Living for Christ in a Postmodern World
The Rev. (Dr.) Ezekiel Ette
Matt. 22 : 15 – 22
We live in a confusing time indeed, a time when what is reality and truth are considered controversial, yet we follow a savior who is the way, the truth and the life” (John 14 : 6). There was a time when many thought that we humans have eventually found all answers to human problems and that the answer was science. By 1940 as WWII raged on, humans discovered that science was not the answer because the product of applied science added to the carnage of that war and suddenly we discovered that science was not the solution but part of the human problem. Human brutality exposed by the war and the capacity of humans for evil brought home the reality that those who predicted that science would lead to a new age in this world were wrong. Those who had shown themselves to be civilized were after all not civilized and pride in cultural achievements was simply hollow. Racism, ethnocentrism, sexism and ability to inflict pain and misery were not things to be proud of. As a result humans became cynical, doubtful and distrustful. By the 1970s we had seen that politicians will even resort to war to push a certain agenda and it became difficult to trust any authority. Further examination of our lives revealed that certain voices were excluded. Women, ethnic minorities were treated as second class citizens and this further pushed the divide and distrust. We, as a society, wanted more inclusiveness and we questioned the wisdom of excluding others. Those who pushed for the status quo even used their positions in the church to argue for a theology that excluded others. But there arose from within the church voices that called for love, tolerance and justice. One of such voices was the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The theology of liberation called for justice and love as a true reflection of what it means to follow Christ. W. E. B. Dubois looking at the church wondered what it is that those who follow the Christ are the last to speak up against injustice and oppression. “When it comes to the negro problem, the church becomes a hypocrite” he declared. Because the Church often stands with those who practice oppression, people added the church to the distrust list and pews became empty. In our postmodern world, though we are living longer and healthier, we find ourselves looking for meaning. Information is now at our finger tips through technology, yet we live with angst because that same information has led to violence and terrorism. What gave power in the past gradually is losing its significance. You can get rich without territories. You can read without books. It is a brave new world and problems that others did not see before our time are confronting us every day. How then do we live in such a world and how do we live the Christian life?
Our passage today from Mathew’s Gospel is an interesting one and though the story speaks of individuals trying to plant evil, they unknowingly unleashed an answer from our Savior about living in a confusing time. You see, people had been living in Palestine because it was a promised land given to them by God, then there came political turmoil that threw all that into question in the minds of certain people. The Romans came as colonizers and imposed a new rule and a new government. They demanded taxes. Everyone had to pay taxes to a new ruler: Caesar. Each house and lineage were counted and taxed (Luke 2 : 1). This was confusing; the land was either not free or the new rulers had not recognized that the people were of God. It seemed like the divine authority was usurped. These were people who had been giving their sacrifices to God, why should they pay tribute to another ruler? Therefore, the idea of taxation by a new authority was indeed very confusing, controversial and odious. The Herodians and the Pharisees - two groups who did not see eye to eye, thought they had found a way to trap our Lord. The Pharisees hated anything foreign and were for purity of faith and culture. They loved the old time religion and culture and anyone who disagreed was not a true believer. The Herodians on the other hand loved peace and they supported the idea of Herod as the governor, though many thought he was an impostor. Herod’s party wanted peace at all cost and so they supported taxation by Rome while the Pharisees saw taxation as an abomination. This did not stop the two opposing groups from conspiring. They figured whatever our Lord said, each will have a reason to accuse him of something. Notice the editorial addition by St. Mathew in v. 18. Our Lord knew what they were up to and so he called for a coin and answered them in a way they did not expect: “Whose likeness is this?” They answered “Caesar” and by so doing convicted themselves and he told them “Then render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (v.21) The Evangelist reported that upon hearing his answer, this strange bedfellows went away.
They were looking for answer to trap him but they learnt a lesson in living in an uncertain and confusing time. How then do we as Christians live the Christian life in our own confusing time? The answers could be found in this story:
1. Not all that appear as a coalition is honest and edifying. When the two polar groups the Pharisees and Herodians got together, they were not going to our Lord to learn they were looking to trap him. In our Postmodern world Spirituality and culture are important since old assumptions have been challenged. The need for meaning, rather than be understood and seen through grand stories, requires personal contemplation and relevance in light of the individual experience. Yet no one institution has the answer and individuals become free to make meanings as they see fit. To so many of us Christians, this can become very confusing and challenging. Some have found meaning in worshipping and celebrating rituals of other religions, eastern mysticism and foreign objects. Old liturgies have been seen as lacking meaning and sometimes some wonder if going to church is even necessary and so our pews become empty. The message of St John is instructive here: Before you dabble in what you do not understand, consider this message of St John: ..”do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1John 4 : 1).
