Dr. Clyde Wilson looks at modern America

Dr. Clyde Wilson, professor emeritus of the University of South Carolina, may be one of the last paleo-conservatives in academe, a member of the dying breed of classically educated liberal arts scholars and historians alive and kicking today.

These days, he does a lot of writing for Chronicles magazine (one of the editors of which is the equally brilliant and piquant writer, Aaron Wolf, a lay theologian and historian who belongs to a Missouri Synod Lutheran parish).

Wilson unapologetically combines Southern gentility and curmudgeonly feistiness with an eye for contemporary culture as seen through the lens of agrarian, small government conservatism. He is also at times biting and satirical, witty and yet never descending to the tawdry trashiness of some of the so-called conservative pundits (read: entertainers) who make the rounds of talk shows and cable news networks, who lack not only Wilson's encyclopedic knowledge of American History and devotion to historic conservatism, but also his Deep South breeding and charm.

Wilson is an old-time conservative governed by principle instead of partisanship and political posturing. Here is just a wee sample of some of Dr. Wilson's thoughts on America from his online column at Chronicles.

Agree or disagree with him, you'll find a scholar who will sometimes make you laugh, but will always make you think - and will do so with a style that is as South Carolinian as a palmetto tree in the moonlight or mustard-based barbecue at a Sons of Confederate Veterans meeting.

A nice smattering of some of Wilson's essays over the years can be found in this anthology.

Reading classical mythology...

...is all fun and games, until somebody loses an eye.

Sermon: Wednesday of Advent 2 (Populus Zion)

12 December 2007 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: John 12:35-50 (Isa 12:2-6, Phil 4:4-7)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

As mortal human beings, we exist in time. We accept the limitations our temporal existence puts on us without even thinking about it. Like the cripples that were carried to Jesus, we are paralyzed when it comes to being able to go back in time. We are simply unable to walk into the past and undo our mistakes. Similarly, we’re like the blind men that groped their way in the darkness to our Lord, in that we cannot see beyond the present. Our sense of vision doesn’t have the ability to look ahead in time.

Of course, God, being outside of time, doesn’t exist under the same constraints. He is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. He is the Alpha and the Omega. Time for Him is not a prison to live in, but rather just another of His creations over which He has dominion. However, God willingly places Himself into time “for us men and for our salvation.” In order to rescue us, He takes on flesh and occupies space, and He comes wrapped in that flesh at a specific time.

That is why the coming, the Advent of our Lord, is past, present, and future. Our Lord appeared inside the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and was born according to our calendar in 4 BC. And though we are crippled from physically joining the shepherds twenty centuries ago in adoring Him, we do see the original scene of the Holy Nativity with eyes of faith through the Word of God.

Likewise, our Lord is coming in the future. We are blinded as to the nature of future events, but through the eyes of faith, once again, by virtue of the Word of God, we confess that “he will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead.”

But we live in the now, in the present. And our Lord has promised that He would not leave us. He continues to break into space and time here and at this moment. He has pledged us His abiding Spirit, “the Lord and giver of life.” And He dwells with us in flesh and blood, in Word and in Sacrament, here and now, in His body the “One holy catholic and apostolic Church” and in His physical presence through water and the Spirit in “One Baptism for the remission of sins.”

Our Lord has not simply broken into time only to be a part of our distant past and a promise for the unfathomable future. He is here with us now.

When Jesus breaks anew into our present, people are confronted with the very Word of God. That Word bears life, tossing a lifeline to all of us who are drowning in our own sins and in the storm-tossed seas of this fallen world. According to the words of our Lord Himself: “I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

Jesus has not merely spoken, nor merely will He speak at some point. Our Lord uses the present tense when He says: “I speak.” In His Word, our Lord speaks to us in the here and now. This is why our Lord tells His ordained servants: “He who hears you hears Me.” The Word of Jesus is the Word of God, a Word that gives life – not merely the dubious “pie in the sky” of the future, nor the academic stuff of musty history books about eras long forgotten. No indeed, our Lord has come, will come, and does come to us where we are.

And notice what our Lord says happens in response to this present coming: some will hear and believe, while others will hear and reject. Jesus nowhere explains this mystery, why some believe and others don’t. Belief, that is faith, cannot be proven like a Geometric theorem or a mathematical puzzle. It is not only for the intelligent, nor for the ignorant. It isn’t a matter of a great deal of Biblical knowledge or lack thereof. Faith is a mystery rooted in the present coming of our Lord. Faith comes by hearing, and we hear in the present as sound waves batter our eardrums right now.

In response, some will choose the darkness of rejection over and against the light of belief in Him who is the Light of the World, the “God of God, Light of Light.” Some prefer the darkness out of selfishness, like the Pharisees who “believed in Him” but would “not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.”

For no-one chooses to believe anything. Belief is simply being convinced that something is true. You can’t make a decision to believe. You can’t will yourself to believe. But you can make a stubborn decision not to believe. You can indeed will yourself into disbelief.

Nobody has ever been argued into faith either by an appeal to past history nor to threats or bribes for the future. Belief in Jesus is a mystery, a supernatural response to His coming to us in the here and now.

Notice the stubborn lack of faith even among those who shared the present with our Lord in His earthly ministry: “But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him.”

But thanks be to God that many did believe in Him, do believe in Him, and will believe in Him.

His Word comes to us bearing good news that God has taken on flesh in the past, will recreate the universe anew in the future, and is present for us in the here and now! And again I say “Thanks be to God” that in spite of our stubbornness, our own temptations to walk in the darkness, our own “love of the praise of men more than the praise of God,” we are permitted to likewise see great miraculous signs in the present, as we witness the miracle of rebirth at this very baptismal font, we hear again and again the Word of the Lord proclaiming you absolved of your sins week in and week out in this very sanctuary, and that we are privileged to eat His holy body and drink His holy blood – even though we are separated from our Lord’s earthly ministry by some two thousand years in the past, and likewise separated an unknowable amount of time from His future advent.

The present reality enjoyed by God’s redeemed and holy people is having one foot in time and one foot in eternity. As the prophet Isaiah proclaims: “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid” and “with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

It is in this present life of forgiveness, peace, and sanctification that St. Paul writes not only to the Philippians in the first century, but to the New Orleanians in the twenty-first century: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” For there is life and salvation here and now. This is how it is that even surrounded by death and destruction, amid persecution and calamity, seemingly outnumbered and overcome by evil, and suffocated by relentless attacks on our faith, we can “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,” we can indeed let our “requests be known to God.”

