Taxes

Matthew 22:17 - "Tell us, then, what you think; is it proper or right to pay taxes to the emperor?"

No one likes to pay taxes, especially when, as now, most of that money will go to lining the pockets of rich people. It was no different then. Jewish people had to pay both the temple tax and taxes to the emperor. Then and now, the taxes are exorbitant for those who were poor. Tax resistance is one way to protest absurdly high tax rates. It seems this group of Pharisean disciples and Herodians wanted to catch Jesus saying something against paying taxes to Caesar in order to stay on the good side of his own disciples. Once he did, the evidence could be used against him.

This is manipulation in action. Get someone to say something incriminating, take a bribe, or have sex with a sex-worker conveniently provided for them, and they are trapped. This is how the Pharisees and Herodians thought. It is how Cambridge Analytica works today. I'll go out on a limb and say Republican leaders and Fox News think this way, too.

It is not how Jesus thinks. As they have just said while buttering him up, he is partial to on one. Just because they were cynical about it, doesn't mean they weren't speaking truth. Everyone is special to him, everyone matters; even Caesar! Jesus was street-smart; he knows what's happening here. He has already avoided several of their traps and he'll avoid this one as well. Not just for his own sake, but also for the sake of his followers. He knows that when he is arrested and killed, their lives will be in danger. He has been preparing them for this eventuality.

Republican leaders and Cambridge Analytica had and have no such qualms. They revel in bigotry, misogyny, racism, sexism, ableism and heteronormativity. They have manipulated many of our fellow Americans into believing that their fear of the social changes of the last 50 years are real and ought to be addressed. First, and always before anyone else's concerns. These actions are leading America and the world into scary territory for all of us, not just those they would persecute.

The first step in fighting manipulation is to recognize it for what it is. Only when we see the true problem, can we address it in any meaningful way. It's hard to think people we've trusted would use our own fears and worries against us. Yet, that is what Republican leaders have done and will continue to do, blaspheming God in the process by claiming all they do is in her name. Modern-day Herodians.

In this season of Lent, let us repent of our own actions that may have enabled or even encouraged such behavior. Let us repent and make amends.

Lord, have mercy.