It is a scene that has become all too familiar.  A person walks into a classroom, office building, shopping mall, or public gathering pulls out a gun and begins shooting.  In a matter of seconds innocent people are dead and others are wounded.   Yet, last week’s shooting in Arizona was particularly tragic, not only for the victims and their relatives, but for the nation as a whole.  

As doctors were working frantically to save lives; as families were still gathering there were already signs that a political storm was about to erupt.  And erupt it did!  In less than twenty-four hours the airways were filled with members of one party blaming members of the other party for creating an atmosphere that encourages constituents to react with hostile, if not violent, behavior.  One even went so far as to insist that is not only traditional for those in public office to criticize, judge, condemn and attack their opponents but it was also a constitutionally guaranteed right to do so.

Now what is particularly disturbing about all this is that in a nationwide survey conducted during the last presidential election it was found that the majority of Americans want elected officials to be people of faith.  And it is, indeed, rare for candidates not to expose at least part of their religious beliefs.  Now, Christians, recognizing that there are public officials who do live out the convictions of their faith, we need to acknowledge the concern that many outside the church express when they see both politicians who profess to be people of faith and those who are leaders within the faith community participating in all the mean-spirited rhetoric, slander, and disrespect that is so pervasive among our leaders today. 

In his book God’s Politics, Jim Wallis states that if the religious community began to take seriously the basic principles of our faith we could very easily help move this nation to higher ground.  Even those who are un-churched or de-churched recognize that when Christians practice Christ-like love – when, in the Apostle Paul’s words, let no evil talk come out of our mouths, but only what is useful for building up . . . Put away all our bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander together with malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forging one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us – then society changes for the good. 

But when we get it wrong – when Christians choose to forget the moral obligation God has entrusted us with – terrible things happen.  The last week of Jesus’ life is a tragic example of just that.  What many of us don’t understand is that much of what occurred during that time in history was politically motivated.  To complicated matters further, there had been a strange marriage of sorts between the occupying Roman officials and key Jewish leaders.  So, while the majority of those who were being ruled over by the Romans found themselves struggling a very burden of taxation, their religious leaders were enjoying a host of special privileges that allowed many of them to become quit wealthy. 

Now, as you can imagine, the Jewish people resented both the taxes and the occupation.  As a result, they were looking for a Messiah who would free them from both.  The Romans understood this so they were prepared to make certain that no such person would rise to power.  So, when the Pharisees sent representatives to ask Jesus if it was legal to pay taxes to emperor, Jesus was in a very uncomfortable place.  If he responded “yes” the people would turn away from him because, remember, they were looking for a Messiah would overthrow the Roman government.  If he responded “no”, however, the religious authorities would turn him over to the Roman governor as an enemy of the state and he would have, no doubt, been put to death.

So, Jesus asked to see a coin.  What is very telling is that these fine upstanding religious people had that coin.  You see, most Jews refused to carry them because they had the image of Caesar and an inscription declaring him to be a god.  Be that aside, Jesus took the coin and asked, “Whose image is this?”  They, of course replied, “Caesar.”  To which Jesus answered, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar and give to God what is God’s.”

While that was a very, shall we say, God-inspired answer, I believe Jesus was also trying to tell us something very important.  There are, simply put, things that belong to Caesar or, in our case, the government.  These would be things like money, taxation, laws and, yes, elections.  And just as Caesar’s image was on the coin, God’s image is in our souls. 

According to Adam Hamilton, as followers of Christ . . . we belong to the one who made us, whose image we bear.  So when we are involved in the civic arena, our hearts (should still) belong to God . . . We are citizens of God’s kingdom, yet for a time we also are citizens of this country.  Our task is to seek to be a blessing and to live out our faith, always giving our primary allegiance to the One who made us . . . We must be careful not to “get it wrong.”  When we get it wrong in the area of politics (is when) we lay aside Christian ethics and Christ’s call to love even our enemies and instead engage in slander and mean-spirited partisan politics.  (When Christians Get it Wrong; page 38)

When we get it right, however, we work lead others to that higher ground by working for justice with grace, truth, and love.  We stand for what we believe in a way that is consistent with the ways of Christ – with ways that are grounded in love and grow in grace.  As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” 

Christians, God’s heart is breaking with every slanderous word and every act of disrespect.  So, remember whose image you carry and go forth to serve in love.

To God be the Glory.  Amen.