For He hears us now. He knows what we need before we ask, and even before the foundation of the world, was drawing us to Himself and carrying out the plan for a new heaven and a new earth when time shall be no more.

And though we are blind to the future, in faith we can indeed see that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guide [our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

That promise was delivered to us in the past and will be brought to completion in the future – but it is ours now, my dear brothers and sisters. Our blessed Lord speaks to us now. Hear Him. Heed His Word! Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to repent and no longer abide in darkness. Now is the day of our deliverance.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.

Ironia

I'm almost done reading a book called Are We Rome? by Cullen Murphy. When I'm finished, I'll probably post a review here (somehow, I doubt any other editor will be quite as sympathetic as Fr. Hollywood). Are We Rome? is an intriguing read, even though the author is obviously biased to the left (though not obnoxiously or rabidly so). The United States has a great resemblance to the Imperium Romanum - in some ways more obvious than others.

Mrs. Hollywood and I are reading the book aloud - which slows down the reading, allows the wordplay and alliteration of the author to come to life, and gives time for the mind to savor, chew thoroughly, and ingest without causing heartburn or (perhaps even worse) resulting in a read so hasty as to lose the flavor.

Anyway, the book is an eye-opener in some very amusing ways.

Thinking about the book pointed out some real irony (of which, as y'all know, I am a big fan) that you can see on a day to day basis (or should I say, on a quotidian basis?).

On a lark, I drove (actually drove, for goodness' sake!) to the pizza shop (can you just hear a certain Nobel Prize winner's tongue clicking all the way from his charter flight back from Oslo?). Using a stylus, I clicked on an MP3 file in my Palm of an audio recording of Capitulum Quintum (that's "Chapter V" for the Latin-impaired, "Chapter 5" for those who are hooked on Arabic Numbers) of the Latin textbook I'm teaching my junior high students: Lingua Latina per se Illustrata by Hans Oerberg. I'm tooling down the road with the author reading a description of a Roman villa in the original language, when it dawns on me where I'm headed: Little Caesar's. Ha!

I walk into the taberna wearing a crucifix that has the word "Roma" on the back (where it was made) as well as the words "via crucis" inscribed beneath tiny icons of the Stations of the Cross.

On the way back, I stop in at a gas station to pick up some soft drinks. Inside, I hear not the lingua franca of our vast multicultural nation, but rather the dialect of Latin spoken by the barbari who work inside our borders looking for prosperity and taking jobs our own citizens will not take - at least not at Barbarian wages. These are not Germanic people: Franks and Gauls from north of the rivers Rhine and Danube who stand in contrast to the Latin culture of their reluctant host country, but rather these Latin immigrants come from the south of a border likewise formed by a river: foreigners who stand in contrast to their wealthy neighbors who speak a Germanic tongue. And though the Germanic and the Latin have swapped roles, the motivations and many of the results are very similar.

Because of the large number of barbari, the American markets for goods and services has changed. Domestic Coca Cola, by virtue of federal politics, no longer has cane sugar - but is rather sweetened by the high fructose corn syrup grown by agri cultura in the heartland of the imperium. It just doesn't taste as good as the real thing (another irony) which is only available outside of the United States.

So, by virtue of the demands of the barbari, it is easy to find mercatores who sell the imported Coke preferred by the itinerant workers, who in spite of their tastes in soft drinks, who desire to one day boast: "Civis Americanus sum!" [Nota bene: In case anyone is offended at my use of the word "Barbarian" - being a "Barbarian-American" myself, I am free to use "The b-word".]

I paid for my Coca Cola using a debit card (instead of currency bearing such words as "novus ordo seclorum" and "e pluribus unum" and depicting images of things like eagles and fasces and the edifice where the "Senate" carries out the business of the "republic" (cough).

Just as I explain to my students that the Latin language never died - rather it evolved into several modern languages spoken around the globe and continues to be studied even in its primitive form the world over - I'm forced to ask the same question as Cullen Murphy:

"Did Rome ever fall?"

Sermon: Advent 2 (Populus Zion)

9 December 2007 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: Luke 21:25-36

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

In the midst of Bing Crosby on the radio, Frosty and Rudolph on the TV, and all the usual debates over store policies about clerks saying “Merry Christmas” – the Church gives us a reading that comes right out of the Twilight Zone or War of the Worlds.

Instead of giving us a lot of nice guy theology, or some seven steps to be a better (and presumably a richer) person, or even a warm and fuzzy reminder to eat healthy, be nice to animals, and conserve gasoline - Jesus is talking about international calamity, cosmic disruptions, universal fear and panic, and the end of the world.

Furthermore, the Church has the audacity to call this reading “the Gospel” – the Good News. As if any of us really want to hear such tidings which sound anything but good.

For Jesus is telling us that no matter how bad things seem in the world, they will get worse. We will see further climactic disruption with wind and waves, as well as strange happenings with the heavenly bodies (over which we have no control), and many will lose hope. It is just then, our Lord tells us, that we should “lift up [our] heads.” For that’s when our “redemption draws near.”

Indeed, to anyone who watches the news, reads the papers, or surfs the internet, it seems that the world has gone mad. That which is good and honorable is called evil. That which is wicked and vile is called good. Things that would have been unthinkable 20, 10, or even 5 years ago, now happen and are accepted as normal.

The Boy Scouts are considered evil. The Boy Scouts, for crying out loud. An organization that trains young men to: be prepared, to perform good works, to strengthen mind and body, and to be patriotic and upstanding. The Boy Scouts are treated by our society as though they are the Hitler Youth for no other reason than that they take a stand on the existence of God and that they protect young boys, our sons, our grandsons, our brothers and nephews – from potential sexual predators. And their attackers are considered somehow noble.

In Scandinavia, pastors and laypeople alike are now subjected to criminal trials – criminal trials – for refusing to take communion from, or serve communion with, a woman “pastor.” We’re not even talking about impeding the woman “pastor” in any way – but simply refusing to work with her and simply not wanting to hear her preach is now a criminal offense.

A kindhearted British school teacher, a lady who gave unselfishly of her time and talents to help the poor of all faiths in Sudan, who unknowingly offended the Muslim religion over the name of a teddy bear, was imprisoned amid calls for her execution. Under international scrutiny, she was pardoned and released, but without international pressure, she was facing a year in prison and 50 lashes – over a teddy bear.

