Which Side Are You On?; Sermon from Oct 19th, 2014

Exodus 33:12-23
33:12 Moses said to the LORD, "See, you have said to me, 'Bring up this people'; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.'
33:13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people."
33:14 He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
33:15 And he said to him, "If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here.
33:16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth."
33:17 The LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."
33:18 Moses said, "Show me your glory, I pray."
33:19 And he said, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, 'The LORD'; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
33:20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live."
33:21 And the LORD continued, "See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock;
33:22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by;
33:23 then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen."

Matthew 22:15-22
22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said.
22:16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.
22:17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?"
22:18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?
22:19 Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius.
22:20 Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?"
22:21 They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."
22:22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

Which Side Are You On?

Which side are you on now
Which side are you on
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on
Which side are you on boys
Which side are you on
Which side are you on now
Which side are you on?

Forgive me for the surprise beginning. I went to see a concert last Wednesday, and that song has been echoing in my head since. The concert was performed by Ani DiFranco, a folk singer I’ve been a fan of since college.  Ani is a bit of a raw, raunchy radical that writes a lot of political songs and performs some of them like spoken word.  She has a way of cutting right to the crux of the issue with brutal, heartfelt honesty that is not often heard in our political dialogue.  And, seeing as this is our political season and we are all pondering this question, it feels especially appropriate.  

Every two and four years, we are asked to pick sides in our democratic system.  And in the waning weeks before the election…things get ugly, don’t they?  Every commercial, every radio spot, every email warns of dire consequences and disaster being immanent. The issues become flattened to black and white. Debates feature candidates trying to trap each other into gaffes and mis-steps, and every other phone call is from someone trying to sweet-talk us into voting.

I know this because, in my 15 years as a community organizer, I make a lot of these calls myself.  Yes, I’m the person on the other side of the line that you would give anything not to talk to.

The New Testament scripture today reminds me of the political ‘silly season’ that we are in.  Matthew’s gospel portrays Jesus trapped in one of these ‘gotcha’ moments.  The powers that be, those that would like that pesky Jesus and his radical message to just go away, really think they have the upper hand with this question.  Besides the crowd, there were two different groups listening to trap Jesus with his answer; the Pharisees and the Herodians (or Sadducees, some would call them.)  Both are sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting breathlessly for the answer.

In the midst of teaching, Jesus is asked, with fake flattery of being a sincere and impartial imparter of truth, whether it is right to pay taxes to Caesar.  It’s easy to conflate the idea of taxation with the modern day ‘tax burden’ in our society.  But in Roman times, economic inequality was severe – even more harsh than our day. The Roman Empire was a vast, wealthy empire built on the backs of peasants, and there was no Earned Income Tax Credit.  The poor were not given respite based on the basic wage needed to support a family. In fact, historians say that the Romans commissioned a tax survey of the minority Jewish community to assess what more could be weaned to support the burgeoning empire.  The Roman Empire was squeezing all the populations within to grow their wealth.

So taxation was seen as the same as enslavement to the Roman Empire.  The Jewish people, among others, would work for barely a daily subsistence wage, only to see it taken away by coercion.  Of course, the Romans didn’t collect it themselves – they employed Jewish tax collectors to infiltrate their own community. 

The Herodians, those that were given the power to rule by the Roman Empire, were waiting for Jesus to say the obvious: that weaning the poor of their hard-earned wages was against God.  In that case, they could take him away for treason against the state.   

But there were also Pharisees listening.  Before seminary, I always thought of ‘Pharisee’ as a bad word – the enemies of Jesus.  But I’ve learned that their role was like a Pastor in the function of the church. These were the priests that ministered to the people, but were also the religious leaders impeached by Jesus’ claim to the real ‘truth’ about YHWH.  Pharisees had the pulse of the people in mind, much like our political candidates who run by polls and focus groups. They knew that if Jesus said the collection of taxes was lawful, the people would rebel against this infamous prophet, and they could regain their leadership over the crowds.

Which side are you on, now?  Which side are you on?  Which side are you on, Jesus? Which side are you on?

It’s the human condition to pick sides.  We do it in all things, don’t we?  One of my favorite theologians, Catherine Keller, critiques our need to identify with the ‘right’ group.  She argues that the polarity that we find so frequently in human affairs – in politics, in love, even in theology as we argue between fundamentalist –embracing ‘absolutes’ and secular-embracing ‘dissolutes’ – is a distraction; much like this question about taxes.  She says, “I am arguing that when people of faith step out of the mystery and make totalizing claims for our truth and our beliefs, we perpetuate an antagonistic polarity that actually paralyzes faith rather than fostering its living process.”

