Sunday, October 17, 1999

Belonging to God
The Rev. Linda Carder

Exodus 33:12-23
1 Thessalonians 1:1-101
Matthew 22:15-22

They say confession is good for the soul. So here I stand before God and all you good Christians to confess. Most of you know that I have been living with Jim and Jackie Henkelmann- Bahn since I arrived here in June. The good news for me and for the Henkelman-Bahn’s is that my house in Iowa has finally sold and I have found a house here. The confession is that, while staying with them, I have discovered Cable Television and in particular the American Movie Classics channel. When I have some time to relax, I seem to grab my knitting, plop down in front of the TV and indulge myself. Having not allowed myself this luxury in my previous existence, this seems downright decadent.

But to my surprise, something does occasionally come from this vice of mine. The other day, finding my newly discovered channel to hold nothing of interest to me, I switched loyalties and changed the channel. What I discovered as I searched was a special on John the Baptist. Generally skeptical about religious programs on television, I held the remote in my hand ready to escape at any second if I deemed it necessary. But I found the program to be very well done, so I watched for awhile. At one point, the narrator described how the Jewish population deeply and passionately resented the Roman presence and domination. But there were also those who were even more fervent and were constantly trying to organize some kind of revolution and were always looking for a leader. This leader would be both a religious and a political leader. John the Baptist seems to have been connected with such groups and was very respected by them. Jesus, on the other hand, was not so radical and so, there were those who refused to follow him just for that reason. And there were those who wanted to encourage or even push him to be more resistant of the Roman rule.

Into that setting comes today’s scripture. This is the second of four stories set in the temple district in which Jesus is challenged. The question asked of him in this story is about belonging to God. Where do your loyalties lie, Jesus? The trap laid was a simple one, but a no win situation. If he says it is okay to pay taxes, he will lose face with the masses. If he says it is wrong to pay taxes, he will take the side of those revolutionary types who for both political and religious reasons advocated rejection of Roman authority and rebellion against the empire. The language of verse 18 can be translated as "But Jesus, aware of their evil, said "Why do you tempt me?’" showing that Jesus was aware of being tempted into the political power struggle. The question was also about the authority and the insight of Jesus. He rose to the occasion.

The Roman coins had Caesar’s head engraved on it. There was also a slogan on it declaring him to be divine. Since the Jews saw this as blasphemous, there were coins, with no such symbol, made especially for the Jews to use. But because sorting coins all the time was cumbersome and time consuming, only the most devout did so. When Jesus asked for a coin, the questioners easily and quickly brought out a Roman coin declaring they were already compromised.

We all cut deals with our culture. It is a constant struggle. Jesus’ response to the question did not and does not solve the problem but simply defines the nature of the struggle. For Jesus, discerning what is God’s and what is Caesar’s was a test or a temptation. For the early church, the task of interpreting Jesus’ statement continued: how is the Christian to relate to the culture or the political structure. For those who call Caesar "Lord" or for those who call Caesar "Satan," answers are simple. But if the church can at times support and at times must resist the culture or the state, the answers are never simple nor are they final: the struggle resumes with every new situation.

Probably this struggle between the church and the state was at its height during the Vietnam War. Many denominations and individual ministers stated their resistance to the war. Many parishioners did not agree. All were persons of faith and no matter which stance one took it was hard to hear the other’s position without hearing one’s own position condemned.

One thing that struggle showed us was that this struggle is always battled on two levels, the individual level and the corporate level; that is the faith stance of the gathered community of faith. Getting there together is not always easy. But in the struggle we hear one another and God and are given the opportunity to discern the will of God for our lives. And, if we are struggling individually, what better place to get support and help than from others who are journeying in the faith.

In the self-study you did before I came, you identified small groups as a ministry you wanted to explore and begin. At least a first step in the process of beginning small group ministry has taken place and some groups have begun to meet. Your staff and some boards have begun to have conversations about the next steps. This kind of ministry can help individuals and groups explore what it means to Belong to God as we live our lives daily.

We need all the help we can get. I remember from my time at Westmoreland Congregational Church the folks who told me of their concern for how to remain and live as a Christian while serving in this government agency or doing that particular job. Since I have been here some of you have shared similar struggles with me. You should not be expected to struggle alone. The Rev. Davida Crabtree, now the Conference Minister in the Connecticut Conference, developed and published a small group ministry for folks just like you. We may want to begin some such groups.

In some churches there are Covenant Community Groups which are designed so that Christians can support each other in the Christian life. In these groups people struggle together to figure out what it means to live as a Christian in all aspects of their lives, from work, to parenting and even how to do Sabbath time.

We have decided that we are a Just Peace Church. That is part of our belonging to God. Yet for some that is just a given, and any church should be able to say that. But what does that mean when your kids are swatting each other? What does that mean when are conflicted with one another? What does that mean as we struggle to Belong to God? Jim and Kathy McGinnis of Parenting for Peach and Justice have created wonderful programs and activities to help small groups to focus on that subject.

Many find prayer and meditation groups to offer great help in the journey toward belonging to God. Still others find study groups to give them some of what they need.

My hope, and that of the staff, is that within the next year we will be able to get this important ministry off the ground in a big way. Some of the church boards have also begun to think about how important this kind of ministry could be to the life of the congregation as we move through all the transitions brought about by construction. That will surely be a time when we focus on how we Belong to God.

In the Vietnam era, it was often the youth who asked the question: how is the Christian to relate to the political structure and mandates? From this wrestling we are not exempt. From this wrestling Jesus was not exempt. In fact, in his decisions he was finally alone, with church and state conspiring against him. One can hardly imagine a heavier demand - called upon to obey God, not simply in the face of political wrath but without the support of the community of faith. But it still happens. Yet what could be even worse is if we are not in the struggle at all, if we are not at all aware of the differences and not trying to live for God or Belong to God. While I was still in Iowa, I attended a Conference wide youth gathering. During the small group time I moved around visiting each of the groups. I attended one session in which I was shocked. I cannot remember the title of the workshop, but the leader was trying to get the youth to identify the differences between the messages from their culture and God’s message. They could not do it! I was stunned. It was not my job to lead the group but I just could not keep quiet. But neither my efforts nor those of the leader were successful. We need to do better than this for our youth and for us. The struggle to belong to God present and vital to people of faith in any age and in any culture. We may have the most difficult task of all. Our culture is seductive, and that may be the biggest tempter of all, and the most difficult to resist. Yet we, like Jesus and all other Christians are called to resist and to be very intentional about our Belonging to God.

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