Sunday night cartoons on FOX-TV aired in prime time feature subject matter, language, and depictions that would have, without exaggeration, gotten an X-rating only a few years ago. Even Christian parents seem resigned to the fact that their children are going to be bombarded with explicit sex, graphic violence, and a gratuitous denial of the truths of Christianity.

But get ready, dear friends, it will get worse. We’ve moved beyond abortion on demand right to experimenting with fetal human beings by blending their genes with the genes of animals. Governments around the world – including our own – are becoming more and more authoritarian and intolerant of dissent – even dissent made in the name of conscience or religion. All over the world, parental rights are being chipped away in the name of some secular, atheistic agenda of a Utopian common good.

But our Lord warns us that no matter how bad things get – and they will get worse almost beyond our ability to bear it – the Lord of Creation is still the Lord of Creation. “Look up and lift your heads,” He implores us, “because your redemption draws near.”

As the universe continues on its path of decay and degeneration put into motion after the fall in Eden, the manifestations of that decay are to us like buds in the spring. They are signs that the long night of winter is almost over. In response to these terrible signs of which our Lord speaks that will fill the world with terror and panic – “men’s hearts failing them from fear” – we are to hold our heads high, maybe even dare to smile and sing joyful hymns to God’s glory – as many of the martyrs did while being tortured to death in the arena or at the stake.

These signs are, to us who believe, indications that “the kingdom of God is near.” For even “heaven and earth will pass away,” as the old creation, flawed by our sin, will be destroyed and recreated anew – but listen to this comfort from our Blessed Lord: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

As the Lord assures us elsewhere: “The Word of the Lord remains forever.”

The Word of the Lord, through whom all things were made, who speaks words of comfort and assurance to us, that Word and the words He speaks, will outlast any and all things, and will never prove false, or fail us.

For that Word assures us that He will never forsake or leave us. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” For we are His sheep, and nothing will snatch us from His hand.

These are great words of comfort imbedded in a great warning. Though warnings are not always pleasant to hear, warnings are acts of mercy. For we are being warned so we will not be surprised and caught unaware. We are also warned not to lose heart and cave in to the temptation of the devil. “Take heed to yourselves” our Lord warns, “lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.”

For there are two very real versions of this trap, this “snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.” We Christians may look at the decaying world around us and despair. We may think that God has forgotten us. We may question His strength to act in the face of evil. We may question His integrity in allowing evil such free reign. We may even doubt His existence at all. The degradation of the universe may shock us out of our belief – even though Scripture has made it clear that this is the fate of a universe in disarray with a chaos-loving Satan wreaking havoc. This is why our Lord warns us. We should not be surprised. In fact, we should be encouraged that the forces of evil are becoming more and more desperate as their time draws short.

There is another trap waiting for us if we don’t heed our Lord’s warnings. We may be so wrapped up in the decaying culture that we forget our Lord’s warning that we are to be “in” the world without being “of” the world. We may convince ourselves that being baptized, we are simply free to live as the unbelievers, indulging in the same sins, the same decadence, the same indifference to the holy things, the same chasing after material things, and engaging in the same rebellion against God’s created order by embracing feminist ideas about democracy in the family and in the vocation of man and woman. We Lutherans especially tend to think that, being baptized, we are free to wallow in the mud on Saturday since we will be absolved anonymously on Sunday.

But our Lord is warning us, dear children of God, against such arrogance. “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Truly, the Lord Himself makes us worthy. He forgives us. He baptizes us. He nourishes us with His body and blood. But if we shun him, if we join the world’s rebellion against Him, if we despair because of what we see with our eyes instead of lifting up our heads because of what we see with the eyes of faith – we will ourselves relinquish our worthiness.

And so, dear friends, this is good news indeed. Our Lord is warning us while there is still time. Repent! Believe! Take heart! No matter how great the evil is around you, the Lord’s purity is greater. No matter how powerful the forces of darkness may seem, the Light of the World banishes the darkness forever. No matter how much your flesh may seek the decaying pleasures of this world, the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, given and shed for you, makes your body a temple of the Holy Spirit and gives you strength in times of weakness – even when it seems that the sky is falling and the world is ending.

Just as we, the “Populus Zion”, the “people of Zion” prepare to celebrate anew the annual festival of our Lord’s Holy Incarnation, we must never forget that we also prepare for the celebration of our Lord’s coming again in glory, to destroy the legacy of sin and decay, and replace it with eternal life and paradise. No matter how tempted we may be to give up – our Lord encourages us with the Good News, the Gospel, the joyful hope and expectation that just as the Son of Man came to us meek and mild at Bethlehem, the great day of our redemption draws near when we will “see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.

Sermon: Wednesday of Advent 1 (Ad Te Levavi)

5 December 2007 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: Luke 1:26-36 (Gen 3:1-15, Heb 10:19-27)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. We worship the one who was, who is, and who is to come.

God is not bound to time as we are, but for us men and for our salvation, He breaks into our world of space and time in order to redeem us.

And so we meditate and ponder the mystery of the mighty and yet merciful God who is infinite, but who willingly enters the existence of the finite: the One who comes to us in our past, our present, and our future. The One without beginning or end, who yet is born and who dies.

Advent reflects this threefold coming of our Lord. We call to mind the past advent of our Lord even as we prepare for the commemoration of our Lord’s birth twenty days from now. We celebrate the mystery of our Lord’s coming to us in the present through his promised means of the Word and the sacraments. And we celebrate His future advent at the end of time when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The coming of Jesus in the past was the most extraordinary event in human history. And that coming was long expected. All creation yearned for the Promised One to break into space and time to redeem all creation.

The promise goes back to the Garden of Eden itself. For after the fall, when God confronted Adam, Eve, and the serpent to give account for their sins, there were devastating consequences and yet hope-inspiring promises. For unto us a Child would be born, the One who would bruise the head of the serpent and reclaim our fallen creation from its ruin.

The people of Israel waited for centuries, even millennia, for this Champion to appear. He is prefigured in the Old Testament as generations of priests sacrificed unblemished male lambs to God, as the smoke of their sacrifice mingled with the prayers of God’s people, rising like incense heavenward to plead for redemption.

For the blessed Lord Jesus is a priest, and more. He is our great High Priest, bearing the blood that enables us to enter the holiest of holies in the presence of God. It is in this priest’s name that we are washed with pure water. For this priest is also the victim, and the blood He bears pours from His wounds.