Keller says God represents a third way. For Keller, God is more like a wise but tolerant parent.  God lets his human creation make their own mistakes, and learn their own wisdom, but loving them all the while as a parent would.  Keller claims that God requires us to live into the paradox, and embrace the tension not strive to understand it and claim righteousness.  She would assert that God lives in the process of not knowing the answer, but being open to risks and vulnerability.

Moses, for instance, in our Exodus scripture, has a fascinating conversation with God.  Not fascinating for the secrets it reveals, or the power imparted, but rather for the risks that Moses takes. 

Moses is there on the mountaintop, pleading with God for mercy.  You see, the Israelites have just, just, received the promise of fidelity from their all-powerful God, along with the ten commandments that teach them how to maintain the covenant with YHWH. God has claimed Israel as his people, and details the requirements to be in covenant with YHWH.  God says, “I am the Lord your God; there shall be no others before me.  Thou shalt not make unto me any graven image.”  And perhaps days later, just, just after vowing to uphold this covenant, the Israelites violate the very second commandment – create no graven images in my stead.  Coming on the heels of receiving the 10 commandments, Moses descends the mountain to find the Israelites worshipping a golden calf, violating number 2 on the list.  Like toddlers, the Israelites couldn’t go two minutes before breaking the rules God sent down.

So we enter into this passage knowing that God Is Angry. But instead of the repeated apologies that we would expect from such human mistakes, Moses, in conversation with God, is not groveling.  At least not the way we know it. Moses is insistent, assertive.  Moses negotiates with YHWH. It’s not good enough for YHWH to simply provide blessings.  It’s not good enough to be present.  Moses lays the fate of the Israelites at God’s feet. says, “without you, God, we don’t exist as a people”. If you are not on our side, God, then we cease to exist. You may love us, we have disappointed you, but if you walk away now, we collapse.

YHWH says, "I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name."

That seems like forgiveness, no?  That seems like benevolence.

And then Moses makes demands on YHWH.  Moses asks for proof.  He does the unthinkable. Moses demands to see the glory of God - Moses asks to see God’s face.

It’s unclear to me whether YHWH’s response – that Moses could not survive seeing his face – signifies that God’s power is such that no human can withstand seeing God’s face, or whether God is so angry with the Israelites for betraying the covenant so quickly that God’s rage may overcome the mere human Moses.

But not unlike a loving, but infuriated parent, God provides proof of his ‘backside’ but only while shielding Moses from his power.  He uses his ‘hand’ to protect Moses from harm, like a parent might shield a child from the emotions that threaten to override their being.  In the tension of loving and being tested, God chooses to stay on our side.

Keller believes this gives a hint to how we need to think about God’s power.  She says, “God has all the power that a good God, a God who fosters and delights in the good news of the creation, could have or want to have.  But the point is that this is not the unilateral power to command things to happen out of nothing and then to control them under threat of nothingness.  It is another kind of power altogether, a qualitatively different power – a power that seems weak when dominance is the ideal.  The metaphor of “power perfected in weakness” tried to make comprehensible the difficult alternative to coercive force: the contagious influence that flows from a radically vulnerable strength.” 

Moses take a big risk in asking YHWH to choose sides, knowing full well the power of God.  But after this passage, God’s commitment to the welfare of the people of Israel can’t be in doubt.  Rather than showering down the much-deserved wrath of a powerful God, or abandoning the Israelites, YHWH demonstrates radically vulnerable strength when dealing with the Israelites.  And rather than flee the city, or mount an army, Jesus continues to make himself vulnerable in order to teach strength to the people. With radically vulnerable strength, Jesus shows us what it means to belong to God.  

Whose side are YOU on?  Whose side are you on?

Where are the places where we can be radically vulnerable and show radically vulnerable strength today?  Does it come in choosing sides, or does it come in a higher understanding of love – a third way of being that  lives into the tension?  And where, in our polar lives, can we take bigger risks to bring the compassion of God and bring about the Kin-dom of God on earth?

Keller encourages us with this: “God the spirit in whom her children grow in wisdom.  God the Wisdom who lets-be her children, in whom she delights.  God the Word of testimony, witnessing in utter weakness to a truth whose power will flow thorugh centuries of influence.  God the voice of the Whirlwind, who – having absorbed our rage, our disappointment, our grief – blows away our theodicidal projections and opens our eyes anew. We glimpse the radiant beauty of the creation in which we are called to be most dignified, most beloved participants.”

God is on our side, but what will we do to be on God’s side?

Amen.