Advent in the Empire
During this Advent season, we continue to reflect on the significance of our God's decision to be born amongst a conquered and oppressed people. Our God sets Himself up in contrast and opposition to the political powers of this world: against Pharaoh in Egypt, against the Canaanite rulers during the conquest, and even against the corrupt kings of Israel and Judah, His own people. Part of that opposition comes in speaking dangerous truths to power, as we discussed last with the story of John the Baptist. For those who follow our Rabbi, however, this begs another question. How are we to live faithfully under the empire? For the Christian today, just like the faithful under the Romans, there is a constant conflict between the systems and structures of the kingdoms of this world and those of the kingdom of God.
Dust of the Rabbi: Living Faithfully Under the Empire
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus' enemies attempt to trick Him with a question about paying taxes to the Roman emperor (see Luke 20:20-26). Jesus' response reminds us that living in the empire brings a constant stream of potential compromises. Will we participate in a system of entertainment that glorifies sex and violence? Will we participate in a system of economics that exploits the poor and centralizes wealth in the hands of a few? Our participation seems to require a compromise of our faith as well. Yet Jesus does not instruct us to simply withdraw from the Empire, for to do so would be to abandon any hope of welcoming its people into the kingdom of God. Jesus helps us to wrestle with how to live faithfully in the systems of the Empire while we wait for His return and the establishment of the kingdom of the true King of Kings.
While our circumstances in America today are dramatically different than those of the Jews under the Romans, the lure of political power and solutions can still distract us from our Rabbi's voice. Even in a free country, we are called to be "strangers and foreigners on the earth ... [who] desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one." (Hebrews 11:13-15). As we find ourselves increasingly comfortable in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father, we must find ourselves increasingly uncomfortable in the kingdoms of this world, even those founded upon principles of freedom. What does it mean for us today to be a people who give to America what is America's, and to God what is God's? How can we be thankful for the privileges of living in our nation, and yet also maintain our first love and loyalty to a different King?
Extras
Hanukkah is the only holiday celebrated in our Dust of the Rabbi series that is not instituted in the Old Testament; the events surrounding Hanukkah took place during the period between the Old and New Testaments. However, we do know that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah(see John 10: 22-23). The story of the Maccabees and the rededication of the temple is described in 1 and 2 Maccabees, books included in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles but considered non-canonical for Protestants. 1 and 2 Maccabees are part of what we Protestants call the Apocrypha; books that neither we nor the Hebrews believe are inspired by God. However, while they are not Scripture, they are books of our faith (not unlike something written by St. Augustine or C.S. Lewis) which can instruct us on both the history and faith of our ancestors.