Our civic duty

 

January 28, 2024

Romans ch. 13, Matthew ch. 18

What duty do we as Christians owe to the secular State? You - I’m assuming - pay your taxes and keep to the speed limit and do all of the things that a good citizen should - and of course there’s a price to pay for those who choose not to! But - beyond the obvious necessity of keeping out of trouble - how does your Christian faith direct you in your relationship with the secular State?

It’s a real question because not all churches reach the same conclusion. Some Christian denominations - the Christadelphians, the Amish, the Exclusive Brethren go so far as refusing to vote, on the basis that Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. Others like the Quakers refuse to fight wars even if conscripted, on the authority of the Ten Commandments. On the other end of the spectrum might be the Church of England which as the Established Church in the UK has a constitutional role within secular government - some cynic even describing the C of E as the "Tory Party at Prayer’. More serious is the example of Catholic clergy in South America in the 1980s who directly resisted the military dictatorship in Argentina and stood up for the poor, giving rise to the controversial doctrine of liberation theology. The suffering of the poor, they taught, is the suffering of Christ.

Does our theology determine our civic life, and if not, should it? Do you bring your Christian faith into the ballot box? I remember Archbishop Kay Goldsworthy, in WA, speaking in the weeks before the national plebiscite on same-sex marriages. Very simply, she said, we stand for kindness. Just be kind. We face another important and nation-defining vote in a few weeks, the Voice Referendum on the 14th of October. It’s not my place to tell you how to vote, but I would say that we do, as Christians, need to carry our understanding of Jesus into the ballot box. We need to listen compassionately, to reflect deeply and sympathetically.

And today’s readings, the two rather difficult readings set by the Revised Common Lectionary for today, give us some important guidance. But first, to quote a few verses from St Paul in Romans 13 that the Revised Common Lectionary leaves out. Let everyone, St Paul writes at the very beginning of the chapter, be subject to the governing authorities which are instituted by God. Whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed and justly incurs punishment. And a bit later - do what is good and you will meet with the approval of the authorities - do what is bad and be afraid!

My Bible commentary muses that these might be just about the most embarrassing verses in the whole Bible! Certainly, it’s all a bit troubling, given the general conduct of governments around the world. And, let’s face it - our Lord himself was executed by the Roman authorities. As St Paul writes this letter, he himself is being carted back by the authorities to Rome for trial, and he ends up being executed in Rome under the Emperor Nero sometime around the mid-60s AD when the first great persecution of Christians by the secular State was getting into swing.

But perhaps you have noticed that this passage from Paul is a reflection of Jesus’ own difficult teachings on secular authority. "Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar", Jesus puzzlingly tells his disciples - and then, right at the same time as he is being condemned to death by the Roman governor, Jesus reminds him, "You wouldn’t have any authority over me at all unless it had come from God". Like Jesus, Paul is reminding us that secular authority is not authority at all unless it is grounded in God and enacts God’s priorities for human life. The role of the Church and the vocation of discipleship is absolutely to speak truth to power - where secular authority has become oppressive or unjust, where it is disrespectful of human life and freedom - then it has lost its moorings in the authority that comes from God. St Paul is pointing out what secular authority should be - and it is this that provides a basis for Christian engagement in civil life and even for civil disobedience when necessary.

I think it means that, as Christians, we can’t just opt out of politics! If secular authority is grounded in the will of God then as God’s people - we need to pay attention. But then, in verse eight Paul raises the stakes. This is where our reading today begins. It’s not a change of subject at all, and Paul is still echoing Jesus’ own teaching, telling us that the whole of the Law, and the one foundational basis for all of our life together including our civic life - is love. Love does no wrong to a neighbour - if the way we conduct ourselves in civil life is based generously in love and kindness then we are most truly in touch with the wisdom and love of God.

The second difficult reading is the Gospel, and St Matthew’s teaching about sin and strife within the Church itself. This is the second place where Matthew’s Gospel talks directly about the Church - it sounds a bit strange when the Gospel puts these words in the mouth of Jesus speaking many decades before the Church even existed. Presumably it is the Gospel writer’s own teaching for his church community living through troubled times half a century later.

The first thing it tells us is that the Church isn’t and never has been perfect! Relationships get fractured, and sin can’t be ignored. Sin - whether individual or communal - sucks the life from a Christian community because we lose our grounding in God’s life. Sin needs to be acknowledged and corrected, but that needs to happen lovingly and within community. It is important to notice that Matthew is not talking here just about hurt feelings or disagreements - although those too have the potential to cause us to sin by the holding of grudges or by gossip. Relationships of love within the community of God which should be based on the relationships of love within God’s own trinitarian life are what makes us the Church, and these relationships are vulnerable to being damaged by sin.

It is a teaching that opposes legalism in all its forms and puts loving relationship at the heart of the Church’s life. If somebody sins against you, then talk directly to that person. Which is to say, don’t accuse or gossip or undermine. The unspoken proviso here is that, actually, it might not be a sin at all! It might just be a different opinion or a different perspective or maybe when you really listen to the other person you might have to acknowledge that the sin was yours. The reality is that as human beings we too often rush to judgement, because we feel the need to defend our own certainty and security. Humble listening changes hearts, most often our own.

Of course, sin may persist. When we seek to know God’s leading, when we listen for the hard-to-hear voice of the Holy Spirit, the Church consistently counsels us to listen in company. Because sometimes we mistake the voice of our own desires and preconceptions for the voice of the Holy Spirit. So take two or three others with you, seek the wisdom and the objectivity of other trusted Christians. Perhaps, within that conversation, the needed light will dawn. Take particular notice here - the opposing of sin is never separate from the building of reconciliation and love.

And only after that, Matthew tells us, should the whole community of the church be consulted, and the authority vested in the church be appealed to. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, Jesus tells us. But we need to be careful what we bind, because if we bind something that God intends to be free - then we set ourselves apart from the love and mercy of God. This, too, may have some bearing on how we undertake our civic responsibilities. If we cultivate narrow minds then it is we ourselves who will be imprisoned within them.

And after all that, Matthew tells us, the sinful one must be excluded from the community. Well, that simply reflects the reality. When we sin, and when we refuse to acknowledge and persist in our sin, then the reality is that we have separated ourselves from God. The intransigence of sin puts us outside the community of love. So then, says Matthew, then treat the one who persists in sin as a tax collector or a Gentile - which in this context means a non-believer. And his listeners - his Jewish Christian community of the late first century would have nodded silently as they recalled how Jesus treated tax collectors, such as Levi or Zaccheus. How Jesus treated Gentiles, such as the Roman centurion whose servant was near death. The law of love never gives us permission to cut another human being off from kindness and mercy.

The prophet Micah, after his critique of the leaders of Israel who practiced legalism and kept themselves comfortable while neglecting the people they were meant to shepherd, asked rhetorically what, in the end, the Lord actually requires from us? Just this, he answered: do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. It is exactly the same sentiment echoed by Jesus centuries later who teaches us that the whole of the Law is fulfilled when we love God with all our whole heart and soul and mind and strength, and love our neighbour as ourself.

It’s how we should live, and it’s how we should vote.