Sermon for October 19, 2008
Glennon Heights Mennonite Church

Scripture passage: Isaiah 45:1-8 and Matthew 22:15-22

         Things are changing in our world. Our U.S. government is getting involved in the financial sector in ways that those of us who were raised on the milk of free market capitalism find hard to believe. And we're beginning to hear speculation on whether or not this is the end of an economic era. I hear international economists saying that they've never been convinced that unfettered capitalism, the system on which we as a country have staked our lives and built our empires, is the best way. There are suggestions that the way we think about trade and profits and the well-being of our society is going to have to change. In order to recoup our losses and move forward, things may well have to be done differently. If this is true, it is no small thing. It is a major shift in our sense of who we are and how our world operates. And it leaves us feeling uncertain and anxious. We don't know exactly how these changes will affect us. What will our lives be like if fundamental things change? Who will we be? What can we count on? Will God still be with us? Will we be OK?
         It is good, in times like these, to step back and look at the bigger picture. It is good to remind ourselves to remember together that we are God's people. And it is good to see, from a broad historical perspective, how the hand of God is and has been at work through times of upheaval, through political crises, through eras of dislocation and even how God has worked through events and persons who have no knowledge of God. We are children of the Creator of the world and all that is in it. We are children of a God who cares deeply for all humankind in times past, present and future. We are children of a God who sees the big picture but still cares for us even as we make selfish decisions which have bad repercussions. God doesn't save us from our difficulties, but God stays with us. And God loves us into a new world to come.
         The Old Testament gives us a broad perspective of God at work in the world. For the most part, in the Old Testament we see God at work through the experience of the people of Israel. A couple of Sundays ago we talked of the Exodus. God heard the cries of the Israelite slaves in Egypt and led them out of oppression and into freedom. In the wilderness they were free of Pharaoh but dependent upon God. In the desert they learned that God would provide what they needed and that God would guide them. The people of Israel spent 40 hard years learning to be a people according to God's instructions. Their purpose as a people, according to the covenant made between God and their ancestor, Abraham, was to be a light to the nations. Their reason for being was to make God known to the world.
         Finally they made it out of the desert and into the Promised Land. They settled into the land of Canaan and began making it their own. At first they remembered their purpose and they chose to do things differently than the peoples around them. They kept their hearts focused on God as their caretaker, on God as the only One to whom they owed their loyalty. They organized themselves so that worship was central. Priests or judges were the ones to whom they came for counsel when decisions needed to be made about how to treat each other and how to interact with those around them. And, for the most part, they flourished as a people. They became numerous and accumulated land and belongings.
         As they became established they looked around them and said, ``We have got to do things differently.'' How can we protect our territory and our national identity if we don't have a political system like those of the peoples around us? How can we compete with them and hold our own, if we're not organized in the same way? We, too, want a king. We, too, want a standing army. We want to be able to take care of ourselves. We promise we'll remember you, God. We still believe in you. We know you're God and we'll worship you, but we want to do things on our own terms.
         For a while this worked amazingly well. Under kings Saul and David and Solomon Israel grew strong and became rich and powerful. Wars were won. The country's borders were expanded. Rulers from other countries came to pay homage and bring gifts. And throughout it all, worship of God continued, though that, too, changed. As Israel prospered and became established, worship became established as well. Solomon built a beautiful, richly appointed temple which provided employment for a whole tribe of priests. Surely all this was God's blessing on God's chosen people. Surely through this rich and powerful nation of Israel the covenant with Abraham was being fulfilled and the light of God was shining forth for all to see.
         But political power and wealth are apparently not what God has in mind as the be-all and end-all for God's people. Soon after Solomon died things began to fall apart for the people of Israel. Their once strong under-girding commitment to God and God's way as revealed in the law given to Moses had eroded as wealth and power increased. No longer did the rulers or the people turn to God or God's commandments as a source of wisdom. Instead there was increasing greed and striving for power. And people began looking to other gods, other rationales, other belief systems to give them purpose and direction. And bit by bit, over the course of hundreds of years, everything fell apart. The people of Israel who had been rescued from Egypt, who had traversed the desert and had become a rich and powerful nation, found themselves once again under the thumb of oppressors. First they divided among themselves into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. Then these kingdoms were conquered by the Assyrians. The kingdom of Israel fell, and Judah became part of the vast Assyrian Empire. Then as the Assyrian Empire waned in power, the Babylonians swept in and the kingdom of Judah was wiped out as well. Jerusalem was captured and the temple was destroyed. Many of the people of Israel were carried off into captivity. This is what we refer to when we sing the song from Psalm 137: ``By the waters of Babylon, where we sat down, and there we wept when we remembered Zion. How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?''
