Paul the Progressive
As I continue this sermon series on the apostle Paul, I recognize that Paul is indeed one of the greatest saints of the church. Without Paul, we would have a vastly different church. Without Paul, much of the Christian world might not even be Christian. Aside from Jesus, no one has shaped Christianity more than Paul.
Perhaps it’s because of his influence that Paul has been such a controversial figure, a person whose theology and instructions people have debated and argued for centuries.
One of the passages people debate and argue over is today’s passage from Romans 13. “Be subject to the governing authorities…Pay taxes to whom taxes are due...” How you feel about that command probably depends on how you feel about those who are currently in leadership. “Do what the lawmakers tell you to do” is easy advice to follow, if you think the lawmakers are doing a good job… but what about when they’re not?
When Eric C. Smith was writing his book Paul the Progressive - the book I’ve been using to help me with these sermons - he didn’t plan on including a chapter that focused specifically on this passage.
But then, while he was working on the book, controversy exploded over immigration policies that the Trump administration was enforcing, with increased deportations even for people who committed no crime, and separating parents and children, and locking children in cages...and then Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended how the administration was handling all this by saying: “I would cite to you the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for his purposes.”
And Eric C. Smith decided that he needed to add a chapter to his book, to address the question: Did Paul really mean for his words to be used this way, to support such xenophobic policies?
Fugitive Slaves...
And what about, say, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which I mentioned last week? That law said that runaway slaves must be returned to their masters. It was one of the most controversial laws of the 19th century. An immoral law, to be sure. Yet those who supported it cited Bible passages, including this passage from Romans 13.
“Be subject to the governing authorities.”
I suppose Romans 13 was also used to justify enforcement of the 1830 Indian Removal Act, which forced the relocation of 60,000 Native Americans, 15,000 of whom died on the Trail of Tears, as our nation committed acts of genocide against this continent's first human inhabitants.
And I suppose Romans 13 was also used to defend Jim Crow laws and discriminatory policies against African Americans through much of the 20th century...laws that were immoral.
Even today, we have governing authorities who are immoral, whose policies hurt people and cause suffering. They deny the needy the basic necessities of life, while giving billionaires so many breaks and favors. They refuse to pass a desperately needed voting rights bill. They provide lots of talk, but very little action, when it comes to the climate crisis, even though cities like Amsterdam, Kolkata, New Orleans, and Savannah, and many more, could all be underwater within ten years. The governing authorities are letting this happen!
So what do we do with Paul’s command to obey the governing authorities? How can we even stand by or defend such a command?
Paul in prison
And what are we to make of the fact that Paul himself got into trouble with the governing authorities? A lot!
Many of you already know this. You know that many of Paul’s letters, he wrote while sitting in a prison cell. Obviously, Paul himself did not always obey, or submit himself to, the governing authorities.
In fact, in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes:
“[I’ve had] far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning…. In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas set a guard on the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.”
What happened to “submitting to the governing authorities?” Was Paul demonstrating the principle of “do as I say not as I do?” Or is there something else going on here?
Jews and Gentiles in Rome
As is often the case, it helps to know a little bit of the background. Throughout much of Paul’s letters - and particularly in his letter to the Romans - Paul writes about how Jewish followers of Jesus and Gentile followers of Jesus are to relate to one another.
It turns out that, in Rome, there was quite a bit of tension between the Jewish Jesus-followers and the Gentile Jesus-followers. One source of tension was whether Gentiles needed to submit to temple leaders - and whether they owed any temple tax, since they themselves were not Jewish.
Indeed, some of the Gentiles were refusing to show honor or respect to the temple leaders, and were refusing to financially support the temple. When asked to show honor and respect to the temple or contribute to the temple tax, their response was: “Why should we? We’re not Jewish; why should we submit to Jewish authority and pay to support the temple?”
This is the question that Paul responds to in Romans 13. Paul basically says, “Look: these Jews were the first Jesus-followers. If it weren’t for them, the good news would never have come to you. So, show them some respect. Show them the honor they deserve. And, out of respect, contribute your share of the temple tax. You think you owe them nothing? You think you are separate from them? In truth, you owe everything to them, because it is through them that you have received the good news. So show them some support, and do your duty.”
In Romans 13, Paul isn’t talking about civil authorities at all. He’s talking about the religious authorities, the leaders of the synagogue and the temple.
So it seems that those who use Paul’s words in Romans 13 to prove the importance of submitting to civil authorities and lawmakers are twisting the meaning of the scripture and taking it out of context in order to support their own agenda… something that happens way too often, unfortunately.
Paul never intended for his words to be used to convince people to blindly submit to unjust authorities and unjust laws.
Running the Red Light
Rather, we should follow the example of Martin Luther King, Jr., who argued that it is good to obey the law; it is good to obey traffic laws, for example; to go the speed limit, and stop at a red light…
But there are times that call for an exception. An ambulance rushing someone to the hospital, for example, or a fire truck on its way to a fire, are allowed to break those laws, because of the emergency situation.
And when we find ourselves in an emergency situation, when people’s lives are being jeopardized by unjust laws, we always have the right - and even the obligation - to run that red light, to disobey that law, in order to pursue greater justice and greater good.
And that’s why we can honor the lives of those who instigated nonviolent civil disobedience on behalf of the oppressed, on behalf of the poor, and on behalf of the earth itself. Paul’s words do not condemn such actions; instead, Paul’s own actions call us to engage in such actions when it is right to do so.
Members of Disciples congregations in Arizona and elsewhere work to show compassion to immigrants traveling through the desert, providing water, helping immigrants, even though it is not always legal to do so. They’re not submitting to the authorities on the issue of immigration… and I think Paul would agree with them.
Eric C. Smith points out that the apostle Paul had a lot more in common with the immigrants and refugees who have suffered under our country’s immigration policy than he had in common with authorities like Jeff Sessions. Paul himself was often persecuted; he ran from the law, and was thrown in prison.
So whenever anyone uses Paul’s words to condemn those who today find themselves in a similar situation, we need to remember that Paul himself suffered from the injustices of the world, and that he was a passionate follower of Jesus, who preached good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed...including those oppressed by the governing authorities.
Paul knew that sometimes, being true to the gospel means taking a stand against unjust leaders and their policies.
No comments:
Post a Comment