10 June 2018 – 3rd Sunday after Pentecost
1
Samuel 8:4-20;
Psalm 138; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 12:13-17
Samuel may have suffered the same malady suffered by
many preachers the world over and throughout the ages; taking personal the
things said by the people in his charge. How could he
not? He was fully vested with the people. His office was
not a thing he did; it is who he was. Samuel was the prophet of The
Lord; when The Lord spoke, He spoke through Samuel. The people had
to trust that Samuel would be diligent, faithful, and forthright with what The
Lord had spoken. By all accounts, he was.
So when the elders demanded a king, Samuel may have
felt as though his own integrity had been called into
question. After all, the reason they gave Samuel had to do with
their lack of confidence in Samuel’s sons to carry their father’s tradition and
calling faithfully. They were looking to the future, and they were
afraid of what may happen under Samuel’s sons, given that Samuel was “old” and
his days numbered. This is the mortal reality, so their concerns
were valid.
Part of the problem in this quest to be “like
other nations” (1 Sam 8:5) is that Israel could not see the
danger of losing its sense of self and the reason for their very existence: to
make known to “other nations” the One True
God. This cannot possibly be done if their desire is now to be “like
other nations”. They will no longer be distinguishable from
the “other nations”. In being like the “other
nations”, they will no longer be a “kingdom
of priests and a holy nation unto The Lord” (Exodus 19:6).
But, The Lord said to Samuel, Don’t take it
personal. It isn’t you they’re rejecting; it’s Me. So I’m
gonna give them exactly what they asked for – BUT – you must warn them so they
cannot come back later and say, ‘We didn’t know’!
After Samuel had spelled out for them that what they
once owned would no longer be theirs, including their sons and daughters, their
produce, their livelihood, they said, SO? Even after
Samuel had shared with them The Lord’s own warning – “In the day you
realize you are that king’s slaves, you will cry out to Me, but I’m gonna say,
‘Talk to the Hand’ …” (1 Sam 8:18) – the elders still
had the audacity to say, ‘We are determined to have
a king over us …”
Though it has the appearance, I don’t think we are
looking at a total revolt of the people against The Lord or against Samuel but,
rather, a manifestation of their worst fears. The Philistines are a
legitimate threat to Israel, a military power which must be
checked. It may be the “elders” who came to Samuel had taken this
into account, the political and military issues they certainly faced in being
outnumbered, outgunned, and possibly overpowered.
Yet the problem is not necessarily that they were
looking for a king to rule them and defend the nation against this apparent
threat; it was that they had made this determination without first consulting
The Lord’s prophet, but had made this decision according to their fears. They
had not considered their primary status as a “holy
nation of priests” ruled by, and under the protection of, The
Eternal King.
This context makes Jesus’ challenge to the Herodians
and the Pharisees in Mark’s Gospel – and to us today! – very
problematic because what is being inferred in Jesus’ teaching is not a simple
“yes or no” answer to whether paying taxes is the right thing to
do. It may be said that paying taxes is the result of demands made
long ago, decisions made perhaps in fear. Over the course of time we
have given over to the government more and more control of our lives because we
wanted tangible safety and security more than we valued our
God-given liberty.
Now, as one of my political science professors once
posed to us, name one component of your life that is not, in some way, affected
by the government, that very government, that “king”, we demanded. “[That
king] will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots … and to plow his
ground and reap his harvest … [that king] will take your daughters to be
perfumers and cooks and bakers. [That king] will take the best of
what you have and give it to his own advisers and companions. [That
king] will take the best of your cattle and donkeys and put them to his
work. [That king] will take a tenth of your flocks, and you shall be
his slaves.”
What does it say to us that this “king” takes far more
than a tenth today??
This parallel between ancient Israel and the
contemporary Church is staggering, to say the least, and yet it is everything
we have asked for and demanded over the course of time – because we chose to be
Americans first and Christians incidentally. So when we are
challenged by Jesus to “give to the emperor what is the emperor’s
and give to God what belongs to God”, it is hard for us to know
the difference. It is the worst reality of the adage, “Be
careful what you wish for”.
Though we still enjoy a certain measure of freedom in
this country and still have the capacity to turn things around, we do not often
realize how much control over our lives the “emperor” really has … especially when
we depend on the “emperor” to protect our religious liberties. That
one component of our lives given and guaranteed by The Lord Himself, and we
have become convinced we cannot have even this unless it is granted – and
protected - by the “emperor”!
This is the very disturbing aspect of what is commonly
referred to as “nationalism”, especially when such “nationalism” informs
religion and even faith. Not to be political, but the so-called
“evangelicals” who endorsed the current president did so for all the wrong
reasons. The inference was an endorsement of the Church for a “king”
to protect us from … whom? Name your
terror, and fill in the blank.
As with almost every election, we are made to be
afraid of the boogy-man, and the people of The Lord often fall for it without
realizing what we’re really afraid of, what we need most. We are
manipulated and misled on so many fronts and the line has become so blurred
that we really do not know what belongs to the “emperor” and what belongs to
The Lord.
This is how the Holy Scriptures speak to real life, to
real living. This thing between Samuel and the elders was not just
some thing which took place so long ago; it set the stage for what would follow. The
degradation we continue to witness came into being a very, very long time ago,
perhaps in ancient Israel. What we witness today is the culmination
of some very bad decisions, some very bad choices made long ago. Just
how far this degradation may go before we awaken to its reality and check its
power over us, only The Lord can know.
Yet it is also The Lord who continues to call out to
His people. We have to live with the consequences of our choices –
that is the harsh reality – but it does not mean we are forever
condemned. “Seek Me while I may be found”, our Lord
cried out to His people Israel. “Seek and you will find”,
our Lord calls out to His Church. “And when you seek Me with
your whole heart, you will find Me”.
But we have to actively “seek” it if we really wish to
find it; it will not fall into our laps. It is that Promise we must
learn to live for. It is that Promise we must seek. It is
that Assurance we need above all else. And when we find it, we will
know there is nothing – NOTHING – that does not belong to our God and Father
for our well-being. Then will we have peace of heart, mind, and
soul. Amen.
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