Sex, Religion, Politics - Hold onto Your Hats!

Matthew 21:1-11

You know when you in social gatherings of people you are not overly familiar with, you are supposed to avoid three topics – you know what they are right? Sex, religion and politics. I think all of us also have close friends and family that are included in this rule as well. I’m about to talk about all three, hold onto your hats. Let’s start with sex. I am thinking, back in the day, people did not talk about sex because sex is a private thing—no one at a dinner party needs to know who does what when behind closed doors. No need. At all. However, in today’s world, it’s not so much the act of sex that is actively avoid but it’s the all the stuff around the sex or gender of individuals and about who is attracted to whom that we try avoiding in general conversation. Particularly when we are uncertain where our fellow conversationalists stand on LGTBQ rights, or on bathroom usage or we don’t know if they understand that gender identity and sexual orientation are continuums rather than binary. If you find yourself on the opposite side of the fence on any number of topics that involve sexual or gender rights and freedoms, you will quickly discover it is a very uncomfortable place to be, so we have learned to stay away from these discussions.

And one of the reasons why it’s uncomfortable is because of the belief, or I should say, because of the disbelief that God has created all of humanity to be expressed in a diverse manner of ways—not to be just this or to be. This is why talking sex gets so uncomfortable, because it is not just sex that we’re talking about, we’re also talking about one’s moral code—which then easily translates into religious belief—so that, before you know it, you are not just talking about that one taboo subject, you are now talking a second taboo topic, your religion views. And you don’t need to go very far down the path of religion, do you, before you start in on the reasons of why or why not the law should reflect your moral and religious beliefs. And then, Bob’s your uncle, you have managed to hit all three of the topics you are not supposed to touch with a ten-foot pole when at a dinner party. You can’t really talk about one without bringing up the others. And I think I know why. It’s because sex, religion and politics are not three separate and distinct subjects. They actually all fall under the same heading—plain and simple. It’s ALL politics. One of the definition of politics is ‘the total complex of relations between people living in society.’ Where each of us stand on sexual and gender rights and how our religion informs how we are to interact with each other, with the stranger and with all of God’s creation, ALL of it determines our political view. And, like it or not, no matter how much we try, we cannot avoid politics.

Don’t you just love it when someone says, ‘I wish those religious people would just shut up about politics—why can’t they just go back to just helping people and stay out of politics?’ What is not understood in this comment is that what the church is doing in its helping of the poor, the sick, the homeless, the marginalized, when we work to make life better, work to make situations more just, all of this IS politics. There are three major stories that Jesus is known for. Three stories that even if you are not overly churched or have ever read the Bible, there are these three stories that the general population will have some familiarity with. First, that Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger. At Christmas time. That’s one. The second is that Jesus was crucified on a cross but was found to be alive after a few days. The third story of Jesus that most people will have heard about is today’s story—his entry into Jerusalem. That moment when Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey with people shouting and cheering for him. Hosanna they yelled out—it was a cry of adoration. Hosanna – blessed is he who comes in the name of God!

These three stories that mark significant moments in the life, death and resurrection are amongst the most familiar stories of the ministry of Jesus. And each one of them was, first and foremost, a political statement. One could argue the whole of Jesus’ ministry was a political, but in particular these three moments were especially so. The birth because the one who was thought to become the savior of the people arrived as a vulnerable and helpless baby—not the solider wielding a sword full of might and terror to fight back against the evil Roman Empire. Despite his lack of physical power, the baby Jesus held such promised power that Herod, the ruler of the land, was filled with fear and demanded the execution of all boys born at that same time. The story of the crucifixion and resurrection are about Jesus’ refusal to bow down before a king who believed himself to be higher than the one true God. Jesus, in denying to participate in the game of power, intrigue and fear enacted by Caesar, Pontius Pilate and the Jewish religious leaders of his time, was executed by the government.  But then, in his resurrection, God’s determination that love will always win out over all that is hateful and evil, was made evident—love, grace and hope won out over Roman judgement and execution, revealing chinks in the armour of the Roman Empire.

And the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem was as just political as the other two events. Jesus knew his scriptures inside and out. There are many, many references in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, to predications, prophecies and hope-filled speculations about how the coming savior of world would be recognized when he did, in fact, show up. Jesus knew very well that it was prophesized that the expected savior would arrive on a donkey. From the Book of Zechariah:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
    triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

And so Jesus told his disciples to find a colt for him to ride upon into the city. And then he chose to enter the city from the east, knowing that same time, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor was entering Jerusalem from the west at the head of a column of imperial cavalry and soldiers. From the east arrived a man from the peasant village of Nazareth, proclaiming the kingdom of God while from the west arrived an army, proclaiming the power of empire. Jesus’s procession deliberately countered what was happening on the other side of the city. Pilate’s procession embodied the power, glory and violence of the empire that ruled the world. Jesus’s procession embodied an alternative vision, the kingdom of God. Make no mistake, Jesus intentionally set up this contrast between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Caesar. This story of Jesus entering Jerusalem is, first and foremost, was a political statement.