Even as we gather in this holy sanctuary to carry out our priestly work of the evening sacrifice, as our prayers rise before Him as incense, we are surrounded in space and time with reminders of this past coming of our Lord.

The poinsettias remind us of the lushness of paradise, even as the flowers remind us that Jesus is the pinnacle, the very flower of our race. The trees not only remind us of creation, of life, of the Garden of Eden, they also bear witness to the wood upon which our Lord was crucified. And from the wound of a tree flows the sap that hardens into frankincense – which is combined with myrrh and placed into the golden thurible as a memorial of the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh the magi offered to the boy Jesus. The incense smoke makes its way heavenward, not only reminding us of our Lord and His sacrifice for us, but also calling to mind the past of the Church. For it was over incense that thousands of saints were martyred in the distant past of the Christian Church.

The early Christians were tortured and killed, offering their bodies and their witness as a thank offering to the Lord Jesus who saved them, since they refused to burn incense to Caesar. For we Christians will not burn incense as an act of worship to anyone other than the Triune God – the second person of which took on our flesh as well as the gifts of the magi.

All of these symbols of the past, all of the promises of God in the Old Testament, the testimony of the prophets and the blood of the martyrs – all point to the same event: the incarnation of God into human flesh.

The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to carry out His ministry and mission is the pinnacle of all human history. If any event of the past is worth remembering, it is this: “The angel Gabriel from heaven came, with wings as drifted snow, with eyes aflame. ‘All hail to thee, O lowly maiden Mary, most highly favored lady.’”

For when our most highly favored lady consented to this miracle, our Lord’s incarnation began: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.”

Gabriel summed up four thousand years of prophecy and promise: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

We worship a God who has come in the past to save us. Not a distant, murky past of the stuff of fairy tales and legends, but of the flesh-and-blood past of names, dates, places, and landmarks. Our Lord God took on specific, real, and even vulnerable flesh – for in his wounds (His vulnera in Latin) our vulnerability was bound up, cleansed, healed, and never to be revisited. The festering and gaping wound of sin that we opened up at Eden has been stitched shut at Calvary.

But before He was offered up as our sacrifice, before He began His ministry as our High Priest, He entered human history as a baby inside a virgin’s womb. As we ponder the past coming of our Lord, as we meditate upon the Holy Word of God given to us for the proclamation of the Good News – what a joyful time of anticipation we call to mind, as the world and the church vicariously experience the last month of the most wondrous pregnancy of all time.

And calling to mind a real time and place in our human past as the Blessed Virgin Mary sang, we join with her in the present to blend our voices with hers: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. We worship the one who was, who is, and who is to come. Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.

Sermon: Advent 1 (Ad Te Levavi)

2 December 2007 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: Matt 21:1-9

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

“Behold, your King is coming to you.”

A royal visitation can only be one of two things: bad news or good news. If the king is angry, on the march with an army, ready to extract revenge, and bearing a sword – this is bad news. Likewise if the king is a madman on a rampage – like the Caesars the early Christians were familiar with – this is likewise not a happy occasion.

But listen carefully to the next word in the ancient text: “Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly…” The word translated “lowly” means gentle, humble, meek. It carries with it a kind of easygoingness. For your King is not on a mission of vengeance, and nor is He a power-starved lunatic. He is the Prince of Peace, the one who has come to sign, seal, and deliver the everlasting treaty to end all hostilities between God His Father and each one of us, His brothers and sisters.

This lowly King mounted on a donkey is not just one more false Messiah in a long train of deluded egomaniacs and religious charlatans. No, indeed, for what false Messiah would come in such humility, in a way that would make the unbeliever mock, if not laugh out loud?

Conquering kings ride stallions, chargers, steeds, war-horses that huff and puff, stamp their feet, rear, and let out proud snorts. They do not make triumphal entries on small, slow, lumbering, braying asses.

For this is a different kind of King – one who has no need to resort to marketing and salesmanship, shows of force and political muscle to establish His reign. This is a different kind of Kingdom – one that is rooted not in the lust for domination but rather in the love of service. For this King is not a Caesar, but the Christ. This emperor does not send innocent men to the cross for fear that some hated rival will take his throne, but rather this Potentate and Sovereign of all the universe endures the cross in His innocence to share His throne with the creatures He so dearly loves.

The fear this King desires is not that we be afraid of His wrath, but rather that we stand in awe of His mercy. For we not only fear, but also love and trust in this King through whom we can call His Father our Father.

The reign of King Jesus is a supernatural and eternal reign. His Kingdom is the everlasting Kingdom promised to the seed of Judah, the ancestor of both the mighty King David and the Mightiest King Jesus. A thousand years before our blessed Lord entered the city of His father David on a donkey, so too another son of David, King Solomon, likewise entered David’s Royal City on a donkey to make his claim upon the throne of Israel.

Jesus is the new and greater Solomon: wise, wealthy, and yet without the sins of ambition and idolatry. Jesus is the new and greater David: a Man after the heart of God Himself, courageous and compassionate, and yet without the sins of lust and abuse of power. Jesus is the new and greater Adam: the progenitor of the race of man, immaculate in flesh and in perfect communion with God, and yet without the sins of rebellion and deceit.

This King is God in the flesh. This King is the One all creation has been groaning for since the fall in Eden. This King is riding into Zion to take His throne.

The crowds sing his praise: “Hosanna to the Son of David.” They understand that He is the heir of David, the King who has come to save them. The cry “Hosanna” means “save us!” They spread their garments on the road, demonstrating that even the clothes on their backs are His. They cut tree branches to use to welcome Him, showing that all living things are likewise His property to be used for His glory. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” He is the Blessed One, the One who bears the holy Name, the unpronounceable divine name of the Lord. Their hosannas are not only hosannas, but hosannas “in the highest.”

Of course, those early followers of Jesus were in for a shock. For this was, is, and always will be a radically different kingdom than those of this world. For King Jesus did not take up residence in a marble palace. Rather it was in the marble palace that he was condemned. He was not set upon a golden throne to hold a scepter, but was rather nailed upon a rude wooden cross and beaten with a rod. He was not to be robed in purple and wearing a gleaming crown of gold, rather he was mocked with a purple robe, beaten black and blue, and crowned with painful thorns.

This is a different kind of Kingdom indeed.