         Where was God in all this? Had God totally abandoned these people whom God supposedly loved? Or is it that they, in their once-again-destitute state turn back to God and cry out again for salvation?
         This is where the passage from Isaiah that we read this morning comes into play. In this passage, God is again coming to the rescue of the people of Israel, but in a very unexpected way. In chapter 45, verse 1, Isaiah is speaking for God: ``Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their robes.'' The Lord is speaking to Cyrus. Who's Cyrus? Is he a prophet? A new Moses? A new king for the people of Israel? No, Cyrus II is the founder of the Persian Empire, another conqueror in a long line of conquerors. And yet God calls him ``my anointed,'' a role which belonged to David, a name which will be given to Jesus. What does God mean by this? Why is God hanging out with and blessing this foreign conqueror? What is God doing? God is responding to the cry of God's people, for Cyrus will free them from their Babylonian captivity. Cyrus will send them back to Jerusalem. Cyrus will give them permission to worship and to rebuild the temple. The people of Israel will never again be a powerful nation but because of the intervention of Cyrus and the Persian Empire, they will no longer be captives in a strange land; they will be a people at home in Jerusalem, honoring their traditions, building up their community and moving forward once again.
         God's ability to respond to the needs of those in this world who are hurting and oppressed is not held captive by politics or ideology or national identity. It is not even limited to working with those who acknowledge God's presence. What is particularly fascinating in this passage from Isaiah is how God is using Cyrus even though Cyrus doesn't know he is being used for God's purposes. ``I call you by name,'' God says, ``I surname you, though you do not know me.'' I know who you are, however, and I claim you as my own. I arm you, I make you strong, though you do not know me. You don't know it now, but it is by my power that you will succeed. You are my instrument, and someday you may realize this, but for now, you do not know. You do not yet know that I am the Lord and there is no other. You do not yet know that I am the source of your life and the creator of all things.
         This is not to say that God plays with us like puppets, making us do this or that according to God's whim. No, God respects our will to choose good or bad, to be open or closed. God allows us all including Cyrus of old to carve out the paths of our own lives. But God can and will work with and within the choices we make and the circumstances that develop because of our choices to help bring about what is best for everyone. And God is able to do this in surprising and unexpected ways. God can take things that are familiar and mundane, even things that are troublesome or threatening, like Cyrus the Persian Emperor, and rearrange them. God can recast these things for a new purpose, a purpose which brings new life and hope. There is no situation that is beyond God's creativity. There is no limit to God's freedom to improvise for the good of the world.
         Jesus was good at improvising, too, you know. This comes through in the passage from Matthew 22 that we read this morning. In this story the Pharisees are plotting against him. They want to make Jesus say something that will get him in trouble. So they come up with a politically charged question. And they make sure there are people on hand who will take offense at his answer one way or another. ``Tell us, Jesus,'' they say, ``is it right to pay taxes to the emperor or not?'' The taxes they refer to are head taxes collected by the Romans, yet another Empire which is occupying their land. Every Jewish person from age 12 to 65 is required to pay this tax, which is the equivalent of a days' wages. This is a hardship, both financially and psychologically, and it is source of great tension and dissention among the community. The Pharisees are known for questioning whether it is right to pay this tax. The Herodians are supporters of Herod, the Rome-appointed ruler, and they feel that the tax should be paid. What a set-up! It reminds me of political debates that we have today. There's no way for Jesus to answer and stay out of trouble.
         But Jesus isn't confined by the rules of the political game which require winners and losers here and now. Instead Jesus takes the broader view. ``Show me a coin,'' he says. The Pharisees have coins on them. They use them in the marketplace. These coins are an integral part of their economic system. They give one to Jesus. ``Whose picture is this on the coin?'' Jesus asks. ``The emperor's,'' they answer. ``Well, then,'' Jesus replies, ``Give it back to the emperor. It is his. And,'' Jesus continues, ``give back to God the things that are God's.'' When they hear this, they are amazed; and they leave him and go away.
         We are not confined or defined by the economic system of which we are a part. Systems come and systems go. Our worth is not measured in terms of political power or national strength. Empires rise and empires fall. Instead we are part of an age-old story of creation and life. We are God's children. We belong completely and irrevocably to the Creator of the universe. We belong to a God who is a master of improvisation and who works with the materials at hand, no matter what they are, to create a future of promise and hope.
         Listen again to these words from Isaiah 45:
         ``I am the LORD; there is no other God. I have prepared you, even though you do not know me, so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I am the one who creates the light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things. Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together. I, the LORD, created them.''
         Yes, things are changing in our world, but that's nothing new. And it's nothing to be afraid of. Because, ultimately, all things are God's. God works in and through all things for the good of those who love God, and for the good of all those whom God loves. Economic systems come and economic systems go, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
         In this we can trust, brothers and sisters. Thanks be to God.
         Amen.