God and Caesar.

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XII, Issue 6, 1 December 1921, Page 331

God and Caesar.

A sermon 'preached m the Cathedral by the Rev. Canon Cullwick on the '23rd Sunday after Trinity. \ Matt. xxii. 21. /'Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." This was a very astute answer to a very astute; question put to our Lord by the Pharisees and Hexodians on the lawfulness of paying tribute to Caesar. v . The question was, really, a cunningly laijd trap m which they ex-

pected him to fall. It is a masterpiece of political and sectarian manoeuvring which is a study m itself, while his masterful and dignified re- - joinder not only excites our wonder and admiration, but commands our reverence of his personality; and creates an expectancy of finding some great leading principle lor our guid.anee. . '"■ : '• ' ' ■.-'.".. • : .. ': ;■■ .. \ ; , : ; What, then were the ■circumstances which led up to this 1 question and the motive lying behind it? What is the principle iinderlying the answer, and how does it apply not only tp those who ; asked the question, not only to the circumstances of those times, but to ourselves and the circumstances of our own time and generation 1 ? Now we are told that on this occasion the Pharisees were leagued . against our Lord. This was a most unnatural alliance as their religious and political doctrines were diametrically opposed, but they were united on. the question of getting rid of our Lord who had condemned them both m their hypocritical and worldly way of life. The Pharisees were the National party who repudiated any toleration of Caesar 's . rule and consequently any obligation to pay tribute. They were also the orthodox Religous party and. so utterly opposed to Christ's teaching, especially as Christ had challenged their authority and the sincerity of their religious profession — they thought more of outward trifles than principles— more of the ceremonial side of religion than • the moral and spiritual. The /Herddians who were mostly Sadducees were the upholders of Herod's dynasty as established by the Romans— they thought more of politics than Religion and stood for all that is world wise and prudent at the expense of National aspirations, and so favored the payment, of . tribute. Thus the question of paying tribute was of a very practical nature to both these parties though from opposite points of view. The one paid it under protest which made them popular as patriots but . brought . them into conflict with Caesar. The other paid it on the principle of expediency which brought .' them into contempt with their own people. And it was from these two points of veiw that our Lord was approached. If He expressed Himself _ m favor of paying tribute then His •" own countrymen would condemn Him and His influence as a teacher would be gone— if notin favor, then he , would be accused before Caesar by the Herodians. And so to escape being impaled on the horns of a dilemma our Lord bursts through all the vain efforts to disguise the object of their question— He takes them at . their word as a Teacher of «the way of God m; trutk He directs their atteiitioji :-: : ; -:,-v ':'■'■ ...■ ■ >v:Y ■ ■■: ''' fr!-'-~\ <: : ■''■'■; t-...^ :'■' .. :f :^'"\; ■

to the tribute ihoiiey " coin accepted as currency among them; to tte image and superscription that /it bore—telling its tale of conquest and subjugation, and carrying With it the of Hgation of rendering to Caesar nis due. Here, then, was an answer ,wjth which the strictest : 'I*Earisee could find no fault, of which the most exacting Roman Governor could not complain. It was an answer which not only saved our Lord from either accusation—it ' excited the wonder and admiration of his enemies! "They marvelled and wenfe rtheir way. J ' 2. But this is not recorded simply , to excite our wonder and admiration f orbits astuteness— -ifc inculcates a lesson of gre,at practical value ( and contains a' much needed principle for pur guidance, ;; \ It anticipated a very realt difficulty among the early Christfans^ which arose through -their allegiance '; to heathen rulers, who insisted ' ; onf'eon-' formity to heathen ciistoms^-B^ery; National Institution 'and civi^func^ tion was 'colored with pagahismtiand often debased with immorality. . Christians to acknowledge ascend aney of heathenism and pay tribiitte to heathen filers From the' Epistles we learn how this answer of Christ's helped to formulate the policy enjoined by the Apostles— obedience to whom obedience is due)— honour to whom honor— custom to whom custom. True and rightful allegiance must be given to Caesar by Christians > within the Empire inasmuch as the claims of God support - and justify the claims of Caesar. But God's claim did as we know supersede the claims of Caesar when :' Christians were called upon to compromise their religious principles^ and burn incense to Caesar's statue.' It was^then that God's claim had to be maintained m the face of bitter and cruel persecution. ' ' „ We thus see that the principle involved m our Lord's answer makes our duty 1 to God our paramount duty and our religion the controlling influence m all the departments of human life. There are no such things as conflicting duties when God's law is m question. If they .appear <to us as such we, like the Pharisees, create them . for ourselves. There are vno such things as -the rights of Caesar and the rights of God existing m, a state of 1 rivalry; God cannot'; pos- . sibly be excluded from any department of human life-r-rHe'must be supreme; m all. The' mote we place God m the forefront.of our lives the truer will be bur allegiance to our King, the purer will be t bur patriotism. The more we. make religion an active principle m our lives the better will be our citizenship, the greater will be our influence fdr good m the world. Now it is. very necessary to accept , this; rightful int&jpre^

