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Sermons at St. John’s Presbyterian Church Prince of Peace St. John’s Presbyterian Church 2727 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705 Telephone 510-845-6830 Fax 510-845-6837 office@stjohns.presbychurch.net http://www.stjohns.presbychurch.net Luke
sets the stage for the birth of Jesus saying, “In those days a decree went out
from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. Matthew
says, “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King,
behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is he who has
been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and have come
to worship him.” It
helps us to understand the significance of the Christmas story if we take a
look at these two Kings, Herod and Caesar.
The question the Gospel begins to address right away is what does it
mean to be a true King. Who might truly
be the “Son of God?” King
Herod was a very wealthy and powerful king, the appointed ally of Caesar
Augustus, known for great building projects and for paranoia and murder. Fearing conspiracy, he murdered three of his
own sons and a wife. Josephus, the
Jewish historian tells us that Herod was afraid he was not respected and that
the people wouldn’t mourn his death, so he planned to gather as many of the
beloved leaders of the country together at the time of his death and kill
them: One from each household. That way people would mourn when he
died. (Antiquities 17.6) From
a worldly perspective, Octavian Augustus Caesar may have been the most powerful
King in History. He gained popularity
and is still well known today for his invention of a really tasty salad, and
discovering of the month of August.
Actually, the month was renamed after him. He was given the title Augustus, which means the “revered” or
“illustrious one". It was a title
of religious rather than political authority. According to Roman religious
beliefs, the title symbolized a stamp of authority over both humanity and
nature. Augustus also took the role and
title, Pontifex Maximus, or High Priest of Roman religion, and was said to
offer forgiveness of sins. Augustus
gained incredible power from using a combination of immense personal wealth,
military conquest, brutal elimination and murder of his political rivals, and
the appointment and relationship with patron rulers (like Herod) in conquered
territory. His brutal beat-down of both
internal and external opposition led to Pax Romana or Roman Peace, and Augustus
was called the Emperor of peace. There
is another title for Augustus that is relevant to the story of Jesus. Julius Caesar was
assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC. When a comet was later seen over
Rome on July nights, Octavius, the adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar,
promoted the idea that it was a sign that the divine Caesar was on his way to
heaven. When Roman law in 42 BC deified Julius Caesar, adding the phrase
"son of God" strengthened the status of Octavius, who took the name
Augustus. In Greek, the term “huios theou” “son of God” was used, the same term
used by New Testament writers to describe Jesus. Poets celebrated the divinity associated with Augustus, and
across the empire coins, monuments, temples and artwork promoted the cult of
Augustus. (Dart, John. Up Against Caesar: Jesus and Paul versus the empire. Christian Century, Feb 8, 2005) A
denarius, a Roman coin dated 2 BC, has a picture of the Emperor and is
inscribed “Caesar Augustus, son of the Divine Julius, Father of the Country.” Another coin struck in 18BC
shows Augustus crowned with an oak wreath, which celebrates Augustus as the
savior of Rome and the bringer of peace (contrast this with the crown of thorns
for Jesus). The reverse side of the
coin is inscribed, “the divine Julius” and the picture is that of an
eight-rayed comet with the tail upwards. (www.usask.ca/antiquities/coins/augustus.html) We
begin to see why Herod might be a little concerned when the wise men come
proclaiming they have seen a star. In
17 BC Augustus inaugurated a celebration called the 12 days of Advent that
celebrated his own birth. Thus it was
very common knowledge around the empire that Caesar owned the titles King of
Kings, Lord, High Priest, forgiver of sins, Son of God, and King of Peace, all
titles New Testament writers would subvert and apply to Jesus. Roman religion and empire were one and the
same. Applying these titles to Jesus
then, was revolutionary. Now
the problem with the wealth and peace of Augustus and Rome was that it came at
the expense of other nations. They were
brutally suppressed, then taxed to the point of dispossession and starvation,
and required to worship the Emperor.
