The Import Of Image

Last Monday the world watched as Barack Obama was inaugurated into office for his second term as president of the United States. You can be sure that great care was taken behind the scenes to project a certain image of power and wisdom through all the proceedings. Armstrong Williams writes in his Townhall.com column these words about the importance of image for modern day politicians. 

Today, most voters grow up learning from television images, rather than words. The successful politician, therefore, must be more adept than ever at using images to solicit knee-jerk reactions from voters.

In the Gospels we find a most important story about how Jesus teaches his disciples to relate to earthly rulers. Throughout his public ministry Jesus was opposed by several important political parties. Three are mentioned in the Gospels: the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians. We know precious little about the latter group. It may be that they were friendly to the continued dynasty of Herod the Great and his family. Political family dynasties are well known also in American politics. I need only mention the Kennedy and the Bush families as examples. In any event, as these parties saw Jesus' influence grow they became alarmed, fearing that he and his followers would threaten their power. So they tried to entangle him in a paradox. They asked him about paying taxes, a subject at the very center of current American politics. The Gospel of Matthew records the story,  found also in Mark 12 and Luke 20. 

Roman Imperatorial Coin of Julius Cesar

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." - Mat 22:15-21 ESV

Newsweek available

The Jews had an extreme problem with the Roman Caesars' penchant to proclaim themselves as one of the gods. Consequently they would not accept Roman coins as offerings in their temple and they had a deep hatred for those Jews who sold themselves out as tax collectors. On the other hand they could not avoid paying taxes to their Roman rulers. Either way they felt that had Jesus in a noose. Were he to say it was lawful to pay Roman taxes they could nail him as a traitor to their nation. On the other hand, were he to say it was unlawful, they could report him to the Romans as one stirring up insurrection. It was a perfect plan. Jesus' answer is most intriguing. 

The challenge for us Christians remains. Our "caesars" would still like to think of themselves as gods. Note the controversial front page of the current edition of Newsweek. The image quite obviously alludes to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and suggests that we are or will be tempted to deify the current president. This in any event is an extremely dangerous thought. Together with the Jews of Jesus' day we must resist with all our hearts and lives any such ideas. 

The response of Jesus to the Jews does indeed remind us who are citizens of the United States that we are to pay our taxes to the established government. I'll not get into the current controversy about who should pay them and how much. Instead I would emphasize that we owe allegiance to our president and our nation. Our president has been rightfully and properly elected. We may agree or disagree strongly with his politics, but we will pay our taxes one way or the other. 

In addition to that consider again the second part of Jesus' teaching: "Therefore render . . . to God the things that are God's." Our God and Creator has indeed established His image in our midst. I quote again the Apostle Paul's words about Jesus Christ.

He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. - Col 1:15-17 ESV

 In Jesus we find everything we need to know about the invisible God. He has made Him known. To Him, King of all kings and Lord of all lords belongs all power and glory forever and ever. 

Rush Limbaugh And Father Charles Coughlin

Have you been hearing about Rush Limbaugh and his remarks about Sarah Fluke? Who hasn't?  Rush says "Ratings Have Skyrocketed After Fluke Attacks."

Rush is certainly not the first controversial figure to raise issues related to American politics. And he won't be the last. Back in the 1930s, when I was a kid, one such popular broadcaster was Roman Catholic priest Father Charles E. Coughlin. Father Coughlin first took to the airwaves in 1926, broadcasting weekly sermons over the radio. By the early 1930s the content of his broadcasts had shifted from theology to economics and politics. Along with the rest of the nation, Father Coughlin was obsessed by matters economic and political in the midst of the Great Depression.

Father Coughlin -Library of Congress photo LC-USZ62-38494 

Coughlin had a well-developed theory of what he termed 'social justice,' predicated on monetary 'reforms.' He began as an early supporter of President Roosevelt, coining a famous expression to the effect that the nation's choice was between 'Roosevelt or ruin.' He viewed FDR as a radical social reformer like himself. During his inaugural address Roosevelt implicitly promised to "drive the money changers from the temple." This was music to Coughlin's ears since a core part of his own message was monetary reform. Roosevelt's early monetary policy seemed to fulfill this promise. So Coughlin viewed him as the savior of the nation.