If any triumphant king ever had reason to ride a mighty war-horse in majesty and might, seeking vengeance and annihilation of his enemies, showing a display of raw force and righteous wrath – it was this King. And yet He does none of these things. He accepts the hosannas that would become “crucify Him!”, remains seated on the donkey, makes no effort to free Himself from a false trial, endures the shame and spectacle of His passion and crucifixion, and humbly submits to a death He is not obliged to suffer. And instead of dying in defeat, he shouts a cry of victory: “It is finished!”, descends as a conqueror into hell, and then bursts triumphantly and gloriously from the tomb on the third day.

This is a different kind of victory. It is a victory of sacrifice. It is a victory in which not only is the enemy destroyed, but the Victor Himself is willing to die for that which He loves.

Citizenship in this Kingdom is a different kind of citizenship. It is not a spectacle of flag waving, of boasting, of conquering territory for the glory of the empire, of seeking to dominate those not of our Kingdom, but rather our citizenship is one of service, of humility, of glory only to our King, of the expansion not of an empire but of a Church, a gathering of people, a communion of saints who have been redeemed by their King.

We seek the growth of the Church not for the sake of the Church, but for the sake of those not in the Church!

For our different kind of citizenship in the different kind of kingdom ruled by our different kind of King only makes any kind of sense at all when it is understood what citizenship in this kingdom is all about.

When our King came among us, He had every right to come in wrath. Instead, He rides on a donkey and tells us He has not come to condemn but to save. He is not merely our sovereign, but also our Redeemer. He has not only come to rule us, but to free us. He has given us life through the forgiveness of sins. He has made us citizens through the washing of Holy Baptism. He continually brings us to the precincts of His palace to join in the banquet of Holy Communion. We, who deserve His wrath, receive His mercy.

And what’s more, we receive His favor. We are made His heirs. We are promised to be co-regents in this Kingdom. For as God became man, man became God. As the Divine took on flesh, our flesh took on divinity. Through Him who died and rose, we too rise and live forever.

This is the meaning of Advent – the “adventus”, the “coming near” of our King – which we today anticipate just as Israel kept watch for her Messiah and just as Mary awaited the birth of her Son. We wait in joyful hope for the final coming of our Redeemer King, even as we sing with angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven, week after week, year after year, even unto eternity: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!”

“Behold, your King is coming to you.” Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.

Brief Blogged Brainstorms

Just a few random thoughts not developed enough to be self-standing blog entries, all brought to you by the letter "B"


Born to be Wild

I was listening to the Steppenwolf song "Born to be Wild", and I couldn't help but reflect on how, while in my twenties, I used to listen to that tune while wearing jeans, boots, and a leather jacket while tooling down the highway alone on my motorcycle. Now that I'm in my forties, I'm listening to the same song in cargo pants, sandals, and a golf shirt driving to the grocery store with the family in my minivan. I'm not sure whether this is horrifying, funny, or both.


Banana Tree

Having grown up in cold, snowy Ohio, the thought of having a banana tree in my back yard is intriguing in theory. However, in practice, even in sunny Louisiana, I'm not so sure.

I had no idea there was a banana tree back there, but somehow, it grew up without my knowing about it. It's now about seven feet high, and it blocks my ability to walk behind the shed where I have some things stored. It's more of a nuisance than anything else. I'll probably chop it down. I guess some things are better in abstracto.


Bridging the Gap

Until this past spring, I used to live in Kenner and commuted to Gretna every day (a 17 mile commute each way in heavy traffic). The trek was almost entirely on I-10 and involved the crossing of a large toll bridge (the Crescent City Connection). The bridge spans the Mississippi River, and the two sections it connects are north and south of each other - though we refer to the two regions as the East Bank and the West Bank. The main part of New Orleans (as well as a hunk of suburban Jefferson Parish) is on the East (that is, the North) Bank, while the Algiers section of New Orleans (as well as another hunk of Jefferson Parish) is on the West (that is, the South) Bank. The cardinal points of the compass are irrelevant in our region. The degree of deviation from the meridian of the magnetic North Pole is just not as useful in matters of direction to West Bankers as, say the proximity to Sal's Seafood or in the direction of the Harvey Canal.

Since that time, I have become a West Banker myself. I live in Gretna, just a five minute drive from the bridge. Now, crossing to the East Bank seems almost exotic. Psychologically, it feels like an 8-hour drive with an international border. The Crescent City Connection now has the feel of a bridge connecting Canada to the U.S. - I almost expect to see a customs station set up at the end of the crossing. There is a cultural difference between the banks as well.

These days, Mrs. Hollywood and I would rather drive a longer distance and remain on the West Bank than to take a shorter journey that involves crossing the bridge. I'm sure there is a name for this, as well as a good reason for it. Maybe someone can enlighten me.


Broad-mindedness

It's really a good thing that women have been "liberated" from being barefoot and pregnant, with men holding doors open for them, putting them on a pedestal, using respectful language in their presence, and treating them with chivalry. We're so much better these days. Equality and all that.

On I-20 near Shreveport (just after crossing into Louisiana from Texas), there are a slew of billboards advertising the local casinos. One of them features a rather scantily clad blonde with the words: "100's of Loose Slots."

We're so much better now.

In a similar theme of feminine liberation, there was an ad for soft drinks at a gas station in one of our more rural areas here in the Bible Belt that had a cartoon of a woman saying: "Nice cans, and they're all natural" or something to that effect.

The forces of feminism must be so pleased with themselves. Women are no longer seen as people worthy of respect, but are now life support systems for "cans" and "loose slots." I'm finding this cultural shift to have a tremendous effect on my middle school boys and girls.

Way to go, "womyn!" You've come a long way, baby. Ms. Magazine must be thrilled. Thanks, gals!

Sermon: Last Sunday of the Church year

25 November 2007 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA Text: Matt 25:1-13 (Isa 65:17-25, 1 Thess 5:1-11)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

It’s an all-too easy thing to become jaded to promises – especially when those promises involve the restoration of something that has been broken. Time and again politicians make promises about restoring our region following the devastation of Katrina and Rita, and time and again, the efforts are bogged down in a quagmire of politics.

In the kingdom of this world, our rulers make all sorts of grandiose promises. Certainly, some of them mean well, while others are openly corrupt. Very seldom do the promises match the rhetoric. Indeed, we expect them to be broken.

Perhaps this is why the Psalmist warns us not to place our trust in princes.