The most important aspect of this political statement centered on a sense of hope that was woven through the ministry of Jesus. All was not lost. There was hope that change was possible. Hope that life under Caesar would change. Hope that injustice and inequality would end. Hope hunger and illness would no longer define a life. Hope that one’s children would live in a world governed by peace and love. Throughout his ministry, Jesus taught and made real how one could live a life operated first from love and concern for one another. He also showed one could stand up against the forces keeping people down. Through his ability to be his best self in almost every encounter he had, whether it was someone who had come to hear him speak or a person who had been outcast from society, a leper, a prostitute or if it was the religious authorities themselves, by offering up the best of himself, people began to experience the Divine, the one true God.

The Kingdom of God began to be revealed right then and there, on earth—not in some far-off heavenly time, but right before their eyes. People who had been oppressed and marginalized for so long were witnessing how Jesus held his ground against greed, fear and power not with a sword and shield but with his ability to be, consistently, his best self. He answered in love and with grace. Always. Every time. Well, nearly every time. He wasn’t perfect after all. But he got it right many, many times over. He had the strength of his faith to always seem to know how best to respond, in any given situation. One example is when asked if a woman caught in adultery should be stoned to death, he stated, “let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone”. Oh SNAP! That was perfect because, of course, no one is without sin and so the men all walked away. No one was injured or killed, or even, really insulted but everyone involved left, I’m sure, asking questions about right and wrong that they hadn’t asked themselves before. Jesus brought all of this with him on the back of the donkey when he entered the city on the day the army was entering the city from the opposite way. Jesus couldn’t fight Caesar’s army directly. Combat and killing are not God’s ways. Jesus fought back against empire with his biggest strength, by using his power for good through being his best self. There’s this lovely saying, ‘in a world where you can be anything, be kind’.

Jesus knew this is what God wants for this world. One of the primary messages of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, is justice for all people. Again and again, the prophets of ancient Israel remind us that we are to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. Psalm 82 does not leave anything to the imagination—what is needed most in this world is to:

Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
    maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

In and through his ministry, Jesus made it clear that God’s will for peace on earth would not and could not happen through will alone. Change was not possible without God’s people using their power for good. Transformation is not possible without God’s people being their best selves when they find themselves up against was is not right. Not good. Not helpful. Not kind. Not loving. We are two thousand years away from the life, death and resurrection of the man named Jesus, who entered into a city filled with people who so desperately needed to hear messages of hope. People whose lives had been controlled by those who operated from places of greed, power and fear needed Jesus not to be afraid to be political. To not be afraid to address the complexities of relations between people living in society. We are two thousand years from the desperate need for hope to be made manifest in people’s lives and yet here we are today, feeling, I’m sure, some measure of that same desperation. Syria. Gas attacks by their own government and military. Muslims having their freedom of movement and their freedom of religion being restricted. Brown and black people being under suspicion for no other reason than the colour of their skin. People starving to death in Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen. People in Latin America living alongside the detritus of mines operated by Canadian companies. The rights and freedoms of LGTBQ under attack in the United States. North Korea sending missiles into the Sea of Japan. The people of Russia impoverished as oligarchs pillage their country.

Let’s face it, our sphere of influence on matters in Latin American, in Syria, in Russia, in North Korea is not great. But we do have influence in our day-to-day lives. And who can really measure the full impact of one good act? Of one good moment of standing up and not allowing hate? One excellent discussion at the dinner table when you have the presence of mind to channel how Jesus would manage the bigoted comment? Let those among us without sin cast the first stone. We could let it slide or we could choose not to. It is said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing. At our dinner parties, or even in our family gatherings, in 2017 we can no longer afford to be quiet. We can no longer afford talking politics. Because currently the complexities of relations between people living in all the different societies around the world is in a constant negotiation between the good of the individual over the good of the community. If we are to do the will of God, if we are to give justice to the weak, maintain the right of the destitute, if we are to rescue the weak and needy, if they are to be delivered from the hand of the wicked we cannot accept the mean-spirited joke, a bigoted, racist comment or an uninformed and ignorant alternative fact. Remember your sphere of influence is right there, right then. To demand change. We need to stand up for what is right. And good. Thanks be to God.