Messy politics.
Sloppy politicians.
Ugly power moves.
Promises broken.
Irreparable spoken words.
Did that just really happen?
Sometimes it’s easy to think this is our situation. Just America. Just the Republicans or Democrats duking it out with power punches from independents and commentary from Wolf Blitzer. But the outrageous and should-be-unspeakable scenes unfolding aren’t new to history or humanity.
As we begin sipping the richness of this year’s Lent reading, we’re reminded that church and politics and politics and church have always been a messy business. The question of “How now shall we live?” traces millennia before us.
Reading Luke 1-2, (Download FREE LENT READING GUIDE HERE), I’m struck that the insignias of imperial power provide the backdrop for the appearance of Christ.
(NOTE: Click here to download a FREE one-page reading guide of Luke and Acts. or upgrade to the downloadable ebook called The 40-Day Live Lent Challenge: A Color Method Study for Luke-Acts for only $8.99. This 200-plus page booklet includes: a welcome letter, the reading plan, instructions on how to use the Color Bible Study Method, ideas on how to get the most from your study, creative artwork, and space to journal and doodle.)
A fearful word soon appears. One that has stirred dread, fear, and anger since the beginning of time: taxes.
Everyone knew the government’s forced registration of people and property would result in skyrocketing taxes.
But it also meant something more for those who proclaimed fidelity to the God of Israel.
Rome held the power. Money paid served as a sign of allegiance, a commitment to the political lordship. Taxes were a sign of a servitude to an ideology that made the people of God bristle.
The tension they felt. The higher ups they deplored. The politics they couldn’t escape. The frustration they couldn’t shake. Maybe that time in history carries more parallels to today than we realize.
Squint at the opening chapters of Luke:
If you count on your fingers, you’ll find that census is mentioned not once, nor twice, nor thrice, but four different times in Luke 2:1-7. Whoa.
Luke gives more space to the Ceasar Augustus’ census than the actual accounting of the birth of Christ. Gasp.
If you start underlining the names of the powerbrokers, you’ll see:
- In the days of King Herod of Judea (1:5)
- In those days Emperor Augustus (2:1)
- In the fifteenth year of reign of Emperor of Tiberius (3:1)
- When Pontius Pilate was governor (3:1)
- Herod of ruler of Galilee (3:1)
- His brother Philip was ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis (3:1)
- Lysanias was ruler of Abilene (3:1)
Three words: Hot. Political. Mess.
Amidst political power struggle, broken allegiances, and backdoor maneuvering an angel appears trumpeting the arrival of a newborn as “good news”.
Even more shocking, those infant’s squeals are ones of the “Lord” (Luke 2:11).
This is the backdrop to the arrival of Christ.
This is the setting for what will one day become the birth of the church.
Sometimes during an election year it’s easy to get caught up in the decrees of man and lose sight of the decrees of God.
God loved us so much He made our problems His problems.
While the government counted every person and stick of property, God countered by sending an uncountable company of angels (Luke 12:13).
While the government was filled with political climbers, God climbed down in the form of an innocent babe.
While the government controlled every detail through threat and fear, God displayed His sovereignty through fierce love and unbridled compassion.
It’s precisely when the government is a mess that God swoops in.
So perhaps today, as we begin Lent, it’s time for you and me to refocus.
To take a break from the political rhetoric. To turn off the Fox News and CNN. I know, it’s hard. To give up following every savory detail of the candidates lives, and to begin refocusing on the One who trumps all (excuse the expression).
Father, Open our hearts to the arrival of your Son anew in us. Forgive us for becoming more distracted by human political power than your never-ending power. Teach us how to best show our fidelity to you. In Jesus name, Amen.
What are some healthy ways you’re regaining a Jesus-perspective during this steaming political year?