It’s easy, all-too easy, for us to transfer this same cynicism and doubt to the Kingdom of God. Sure, we know the world has been cosmically altered thanks to sin. We know that the lush and innocent paradise of Eden has given way to the stony ground both of the uncooperative land and the sinful human heart. We also know that our Lord Jesus came into the world to crush the serpent’s head, to save us from our sins, and to give us everlasting life. We also know that “He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.”

But we’ve been waiting on our Lord’s return for 1,977 years. The apostles earnestly felt our blessed Lord’s return was around the corner. People living at the turn of the millennium – the first millennium that is – believed the Second Coming was in their lifetime. Martin Luther believed the end of the world was nigh. And today, TV preachers eagerly watch events in the middle east desperately trying to force them into their theories about biblical prophecy.

It’s easy for us to live as though Jesus is never coming back. And that is why the Church takes this Sunday, the last of the church year and the one just before Advent, to remind all of us that the Triune God is not a bungling federal bureaucracy, Jesus is not FEMA, and the promises of God’s Kingdom are not merely campaign hot air from a candidate for political office. In fact, the season of Advent is not only a remembrance of our Lord’s first coming, but a time of preparation for His second.

Listen carefully to our Lord’s parable. It is a dichotomy between the wise and the foolish – all of whom were awaiting the groom. The wise girls in the story, though certainly excited and joyful at the coming of the wedding, did not shirk their responsibilities. Certain things simply need done. No-one else will do them, and if they are not done, there will be horrific consequences. The five wise virgins prepared their lamps with oil before going to sleep. The five foolish virgins procrastinated, deciding to put off their chores until a more convenient time.

At last, the groom arrives. There is no more time. The wise girls are ready. The foolish girls are not. In their last-minute scurrying, the foolish girls are locked out of the wedding. In fact, they hear the most painful words possible: “I don’t know you.”

Jesus Himself, speaking to those who believe in Him, provides the moral of His story: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

This is the same warning given by St. Paul in our epistle: “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ…”

The warning to be sober is the same warning St. Peter gives when he tells us how to keep watch for the devil, who prowls like a lion looking for prey. For if we are to be watchful, we must be sober. This doesn’t mean we are never to drink, and indeed, it means so much more than simply being reasonable when it comes to alcohol. Sobriety means keeping alert, not allowing ourselves to fall into distraction, not being frazzled by circumstances, but rather focused and calm.

Sobriety means we are not to be distracted by things that glitter, things that cause us pain, things that raise doubts, or things that lead us to worship other gods.

How is it that Christians can be calm, focused, and alert? Again, St. Paul provides the answer: “God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We can be calm, we can be watchful, we can stay on task filling our lamps with oil – doing the things that need done, the things we are called to do, great things and small things alike – even while others around us fall into unprepared slumber or into a distracted state of drunkenness and a lack of trust in the Lord’s promise. “For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”

The Gospel gives us the ability to be sober. The Gospel enables us to be focused on the tasks God has given us in His Kingdom – whether that be proclaiming the Gospel, supporting the ministry, working for the good of the church, being a godly parent and teaching your children the Word of God, or by doing your job honestly and to the best of your ability. The Gospel allows us to watch for the Bridegroom’s coming as well as to watch out for the attacks of Satan. We are to be alert both to the return of our Lord at the end of time as well as being wary of the temptations to sin we face day to day, moment to moment, in our temporal existence.

Seven hundred years before our Lord’s coming in the flesh, the prophet Isaiah reminded us what God has been promising since the fall in Paradise: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.”

In the midst of our busy lives - Christmas shopping, dealing with family problems, struggling with health issues, being beckoned by the lure of wealth and material possessions, and being tossed about by the constant assaults of cultural forces against the Christian Faith and Church, as well as our own sinful flesh - it is easy to forget that we are in the midst of a long-term reconstruction of the universe.

This is exactly the Word of God warns us again and again to cling to the promise, wait, and watch – with expectant joy and with diligent discipline.

We stand 2,700 years after Isaiah’s warning and nearly 2,000 years since the words of St. Paul and of our Lord Jesus Christ were inscribed to the churches. We enjoy luxuries they could only dream about, and we are subjected to assaults on our faith that would shock them. Now, more then ever before we must heed their warnings. For we “know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

But this much we do know, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ: God is restoring the universe. Jesus has defeated the devil and vanquished sin. He is coming to rescue us from the ravages of Satan and of the old corrupted order. The new order is already on the way. The Church waits for her bridegroom, and she has no reason to doubt, to be drunk, to slumber, or to fritter away the gifts she has been given. The wise virgins will be rescued, while the foolish virgins will have walked away from eternal life.

Hang in there, Christians! Time continues to move forward. Every day is another day closer to the restored Paradise promised by God. Every year is one more in the irreversible march to eternity. The victorious Lord Jesus Christ is coming: the babe of Bethlehem is also the mighty King of the universe and Conqueror of all evil.

For Jesus is the one Prince we may, can, and must put our trust in. We trim our lamps with assurance and in joy. For our heroic groom is coming! He always keeps His promises. May He find His beloved bride ready to be whisked away to a restored Paradise that has no end!

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon: Funeral of Elizabeth C. Bealer

13 November 2007 at Mothe Funeral Home, Harvey, LA Text: John 12:23-26 (Job 19:23-27, Rom 6:3-9)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

Dear family and friends. There are many things we don’t understand. So much of our existence is a mystery. The hardest questions are those that begin with “why?”

As Christians, we accept that God, the Author and Creator of all life, has a plan. We know that from our perspective, it doesn’t always make sense, but we also know that He is a loving and merciful God, and that we are His beloved children who have nothing to fear.

And yet, it is still painful and heart-rending to have to endure even this temporary separation from those we love.

Bob, your loss is the hardest. God is asking more of you than anyone this morning. For Beth has been your dear bride for nearly three decades. You may be tempted to feel that God is punishing you, or that this is your fault. It most certainly is not. Our Old Testament lesson is taken from the book of Job. Job lost everything – all his children, his servants, his wealth, and even his own health. His friends abandoned him. He cried out to God and for a long time got no answer. In the end, Job was rewarded richly for everything he lost. He was promised a resurrection and a glorious reunion with those from whom he was separated. And as far as why this happened to him, God only says: “My ways are not your ways.” As God’s children, we must accept His will – even if we cannot understand it at this time.

Your dear wife Beth gave her life in service to you. When you were in need, she was there for you. She lost her life serving you.

And that is the best way for any of us to live and die. For our service to others is a demonstration of our love for them. And when we lose our lives serving others, we are called heroes and heroines. Beth was given a calling, a vocation, as a daughter, wife, and mother – and that calling of love and service is what she was doing right until she was called to her heavenly home. What a blessing to have such an example of love in our lives!