2. Avoid getting sucked in by flattery and religiosity. Notice how the Herodians and the Pharisees presented their false inquiry: “teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth and defer to no one for you are not partial to any” (V.16). Individual stories and anecdotal evidence do not make theories. The 2016 Presidential election in the United States highlighted the power of fake news. Technology has made it easier to plant untrue stories to sway emotion. Examine all stories, use your intellect. Read your Bible and do not wait for others to give you their own interpretation. Many who claim to wear their religion on their sleeves may not have good intentions of leading people to Christ. Flamboyancy and fancy buildings do not a Christian make. The Pharisees preached about the purity of the faith but made oppressive laws that did not support human freedom. Jesus called them “hypocrites” (v. 18). Love one another” is no longer preached from pulpits but how a “Christian” should vote and who should be called a Christian.
3. Not all what is lawful is moral. The Herodians and the Pharisees were looking for point of law not morality. Unjust laws are the sources of oppression in the world. Do not get bogged down by oppressive law and feel righteous while ignoring what is just.
4. You can learn through careful observation. Notice how our Lord gave them an answer through a simple illustration. “Show me the coin used for the poll-tax” he ordered (v. 19). In our postmodern world, information technology has philosophical implications and requires the re-examinations of prior assumptions. Technology has empowered and unleashed a power never before seen in our world. The world has been made smaller and time and space seem to disappear. I can sit in the comfort of my room and talk as well as see videos of a child taking its first step a world away. I can participate in rituals half a world away. Yet has this made our problems lighter? Not really, for hunger and diseases still exist in our world. Ebola just needed a few days to get to Dallas from West Africa and the distance between the haves and the have nots has widened. The relationship between children and their parents have changed. When a child can no longer depend on the elderly for stories of the land but can google such stories instantly, who needs grandparents and the wisdom of the aged? When a child is the one showing the parents and grand-parents how the smart phone works, it raises questions about the wisdom of the years. Yet the Bible instructs us to honor our parents. That has not changed and will not change for us as Christians.
5. You cannot withdraw from the World so you can be a follower of Christ. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v. 21). The spiritual life should not be confused with the political and economic life. You cannot cease to pay your taxes because you are a Christian or because the state uses your tax money in ways you do not like. The postmodern period allows us to interpret our spirituality in ways that we like and for the first time in human history, we have separated religion from spirituality. While Spirituality has been defined as the need for meaning, religion has been seen as a way to answer those questions posed by spirituality. We cannot, as Christians, seek to use our religion as an excuse to withdraw from the world or draw the coercive power of the state on us and our faith. We can, however challenge the authority of the state through legitimate means rather than take up arms against the state and citing our religion as a reason for anti-patriotic activity. WE cannot allow our nationalism, however, to become nativism in the words of President George H Bush.
It is possible to live as Christians and be a light on the hill for those struggling and yearning for answers. Others can see in us the light of Christ and live well and derive meaning in a postmodern world. The term “Christian” then ceases to be about intolerance but about humility and demonstration of grace and love. This is how we live in an age of confusion, and varied ideas, not as close-minded people who dig in and call for the restoration of the purity of rituals and practices. At the same time we must examine ourselves and our relationship with fellow humans and God. We celebrate culture and diversity without seeing others as filth and through such celebration we honor God our maker. In our postmodern world, studies have shown, and we have come to believe that how people live and how they act depends on their history, therefore no one is civilized as those in past centuries believed, and no one is a savage. Above tribal superiority and above ethnocentrism, the one true thing we need as those who walk under the shadow of the cross is love for fellow humans, love for God and Love for each other, for as the Apostle John wrote: “God is Love and the one who abides in love, abides in God and God abides in him” “Love”, therefore, in the words of the hymn we sing in Church, “can exclude no race or creed if honored be God’s name, our common life embraces all whose Maker is the same” Thanks be to God. Amen!