Later in the 1930s, when FDR failed to follow-on with additional radical reforms, Coughlin turned against him.

During FDR's second year in office, on November 11, 1934, Father Coughlin established his own political organization, the National Union for Social Justice. The purpose of this group was to "affirm the sanctity of private property" and to gain support against the Roosevelt administration. Coughlin pushed for an economic plan that would create ease for the people by creating a more plentiful money supply. The National Union for Social Justice pushed for the silver standard, arguing that this metal was more plentiful and it would in turn increase the amount of money circulating within the economy. FDR resisited this idea, and later had an article published naming the largest silver holders in America. To everyone's surprise, Coughlin and the National Union for Social Justice were one of the largest silver holders in the nation.

Coughlin continued to use his radio program as a platform to attack FDR. In the 1936 presidential election, the National Union for Social Justice, now known as the Union Party, had its' own presidential candidate. The candidate was Congressman William Lemke, born in Minnesota, but then from North Dakota. However, Coughlin's vicious attacks on FDR and the New Deal did not serve to benefit Lemke at all. He received no electoral votes. To make matters worse, Coughlin had promised to retire from radio broadcasting and give up political campaigning if his candidate did not garnish 9 million votes. Lemke received just over 900,000 votes, forcing Coughlin to retire from the air waves until 1937.

When he resumed, Coughlin's radio sermons became even harsher than before. He exercised extreme criticism and vicious attacks against FDR. Coughlin claimed the New Deal was a communist conspiracy. At this point in his career his anti-semitic messages were harsher than ever. He quickly lost favor in the public eye.

In 1942, the FBI found a way to get Coughlin off the radio without violating his First Amendment right to free speech. A federal grand jury indicted Father Coughlin and his organizations for violation of the Espionage Act. At this time Coughlin's primary means of funding was through mail solicitation. He and his organizations were stripped of their second-class mailing privileges, thus eliminating his income. Coughlin's Bishop ordered him to cease broadcasting. He quietly returned to his parish. Charles Edward Coughlin retired from the Shrine of the Little Flower Church in 1966. He continued to write pamphlets denouncing Communism until his death on October 27, 1979.

Almost sounds like 2012.

Best Guess or Absolute Certainty

Although we try at times to avoid it, many of my friends and I end up talking about politics and the challenges we face these days. Frequent topics include the proposed new health care system and the state of the economy here in the U.S. We all have rather strong views on how things are, as well as how they should be. We care because we believe the decisions made and about to be made will impact our personal lives as well as the lives of our children and grandchildren for decades to come.

But I am not a politician nor do I choose to write about politics except as it impacts upon our spiritual life. Yet one cannot avoid pondering on what goes on in the hearts and lives of those elected to serve us on all levels of our government. What drives them? In Biblical terms, what is the spirit of the world and those living in it?

The Apostle Paul writes:"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God" (1 Corinthians 2:12).

As I listen to the politicians argue back and forth I realize that much of what they say and do is based upon guesses and experiments. Nobody really knows how to put the economy back on track. Nobody absolutely can say what health care options are best for this country. The best that anyone can come up with are informed opinions. And so, as is often stated, we'll have to wait for history to tell us. Hindsight. Oh the joy of hindsight revealing our foibles, our stupidity, our pride, greed and self-centered ideas and, occasionally, wisdom.

But is this all we have in spiritual matters? Must we merely make guesses about forgiveness of sins, God's love, the resurrection of the dead and eternal life? No, no, a thousand times no. We have certainty precisely because of the Spirit that dwells in us and works among us. The Spirit of the living and resurrected Christ has come to us in the very Word of God to convince us and assure us that we are His children. Because He lives--and He most certainly does--we too will live with Him forever.