As a baptized Christian, Beth is a reflection of our Lord Jesus Christ. For He too gave His life for His beloved spouse, the Church. Christ’s calling and vocation was to serve us with His very life – and to give us that never-ending life through Holy Baptism.

As St. Paul speaks to us anew today: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

When Beth was baptized, she became a partaker of the death and resurrection of Jesus. She was called by name, in His Triune name, by water and the Spirit, into everlasting life.

Like all Christian saints, Beth is a mirror of our Lord Jesus Christ. But also like all Christian saints, Beth was a forgiven sinner. For our Lord did not come to call the righteous, but all of us poor, miserable sinners, to take our place in the Kingdom of God. Through this gift of faith, we ordinary people become extraordinary. We imperfect people are conformed into His perfect image. And though we all must die, our deaths are not final – no more than our Lord’s death was final. On the great and glorious day of the resurrection, Beth’s tomb will be as empty as Jesus’s tomb, and like Job in our Old Testament lesson, Beth will proclaim: “I know that my Redeemer lives” and “in my flesh I shall see God.”

What a magnificent reunion we have to look forward to!

For listen to the Word of God from our Gospel reading according to St. John: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Jesus speaks of His impending death as “the hour” – even our Lord Jesus had an appointed time to die. And He speaks of that death as a glorification. For in dying, Jesus conquers death. And St. Paul tells us we who partake in our Lord’s death become even more than conquerors. Our blessed Lord says: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Beth did not love her life more than she loved, and continues to love, her family. Love requires us to die in order to live eternally. This is the great mystery of life on this side of the grave. For death is our punishment for sin, and yet, through death, our Lord Jesus Christ conquers death, so that we too win the victory over sin, death, and the devil.

The Christian life is a life of service. The Lord serves us in dying for us, in saving us by his free grace and mercy, in rising for us, and in giving us eternal life in Holy Baptism and in faith. And we too serve Him by serving those He places in our lives. Beth served her husband and her children. And notice what our Lord says: “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”

Where Jesus is, there Beth is.

One of the most comforting things about the Christian life – even in the midst of death, amid all of the questions we have, and even through the pain we bear – is the fact that when we gather around the altar to celebrate the mystery of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, we acknowledge that we are not alone. Rather, we are in the midst of “angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven.” That means when we are united to Jesus through His Holy Supper, Beth is there with us. For you heard the promise of Jesus: “where I am, there will my servant be also.”

We don’t have all the answers. The answer to the question “why?” eludes us. But there are things we do know, testified by the very Word of God. Elizabeth Colvin Bealer is a baptized child of God, given the gift of everlasting life. She continues to pray for her beloved family. She sings the praises of the Lamb of God day and night. Her body will be resurrected, and she will be reunited with those whom she loved and served in this life whom Christ also redeems by His own death and resurrection. And furthermore, in eternity, we baptized and believing children of our heavenly Father will never again know pain, grief, separation, or death.

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last hour he will stand upon the earth… in my flesh I shall see God.” Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.

Blog Recommendations

To my surprise and delight, a lot of my parishioners are reading Father Hollywood. The ranks of the self-declared "computer illiterate" are dwindling among the faithful at Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Village of Mechanickham, the City of Gretna, the Parish of Jefferson, the State of Louisiana.

So, my beloved parishioners, as well as other readers, I want to direct you to a few other blogs that you might find edifying.

The first is by a dear friend and colleague, the Rev. Subdeacon Latif Gaba - a seminary classmate of mine who served as the subdeacon at my ordination Mass. He is also a lay brother in the Society of St. Polycarp.

Although Br. Latif had to leave seminary to work full time to pay bills, and was not permitted to return, he is one of the finest theologians and scholars that I have ever met. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the members of the committee that denied Latif re-entry into seminary studies assured me that this was not due to any moral or academic issue with Latif - but rather the impression that he would not fit in well with the current ethos of LCMS pastors.

I have to agree with the assessment, though I think it would have been prudent to allow Latif to complete his studies and see if the Lord has a place for him to serve our church body rather than presume that there is no LCMS altar or classroom where Latif could serve. I can think of many, many places where a man of Latif's integrity, pastoral heart, humility, and intellect would be appreciated, even though he has been known to wear a cassock (gasp!) and listen to Bruce Springsteen.

When I say that I agree with the assessment, I mean that there are an awful (a truly awful) lot of LCMS pastors who support the Ablaze!(tm) program, have no quarrels with so-called contemporary worship, spend little time reading Scripture in the original languages, and try very hard to look and speak like a local Baptist or Methodist preacher. Many of my classmates, Latif included, do not fit in with that paradigm at all.

In short, most of my best friends and most faithful colleagues are terribly out of step with the increasingly typical LCMS pastor - although Latif is the first example to my knowledge of such a man being refused a seat in the classroom (perhaps if Latif were to get a sex change operation and enroll in the deaconess program he might have a better shot...). If my congregation ever gets thrown out or leaves the LCMS, I might consider kidnapping Latif, laying hands on him, and impressing him into service as my father confessor. It is my earnest belief that had I been in the same boat at the same time as Latif, I would have been equally thrown overboard to the sharks as an "undesirable." But there really are congregations out there who don't want a cookie-cutter wannabe Methodist "company man" to be their shepherd. Nothing against a certain midwestern state that starts with the letter "I" (you know who you are...), but there are actually places in this country where high culture doesn't consist of belching the national anthem. Some people actually want men like Latif Gaba to serve as their pastors.

I know of few men as committed to the contemplative prayer life, the Holy Eucharist, and the Lutheran confessions as the good subdeacon. It is my fervent prayer that the Lord open a door for him to serve as Lutheran pastor. We desperately need men of his caliber and pastoral sensitivity.

Latif also happens to be an eloquent writer as well. I highly recommend his Luther's birthday blog article. If anyone "gets" Luther and the reformation it is Latif. I also thoroughly enjoyed his meditation on chocolate and the sacramental life. Delicious writing!

Another offering to the Father Hollywood Community (ha!) is yet another classmate of mine who might today be deemed "undesirable" (who is also a fellow member of the Society of St. Polycarp and a fellow former singer in the Seminary Kantorei), the Rev. Kent Schaaf. I'm honored to work in the fields of the Lord with men of such integrity, fidelity, and sense of humor. There are some great photos and commentary on Fr. Schaaf's recent mission trip to Sudan.

