Lent: Day Forty-Two

“He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

        Matthew 25:45  (The Message)

​It's often said the two things you don't discuss in polite company are religion and politics. Today and tomorrow we are going to discuss both.

It's not that I don't think you're polite, it's just that I feel that to understand Jesus fully, and the cross by which he will be crucified on in a couple of days, we cannot ignore the alliance of politics and religion that plotted against him.

Part One:   The Snake
Jesus was political. There is no way around this statement other than to look at the historical facts. And it’s here, during Holy Week that his politics become the threat to a corrupt system that abandoned God’s will and righteousness for its own. His politics were a social politic; what we might call bleeding heart liberal. We might say Jesus upheld not so much the “letter of the laws” but the “spirit of the law.” It must come from the heart of God’s love for all people first and foremost. 

We like to believe that we are one such people, and have even gone out on a limb to declare that we are such a nation too. Our countries forefathers made the treacherous journey to begin anew a civilization grounded in biblical law and religious freedom. Many people continue to come to our shores today seeking the same. But as history would demonstrate, there needs to be a balance between “the letter” and “the spirit” of the law.  They must work together...for the good of all.

This was the politics of Jesus; do what needs to be done to keep the civic thriving but do so without neglecting or favoring any one group or individual over another. His politics were radical and threatened those in charge, especially Caesar and all who worked for the Roman Emperor. Today, Caesar is alive and well, and Jesus continues to be a threat to him and his politics. 

​From this point onward I speak my opinion only and seek to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide the observations and interpretations expressed next. I do so because I believe we have a new Caesar in our midst - a man who believes he is the savior of the world and the gospel (good news) comes through him. ​

A few weeks ago I listened to Caesar speak to his political base, just as Jesus did. I heard him address real issues that seek to protect his constituents just as Jesus did. And I listened carefully to his words just as all who followed Jesus did. 

During that speech, Caesar read a poem that he believed best represented the issues, just as Jesus did when he told parables. That’s about where the similarities end. 

Jesus instructed his followers to beware of false prophets. And told us that we would know who to trust by the works and deeds they perform. 

Today we might say, “the devil is in the details.”

Speaking on the issues of immigration and the need for a  wall to protect his country, Caesar began to read “The Snake,” a poem about a "silly woman" who finds and cares for a half-frozen, nearly dead snake. 

With a serpent’s smile, Caesar’s slithering tongue spoke of the ways this “woman” took in this refugee and cared for him until he is brought back to life. 

Caesar grins knowing what comes next. As the “woman” cuddles the viper in her bosom, she is bitten. Before she dies from the venom, she asks the snake, “Why did you do that after all I have done for you?”

Just as Caesar’s snaky smile could get no larger, he reads the snakes reply, “You knew what I was when you saved me.”

With parabolic skill Caesar whips the crowd into an electrically empowered fury. He declares this poem to be the great metaphor for rejecting immigrants and asylum seekers; believing they are all dangerous.

With steadfast resolve, Caesar stands at the center, waving his hand to the adorning crowd knowing this powerful message had delivered his xenophobic political agenda to hungry and willing ears. 

But Caesar doesn’t seem to get the irony - that one could also use the same poem as a metaphor for the opposite side of this argument.

​The wall is the snake that slithers along the border. It is neither trustworthy or reliable, and most certainly it is not indestructible.

And of course the one in power who so desperately wants it is the “woman” who will sacrifice everything to see that it gets built. Even if it will kill him. 

Politically speaking this could literally come back to bite those who support it. Religiously speaking the Bible gives us plenty of evidence that God does not build walls. But in fact, it is God who tears them down. 

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THE SNAKE POEM

On her way to work one morning
Down the path alongside the lake
A tender-hearted woman
saw a poor half-frozen snake

His pretty colored skin had been
all frosted with the dew
“Oh well,” she cried, “I'll take you in
and I'll take care of you”

“Take me in oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in oh tender woman,” sighed the snake

She wrapped him up all cozy
in a curvature of silk
And then laid him by the fireside
with some honey and some milk 

Now she hurried home from work 
that night as soon as she arrived 
She found that pretty snake  
she'd taken in had been revived

“Take me in, oh tender woman 
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in oh tender woman,” sighed the snake

Now she clutched him to her bosom,
“You're so beautiful,” she cried
“But if I hadn't brought you in
by now you might have died”

Now she stroked his pretty skin
and then she kissed and held him tight 
But instead of saying thanks,
that snake gave her a vicious bite

“Take me in, oh tender woman 
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in oh tender woman,” sighed the snake

“I saved you,” cried that woman
“And you've bit me even, why?
You know your bite is poisonous
and now I'm going to die”

“Oh shut up, silly woman,”
said the reptile with a grin 
“You knew damn well I was a snake
before you took me in 

”Take me in, oh tender woman 
Take me in, for heaven's sake
Take me in oh tender woman,“ sighed the snake 

---

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​***Such was the political climate in 1st Century Palestine where the Jewish people built a wall around Jerusalem. The wall, as history tells us, did nothing to protect the people but most likely caused more harm than good. For one, it kept the Jews inside. Around AD 70 Caesar sent his Army to destroy Israel once and for all. The wall was a great barrier that made this hard to do. However, inside the city a civil war of sorts broke out and the Jews were killing each other. There was no way for the innocent to escape because of the wall. It was a catch-22 that led to the final downfall of God’s chosen people. And those political factions, especially the Sadducees, were never heard of again. This was exactly as Jesus had predicted before they killed him. ***