"I'm John McCain and I approved this message." "I'm Barack
Obama, and I approved this message." "I'm Henry Brown, and I
approved this message." Have you heard enough of that line yet
this year? Well, don't fret, we still have two more days to hear
it again...and again and again.
I will admit that I am a bit tired of it, especially when it
is attached to one more attack ad. I personally prefer hearing
the candidates say, "This is what I HAVE done and this is what I
WILL do; if you can support that, I would appreciate your vote."
Forget this stuff about what a bum the opponent is; tell me about
YOU!!! Gracious!
Beyond that, I am relatively amazed at some of the ads to
which the candidates have allowed their names to voice approval.
Several weeks ago, Saturday Night Live did a spoof of John McCain
meeting with his advertising people, listening to one commercial
after another saying what a horrid fellow Barack Obama was with
McCain being asked to provide the "I approved this message" tag
line. The SNL version of McCain seemed reluctant, but the ad
gurus insisted that this was the only way he could win, so..."I'm
John McCain, and I approved this message." I suspect there was
more than a little truth being told there because I doubt that
many candidates, who are basically good and decent people
(otherwise they would never have risen to their current heights),
do not like much of what they are asked to approve.
What brings that stuff to mind is this text we have in
Matthew's gospel. For 21st century Americans, what we read
sounds painfully like a political attack ad. We are used to
hearing Jesus say things like, "Love one another, as I have loved
you," (1) or "I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly; I am the good shepherd," (2) or "Let
the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to
such as these that the kingdom of God belongs." (3) That is the
Jesus we know and love. But now we hear him say, "The scribes
and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat" [the place of religious
authority]. Then he goes on to add, "[OK], do whatever they
teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do
not practice what they teach." In other words, they talk the
talk but don't walk the walk - they're a bunch of hypocrites!
"I'm Jesus Christ, and I approved this message." Really?
Actually, he is just getting started. "They tie up heavy
burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others;
but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them."
Lots of nit-picky rules and regulations, some which came from
scripture, but many which had grown only from tradition.
Burdens.
They are show-offs, he says - "They do all their deeds to be
seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their
fringes long." Phylacteries are little boxes, one of which is
attached by a leather strap to the forehead and another to the
forearm, which contain verses from the Hebrew scriptures; they
are in literal response to God's commandment in Deuteronomy
saying, "You shall put these words of mine in your heart and
soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix
them as an emblem on your forehead." (4) The long fringes of which
Jesus spoke are also a literal response to an instruction in
Leviticus where, "The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the
Israelites, and tell them to make fringes on the corners of their
garments throughout their generations and to put a blue cord on
the fringe at each corner. You have the fringe so that, when you
see it, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and do
them, and not follow the lust of your own heart and your own
eyes." (5) These folks wanted to make sure everyone could readily
see by their fashion statements how religious they were.
Jesus continues. "They love to have the place of honor at
banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted
with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them
rabbi." Head table. Synagogue seats right down front so
everyone can see them as they enter. And R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
Jesus is criticizing what has been called "the reserved
parking space mentality," and, truth be told, it is around today
just as much as 2,000 years ago. We all know folks who are
absolutely convinced of their own spiritual worth, and they will
be more than happy to let us all know it, and in the process,
tell us all exactly how to live. They have even found political
support for their positions and politicians who will sing their
particular social song in exchange for votes. Whether the church
should be involved in partisan politics is a subject for another
time, but, at the moment, it is, and that can be confusing to a
watching, wondering world.
So saying, I trust that, if you are registered, you either
have voted or will vote come Tuesday. We all remember how close
things were in 2000 between George Bush and Al Gore, and the fact
that it took weeks to find out who would be President because the
election was so close. Not very many votes would have changed
that outcome, and one can only imagine how the world would be
different today had that result been reversed. This Tuesday we
come to another electoral fork in the road, and the vote we cast
will move us in a direction that will effect issues of war and
peace, the economic crisis, our health care delivery system, and
so on and so on and so on. No matter who is elected, the issues
are monumental. On Wednesday morning, either Barack Obama or
John McCain will be greeted by someone saying, "I have good news
and bad news, Senator - the good news is that you have been
elected President of the United States; the bad news is that you
have been elected President of the United States." May God guide
us in the decisions we make and those who are elected as they
take up the tasks before them.
In the context of the America of 2008, and the political
landscape that currently exists, let us be finally clear about
the business of the church of Jesus Christ. We are not the heirs
of those whom Jesus criticized so long ago for their peacock
piety. We are not here to lay "heavy burdens" on anyone nor are
we unwilling to "lift a finger" to help. We have other work. As
one commentator wisely has it,
The church is not in the morals business. The world is
in the morals business, quite rightfully; and it has
done a fine job of it, all things considered. The
history of the world's moral codes is a monument to the
labors of many philosophers, and it is a monument of
striking unity and beauty. As C. S. Lewis said, anyone
who thinks the moral codes of mankind are all different
should be locked up in a library and be made to read
three days' worth of them. He would be bored silly by
the sheer sameness. What the world cannot get right,
however, is the forgiveness business -- and that, of
course, is the church's real job...She is not in the
business of telling the world what's right and wrong so
that it can do good and avoid evil. She is in the
business of offering [the world] forgiveness for its
chronic unwillingness to take its own advice. But the
minute she even hints that morals, and not forgiveness,
is the name of her game, she instantly corrupts the
Gospel and runs headlong into blatant nonsense. (6)
Amen to that. So be careful as you make your way to the
polls this week, and as you make your way to the Table in a
moment, because, if you listen carefully, you are liable to hear,
"I'm Jesus Christ, and I approved this message."
Amen!
1. John 13:34
2. John 10:10-11
3. Mark 10:14
4. 11:18
5. 15:37-39
6. Robert Farrar Capon, Hunting the Divine Fox: images and mystery in Christian faith,
(New York: Seabury Press, 1974), pp. 132-133
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