I recently discovered another one of my former (likely now "undesirable") classmates and fellow Kantorei member who is also writing a blog, the Rev. Jon Sollberger. This entry is just a taste of the kind of writing you'll find from this musician and word-smith.

There are a couple other blogs I think members of my flock would appreciate: those of the Rev. Dr. Fritz Eckardt, and the Rev. William Weedon - both men of profound pastoral experience, brilliant Augsburg theologians and writers, and the kind of guys you just enjoy reading and interacting with - in person or in cyberspace.

There are more blogs out there, of course, many of which I think are worth reading whenever anything new is posted - but I'll leave you with just these for now.

And I know which parishioners are reading my blog. They are the ones who greet me on the way out of church and say: "I gotta have more cowbell!"

Let the reader understand.

Sermon: Trinity 23

11 November 2007 at Salem Lutheran Church, Gretna, LA
Text: Matt 22:15-22 (Prov 8:11-22, Phil 3:17-21)

In the name of + Jesus. Amen.

The enemies of Jesus – both human and supernatural – have become desperate. As the time draws near for Him to go to the cross, the forces of evil – who hate each other – are now cooperating. The Pharisees and the Herodians form an alliance. They plot. They seek to entangle. And they approach our blessed Lord with flattery designed to make Him lower His defenses and fall into their snare.

And notice that even in their deceit there is truth: “We know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth.” Jesus is truthful, He is the Truth, and He is the very way. He is God in the flesh, and they claim to believe this – though even with this beautiful confession, they are seeking to destroy Him. Perhaps they honestly don’t believe Him. But then again, maybe they do, but have been so co-opted by evil as to believe that they can snuff out God in the flesh with a political trick.

They know Jesus will not waffle. He will not stay on the safe side of political correctness. They also know that the Romans are ruthless, and that they will crucify any non-citizen of the Empire who dares to question Caesar – especially in matters of taxation.

The Pharisees and the Herodians are clever, but they have no wisdom. They seek the rubies of this world through their guile, but they do not seek wisdom that dwells with prudence. They do not hate evil, but see evil as an ally to their own goals. They seek the destruction of the Way, the Truth, and the Life by their pride and arrogance.

Sadly, the Lord offers them “enduring riches and righteousness,” that which is “better than gold” and “choice silver” – but they instead try to use fleeting earthly weath as a snare to entrap the One who not only made, but freely distributes all the wealth in heaven and on earth to those who love Him, who seek Him diligently and find Him.

They are truly “enemies of the cross… whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame” – for they “set their minds on earthly things.” They do not seek the citizenship that is “in heaven.”

And so, Jesus teaches them about what it means to be a dual citizen, subjects of imperfect, and even at times evil worldly rulers, as well as being citizens in the Kingdom of heaven.

In response to their stirring the pot about taxes, the intended Victim of the snare becomes the trapper. For they ask the controversial question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” This is no innocent question, for as the Evangelist narrates “Jesus perceived their wickedness.” Our blessed Lord calls their bluff, openly assails their hypocrisy with a rhetorical question of His own, and then says: “Show Me the money.” Unlike the pop-culture catch phrase, this is no expression of greed, but rather an honest request for a coin to use as an object lesson about the Kingdom of God.

Our Lord makes His wicked interrogators answer a few questions of His choosing, for as they themselves have confessed, Jesus “does not regard the person of men.” Our Lord does not attempt to curry favor with the powerful Pharisees nor the well-connected Herodians. “Whose image and inscription is this?” “Caesar’s” And then our Lord delivers a line that has been quoted in every imaginable context ever since: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Jesus leaves them with mouths agape. For they had no answer. They could not extract themselves from the snare by using clever words. Jesus has no need to be politically correct nor politically incorrect. Our Lord Jesus Christ has not come to call the overtaxed into protest, but rather sinners to repentance. His Kingdom is not just another rinky-dink empire or human state convinced of its own immortality. For as we all know, Caesars come and go, empires rise and fall, and yet the Lord’s Kingdom, the Church, the citizens of the living Word of God, continue to serve their King unto eternity.

The governments of this world certainly do God’s work in protecting the innocent and prosecuting the guilty, in maintaining order over and against chaos and in securing a peaceful forum in which the Gospel may be preached. But we also know that governments, all governments, are filled with corruption, greed, Pharisees, Herodians, and all other sorts of scoundrels who have no regard for our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy Church.

And yet, the Lord God says: “By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all the judges of the earth.” Worldly rulers often forget this fact, being so used to being fawned over, enjoying privileges and wealth – not to mention easy access to riches that do not belong to them. In the same way, our Lord told Pontius Pilate that any authority Pilate had came from the Father of Jesus, from the mighty and merciful God who governs the world, and yet whose Kingdom is not of this world.

In seeking to make Jesus the Victim of their snare, they made the enemy of Jesus the victim. Ultimately, the Pharisees and Herodians, the priests and the scribes, conspired together to cast our Lord dishonestly as a rebel against Caesar. They brought Him before Pilate, thinking that Pilate had authority over Him by virtue of Caesar instead of by virtue of God. When they succeeded in crucifying our Lord, in bringing about His passion and death, they thought that they had finally snared Him whom they called “true.” In fact, they ended up in their own web, for it was Satan who was ensnared on the cross of our Lord.

In dying, our Lord caused “those who love [Him] to inherit wealth.” And in rising from the dead, He has extended the promise to “transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

And so, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we may have presidents and governors – but the principle remains. We live under governments that are filled with the corrupt and the greedy – and yet the Lord Himself ordains these governments to the ultimate working out of His plan and His glory. We are to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but we must also remember that even what Caesar owns is still God’s.

And what God has, He lavishes upon us. His riches are better than a few shiny trinkets or some electronic gadgetry that will be obsolete in a few weeks. He gives us a new creation, a body freed from disease and mortality, a New Jerusalem and a restored Paradise. He forgives our sins, gives us His very body and blood, and promises us absolutely everything in His glorious Kingdom. He nurtures us with His Word and with the wealth of His divine and eternal love and mercy. No gold coin – even one with the picture of a mighty Caesar – is able to buy any such thing. So render to Caesar, even as God renders unto us.

We must keep in mind the Word of the Lord that the Pharisees and the Herodians had long since forgotten:

“For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her…. Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness…. I traverse the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice, that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.”

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.