The census mentioned in Luke took a count of people and wealth in
conquered nations for the purpose of taxation.
Near
the time of Jesus' birth a large group of Jews resisted worship of the Roman
state gods and the emperor, and Augustus sent in his general, Varus, to
suppress the rebellion. Josephus, the
ancient Jewish historian reports on the advance of the Roman army: “All
along this march nothing escaped them, but all places were full of fire and of
slaughter. Emmaus was also burnt by Varus's order, after its inhabitants had
deserted it.” Thousands were slaughtered, 30,000 were taken into captivity and
2,000 were crucified. (Josephus.
Antiquities 17.10) Nailing
rebels to a cross along the roadside was meant to instill in the conquered
people a sense of shock and awe. You
may remember the road to Emmaus as the place where the disciples, in shock, and
depressed after the crucifixion, came upon the resurrected Jesus. Is it just a
coincidence, an incidental part of the story that Jesus, a new kind of prince
of peace, preaching a new kind of empire based on love and self- sacrifice,
shows up alive on this road? I hope you are
beginning to get the picture; the birth of Jesus is more than a nice story
about a teen pregnancy. It is about two
opposing definitions of King, two opposing definitions of empire, two opposing
definitions of divinity, two opposing definitions of peace. One
is based on self-seeking pursuit of wealth and power through propaganda,
arrogant misappropriation and weakening of democratic power, political and
business payoffs, cooptation of religion, exploitation, brutality and violence
toward the poor and ethnically different.
This is Roman Peace, Caesar’s Peace. The
other is based on worship of the God of love, self-sacrifice, solidarity with
the poor and oppressed, and non-violence.
This is the peace of Jesus. This
is the peace of the Kingdom of God, the one true God. We
may be tempted to think that the former has all the strength to last and that
the latter is too weak. But then as
those disciples walked along the road to Emmaus, they found that Caesar was
dead, and Jesus lives. I
find it hard to maintain integrity of faith as a Christian minister, when I
read these powerful passages from Isaiah and the birth narratives of Jesus, to
refrain from pointing out the danger of uniting empire and religion. As
the U.S. has assumed aspects of an empire, too many have appropriated the use
of Christian imagery and language to assure ourselves, our friends and enemies
of our benevolent motives. Despite the many differences between ancient Rome
and present-day Washington, we would do well this Christmas to note the
irony. Whereas the early church
re-conceptualized and subverted the meaning of empire, current leaders have
invoked Christian language to support the American empire. (Dart, John. Up Against Caesar: Jesus and Paul versus the
empire. Christian Century, Feb 8,
2005) Glen Stassen, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary,
notes, "A time comes when silence is betrayal." When "a
'theology of war' is emanating from the highest circles of American government;
the language of 'righteous empire' is employed ... [and] the roles of God,
church and nation are confused by talk of an American 'mission' and 'divine
appointment' to 'rid the world of evil.'" (Dart, John. Up Against Caesar: Jesus and Paul versus the
empire. Christian Century, Feb 8,
2005) I
love Christmas eve worship and each year remember back to the ritual of going
to worship with family. Full of good
food, sweet fudge and the exciting anticipation of Santa, we bundled up, lit
candles and sang Silent Night. I still
feel warm and peaceful. And we
should. We take this evening to count
our blessing, to give thanks, to enjoy good food, drink, family and friends, to
rest in the peace of knowing despite our imperfections, despite our sins, we
and our family members are loved and forgiven by God. And
yet still, as we acknowledge that the coming of the Christ child is about a
much more than personal peace, or family peace, we know we ought not remain
silent for long. We have the Good News
of Jesus Christ to proclaim, boots of trampling warriors and garments dripped
in blood to burn as fuel for fire, tanks and M-16s to transform into plows and
pruning hooks. May the Prince of Peace fill us with peace, and give the
strength and courage to stand with him for true peace. Amen |