning about the cultures of other nations. Certainly in Iraq, our lack of understanding of their culture and history hasn’t served us well. We tend to be rather inward-looking.

Speaking of inward-looking, we can see something similar going on in our gospel reading. (I did say that these would be “theological” reflections!) The interrogators of Jesus are very concerned about their own understanding of the law—their own viewpoint of righteousness. Jesus seems to be threatening all of that.

The scribes and chief priests do send representatives to him, but it’s clear that they aren’t doing so in good faith. The scripture calls them “spies who pretended to be honest.” Their job isn’t to pursue a meaningful dialogue; their job is “to trap him by what he” says, so that they can hand him over to the Romans (v. 20).

They’re too inward-looking to really hear what Jesus has to say. They’re not even interested in asking the questions that would enable them to make intelligent and faithful decisions. They’re just hoping that he screws up!

The immediate context of our story is the payment of the taxes, the tribute, to the Roman authorities that is required of all provinces in the empire. The enemies of Jesus have racked their brains, trying to come up with some way to get rid of this guy. Someone has one of those “aha!” moments, and says, “Okay, here’s the plan!” If Jesus says that it’s all right to pay taxes to the Roman government, he’ll stir up all the Jewish revolutionaries. But if he says, “no,” the imperial authorities will step in and put a stop to this dangerous talk.

The folks trying to trick Jesus haven’t really done their homework, or they might have guessed that their plan won’t work. Jesus is outward-looking; he’s proactive, not reactive, about the job of reconciliation. Among his disciples he’s included Simon the Zealot, a Jewish revolutionary. He’s included Matthew the tax collector, a collaborator with the Romans. Not exactly birds of a feather!

In answering the question about paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus elevates the discussion. He gets to the heart of the matter. He gives the perfect answer to their question, one that invites them to challenge their assumptions.

Ten days after the attacks of 9-11, a well-known person spoke of his own assumptions that needed to be challenged. I’m referring to the man who is now governor of California, Arnold Schwarzeneggar. He spoke of growing up poor in the destruction of postwar Austria and of his dream of going to America. He arrived in 1968 with $20 in his pocket, and within six months starred in his first movie, the now-classic work of art, Hercules in New York!

He went on, “I called all my friends back in Europe and said: ‘It’s true! You can do anything in this country! Come over here! It’s everything you imagine—and more!’”[2]

Arnold spoke of 1989, when President Bush named him the Chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. He traveled all over the country, promoting fitness programs in schools. His idea was that if a poor farm kid from Europe could make it in America, anybody could. Encountering the poverty of American cities forced him to challenge his assumptions. He said he used to go around saying, “Everybody should pull himself up by his own bootstraps—just like I did!” But he changed that, and said, “What I learned about this country is this: Not everybody has boots.”

Arnold finished by saying that “it’s not just the bodybuilding and the business and the box office for me anymore. Helping the kids who need help is the most important goal I have.

“This is what it means for me to be an American. Maybe that’s what it could mean for you, too! No matter how much success you have, you can be more successful by reaching out to someone who needs you.”[3]

We are called, both as Americans and as Americans of faith, to expand our vision, to look outward, to be proactive about reconciliation—to take the first step in peacemaking. We’re called “to form a more perfect union.” (Okay, I stole that from the preamble to the Constitution!)

Now, to recall my question from the beginning of my sermon, how do we as Americans of faith live on this day, the 228th birthday of our country? In case you hadn’t noticed, there is a difference between being an American and an American of faith, just as there’s a difference between Caesar and God.

As Americans who belong to the body of Christ, we are called to actively challenge the injustices, not only in our country, but in the world. To say that each person is born with inalienable rights means respecting and listening to those who are different from us, in whatever way.

But it also means not to be ashamed of our identity in Jesus Christ. It’s easier than we think to conceal the cross behind the flag. Remember, there is a difference between God and Caesar! Accepting the dignity and humanity of the other person as Jesus does will not compromise our own dignity and humanity in Christ.

May we live lives that are authentically Christian on this Independence Day. May Jesus Christ be praised in America and throughout the world.

[1] Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (New York: Bantam Books, 1970), 85, 89.

[2] Arnold Schwarzeneggar, “The Education of an American,” A Patriot’s Handbook, ed. Caroline Kennedy (New York: Hyperion, 2003), 567.

[3] Schwarzeneggar, 568.