It's all about love and peace

from Helen

About 13 years ago I I was walking in Cardiff  when a man came up to me and told me what amazing hair I had. I thanked him. He then asked where I had my hair done. I told him. He then asked me how much it cost. I looked at him strangely but answered all the same, he then told me that he was opening a new hair salon.  He then made me, what he described as anincredible opening offer. He explained how great his salon was going to be. I asked how much a haircut would cost and he quoted me twice as much as I was already paying. I said no thank you but he persisted, after a while I commented that he had told me that my hair looked great already, why would I pay more ?? 

When we were in Gowerton I had a phone call from a company who had just cleaned the front of the Brangwyn and they would like to do the same for the Church in Gowerton. I thought this was a bit of a cheek but didn’t say anything until he commented on the huge moss problem that he could see on the front of the Church by looking at google earth. I was surprised. I lived right by the Church and I could clearly see that there was no moss on the front of the Church. He thought it must be an old photo. I said that we would call him if we needed anything !

Yes, people do try and pull a fast one sometimes. I wonder if this is a bit what it felt like for Jesus in the gospel reading this morning (Matthew 22:15-22) ? Jesus was approached by the Pharisees who had a question for Him. 

The question was seemingly innocent. The Pharisees were asking who they should pay taxes too. The problem was that Jesus could have fallen straight into a trap on this. If he said that the money should be paid to the Romans who had taken over the land then when they were overthrown Jesus would be seen as siding with the enemy. If Jesus had said that taxes shouldn’t be paid to Caesar then He would have been committing some form of treason. At least in as much as going against the authority in power.

Jesus, as ever, turned things around. He won the argument by flooring the Pharisees as He brought God into the conversation. The Pharisees hadn’t associated God with money in what they asked Jesus but Jesus brought the conversation right back to God the Father.

Jesus was making a point that there are things that belong to God and those things are everything. There doesn’t need to be a division, but He was also pointing out that the leaders of governments are in power over us and rather than starting an uprising He wanted people to pay the government what was rightfully theirs. 

It used to be said that Christians shouldn’t get involved in politics. Things that weren’t polite to talk about were faith and politics. Jesus was pointing out that everything was God’s. The governments of the world are nothing compared to God but we still need to give them our respect. We still need to pray for world leaders that they will rule justly, that they will rule wisely and that they will rule the people they serve and lead with love and compassion. The problem is that world leaders are still human beings who can get things wrong and this is why we are to pray for them.

This doesn’t mean that we are to accept things that are wrong. When we see people being treated unfairly we are to question our governments. We are to offer everything to God and doing this we offer to God our concerns for the world,  but we do need to be prepared to do more than that. We need to question situations that are wrong and to use our vote wisely when it is time to vote. 

The fact is that we are to offer everything to God. Our lives, our prayers, our concerns for the world. This is how we are to live as people looking to God and looking to be more like Him. 

In our reading from 1 Thessalonians (1:1-10) we heard of this obedience and acceptance in a different way. Jesus pointed out that we should give to God what is God’s and that’s our praises and lives. The people to whom the epistle was written were congratulated for staying steadfast in their faith, steadfast in love and this was in spite of persecution. The type of persecution that came because of their faith and belief. 

The Christians to whom the epistle was written had stayed true because they knew that you were to offer to God all that is His. That is all of us. The Pharisees tried to catch Jesus out but He brought it back to God. The one who gives us everything and the one who deserves our everything. 

This last week that we have had in the holy land has been amazing. In this place there is so much pain and beauty.  Of course there are difficulties between different groups of people and these difficulties lead to people being persecuted in terms of not being able to access all that is theirs. Jerusalem is home to three religions Christianity, Judaism and Islam. There is a saying that once you get peace in Jerusalem you will get peace throughout the world. The people on each side are suffering whether Israeli or Palestinian. Over history both groups have been treated so badly and still are being treated in an awful way. The point is though that most people cope because of love. The only way that peace can come is through love. The holy land is where the Prince of peace, our Saviour walked. 

I was talking to a Palestinian and I commented on how hard life is for him. He replied, ‘I am a Christian and so I have hope. This is the only way to live.’

The Pharisees didn’t have this hope. The hope based in the love of God in Jesus. Love which heals everything and will help us to know what belongs to God and also how we can change the pain we see around us.

May we be ready to offer our whole selves to God. May we be prepared for change in the world around us, let’s pray for the leaders of the world and for our fellow believers across the world who suffer. AMEN