tation of !3hese : woi^s- of our Lord, and! the ti^ey principle underlying it, because there 11 is a persistent popular tendency t6 wrest and pervert their meaning, to misapply them to support- a principle diametrically opposed to our Lord's intention. I remember as a• , youth hearing these ' worlds quoted/by a Liberationist lecturer who was, attacking the establishment of -the English Church on the strength , of which he denounced Church' and State as a most unholy alliance. TKe Church it was said should keep within her spiritual realm and' keep but of politics. Then civil power should confine itself to the affairs pf State and leave religion to itself. And this same text has been misapplied to support the secularising of education— to justify the, breaking up of the component parts of human nature — of body, soul and spirit, and divorce them frpm one another. As if a ■child's life could be boxed off into compartments, into some of which the spiritual tiacHno right of entry, and played no part m the development of character. Aad only recently we have experienced another tragic illustration of ignoring the true principle which the right interpretation of these words of our Lord gives us on a question of supreme importance to the moral and spiritual welfare of this Dominion. Our politicians m the making of our marriage laws have ingenuously taken it for granted that marriage is solely an affair of the State from which all religious principles should be excluded, and that it m no way affects the spiritual freedom of those who uphold its ideals — that the Church has no voice, or right <of protest" m the matter and that her priests and ministers can be dragooned into silence or acquiescence on a question so vital to the Christian religion and the. spiritual interests of the nation. No wonder that our Premier now realises, and tells us, that this legislation has gone too far. And this legislation has gone too far m another direction. In their indecent haste to get this legislation through they, have not only refused to recognise that the things of Caesai are also the things of God, and that tjie two cannot be /separated, but they have shown a callous indifference to the* claims of Caesar- himself— that is if Caesar -is the embodiment of just and equal laws. They '*haye brought conteiapt. on /the administration oi His justice m one, of His Courts oi law. They have subverted one of ., the grjeat maxims pf English law which has existed : from time immemorial viz., that a man cannot profit by his own wrong, 'a • The assist^nife s-pf the Divorce Court can noW 1 be invoked by the guiltj party ; nj|S: against the innpeent;

And so now if this amended Marriage Law is left on the Statute Book we shall have the sorry spectacle of seeing this wise, arid just, and; common , sense maxim rendered inoperative m the most important department of the administration of justice to prevent a tragedy, and still remaining operative ;.in others— of seeing the sacred and solemn contract of Holy Matrimony plaaed below the level of an ordinary contract for the sale and delivery of goods. And if the ideal of Christian marriage is something" more than a contract however solemn— if it is one of the things of God — if our Lord's v x sacred and solemn teaching respect- ~ ing it is binding on his followers, then indeed has this blind and stupid and retrogressive-legislation, with, its fine and consequent imprisonment to those upholding its' ideals, r br ought, us to the parting of the ways. -It is thus that after 20 years of - Christianity we are thrown back on the, principle belonging to these words of our Lord given for the guidance of his followers when Caesar was represented by a purely pagan Government, under which Christians were persecuted and martyred. Under such circumstances as these m which this marriage legislation has placed us the "claims of - Caesar have ceased to be the claims 1 of God, and all Christians who ac- ■_ cept the teaching of our Lord on a question of such vital importance as that of Christian marriage must be prepared to resist this invasion of their spiritual freedom and assert their duty to God as being their - paramount duty. • . But why , is it that m a so-called Christian country its Legislature ventures to insult the Christian - conscience of the community on a matter so plainly contrary to the mind of our Lord.. We have seen that His reply to the question of His would-be accusers was framed not only to confound them, not only to -provide a principle of ac- . tion, but to reprove that attitude of i mind and temper m the Pharisees and HerodiaiiSj which was at the ,boti torn of all their misfortunes. [ The fqrmer were insincere m their religious profession — the latter were ; indifferent and worldly— they were r also at variance between themselves » so their religion was lacking m moral > and spiritual force. They were weak ; m the presence of their enemies and : their weakness was exploited by those : who ruled them,' . - Atfd is it not very much, for the */ same reasons that as Christians we i have failed to mould and shape the i public opinion of our country— failed 5 to nationalise our Christian idealsfailed to evidence the strength of a t united witness to the power of j Christ's religion to win a disunited world for Himself. 1 ' *• .

The insincerity of our religious profession^ the indifference i of the mass- of Christians to its claim upon their consciences, the worldly mindedness of our aims' "arid ambitions, the strife and divisions among ourselves, are to-day, as they were of old, at the: bottom of all moral and. spiritual failure. It is on this account that we are deprived of the effective protest —that our position as a moral and spiritual force is discounted by politicians and unwelcome legislation is imposed upon our country. It is for this reason that we are unable to give effect to so much that we know and feel to be indispensible to the true progress and development of bur national life-^that the chief reason for God 's great gift of. empire is: lost sight of and that oiir efforts to evangelise the world are not worthy of our opportunities. And so it is for us to tale to heart and accept the .great principle which our Lord m the Gospel for to-day gives us— to .render : to' God. the-things that are God's— to make our, duty to him oui\ paramount duty— to give Him the first claim upon our affection, then' indeed shall we render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's — then indeed shall we be better citizens—better patriots— better able to uphold God's righteousness among our own people and to fulfil his puiv pose among the nations of the world.