During the brisk evening of March 5th 1770 a lone British soldier stood guard outside of the Customs House, which was a symbol of royal authority. A scuffle broke out between a young man named Edward Garrick and the British soldier; Hugh White. After using the butt of White’s musket to repel Garrick’s physical or verbal assaults - it is still unclear to this day - Garrick assembled a crowd to confront White who promptly sounded the alarm summoning a detail of seven men. The crowd swelled to four hundred angry colonists who pelted the British soldiers with chunks of ice and snowballs, even striking at them with clubs. What followed is today known in our own history as “The Boston Massacre”.
Five American colonists were killed and six more were wounded at the conclusion of the incident in which this small detail unleashed a volley of musket fire upon this crowd. The officer on duty that evening was Captain Preston who was swiftly arrested along with the small detail that was under his command. For many, such as Samuel Adams, the event became a propaganda tool.
The motto “Join or Die” which was coined as a caption on a political cartoon created by Benjamin Franklin and published in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754 became the symbol of colonial unity against the British occupancy. You see, it was recycled to become a symbol of revolution. For Franklin, this symbol had a very different meaning as the Colonists debated their role and involvement in the French and Indian War in 1754. The picture was a snake cut into eight portions which were each labeled one generalized segment of the thirteen colonies. The cartoon was a call for unity. Ben Franklin was calling for all of the colonies to join with the British in order to avoid the total destruction of the colonies. Many joined together to serve as one, to survive, to thrive, or at the very least to unite the disjointed and disunited colonists who were bound by much smaller geographic loyalties.
This flag went on in our history to become the Navy Jack and later the Gadsden Flag, or what is most often referred to as the “Don’t tread on me” flag. The flag transitioned from a symbol calling for the colonists to seek the welfare of the city where they had been sent and to pray on it’s behalf, to a symbol that was reclaimed within a context that called out to those who listened to “Join or Die”. This time, rather than a symbol of the need for unity it became a symbol for revolution. Franklin opposed this use, both as a statesman and a colonist.
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In both today’s 1st lesson and in Mark’s Gospel we see some very difficult themes to address especially given our current context, our national holiday, and our history. In our first lesson Jeremiah is calling out for the people to pray for the most unlikely people the prophet could call them to pray for; the Babylonians and the foreigners that the Israelites now call neighbor. Some of these neighbors merely pray to other gods and practice different customs. Certainly not too much to bear, is it? If we take a closer look in Deuteronomy, it is most certainly too much to bear for them.
It is offensive because it is unclean and that uncleanliness could very likely invite further suffering. The sin of the neighbor is seen as a threat to all. But Jeremiah doesn’t just call for the people to pray for these people they are called to marry, give away their children in marriage, and to seek shalom for them. Shalom, most of us have heard that word before but we seldom fully realize its meaning. We usually think of it simply as peace, welfare, or prosperity but it is so much more; it is a return to the state of things not as we want them or can imagine them, but a return to a state of things in a reality beyond our own imagining. A return to a state of things as only God can envision them.
Now, noisy neighbors who dress funny, make too much noise, live a different lifestyle, and maybe practice a different religion; it’s a stretch but if the Israelites work at it, if we work at it, we can do it, right? I mean, Jeremiah is telling us to do it. It’s pretty clear cut. But these people are not just a bit different from the Israelites. Many of these people represent everything that has caused the downfall and destruction of Israel.
The prophet Jeremiah himself describes Babylon in chapter six as "a people that grasp the bow and the javelin, they are cruel and have no mercy, their sound is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, equipped like a warrior for battle, against you, O daughter Zion!"
Does that sound like people you want to marry? To have your children marry?
Jeremiah further elaborates on the Babylonians claiming that “We have heard news of them, our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor. Do not go out into the field, or walk on the road; for the enemy has a sword, terror is on every side.”
Sound like a nation you want to call home or a home team you really want to root for in prayer or otherwise?
Jeremiah concludes his prediction of the impending doom of Israel by giving the following advice; “O my poor people, put on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only child, most bitter lamentation: for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.”
I am not certain that this destroyer is someone I could so easily pray for much less call neighbor. yet, Jeremiah regardless of his description calls Israel to do just that and more; Jeremiah calls for prayers of .... shalom?
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On the morning of March 6th anti-British fervor had already taken hold. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty had dubbed the incident the “Bloody Massacre in King Street”. Voices screamed out for the removal of all British in the colonies and the execution of each of the British soldiers for their actions. Following the arrest of the soldiers Paul Revere’s still famous depiction of the incident portrayed Captain Preston and his detail firing on a defenseless crowd, further stoking the flames of anger.
Also that morning John Adams - the cousin of the charismatic leader, Samuel Adams, who was leading the cries for justice and vengeance - was approached by a man named James Forrest who reported he could not find a lawyer in Boston who would defend Captain Preston or his detail. Based on Adam’s account Forrest, a British Tory and sympathizer of the accused, came to John Adams with tears in his eyes after receiving the scorn, accusations, and attacks of those throughout the community.
John Adams took the case and in return received well documented scorn, although historians still debate his motives for taking the case especially following the acquittal of Captain Preston and five of the seven accused. John Adams himself claimed “The Part I took in Defense of Captain Preston and the Soldiers, procured me Anxiety, and Obloquy enough. It was, however, one of the most gallant, generous, manly and disinterested Actions of my whole Life, and one of the best Pieces of Service I ever rendered my Country. Judgment of Death against those Soldiers would have been as foul a Stain upon this Country as the Executions of the Quakers or Witches, anciently. As the Evidence was, the Verdict of the Jury was exactly right.”
As many of you know John Adams went on to be elected as the first vice-president of the United States during the Presidency of George Washington and then was elected as the second President of the United States. He helped to draft and signed the Declaration of Independence beside his cousin, Samuel, and he served as the President during one of the first and most tumultuous times in U.S. history, when many reconsidered their slight against the crown and proposed a return to their status as subjects of the crown. John Adams stood on moderate ground. No historian will ever claim that he was not a patriot, nor that he was anything but an essential leader during the time of our Nation's infancy, but a revolutionary? That is not a title placed on John Adams very often.
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Today’s reading from Jeremiah seems less than revolutionary. It is a call to pray for those we despise and to wish, of all the things, to wish shalom upon them. Mark’s Gospel takes a turn closer to what we like to hear. Jesus the revolutionary, it’s what we crave, a Jesus that hears our cry to “JOIN OR DIE!”. Of course, Jesus takes OUR side, doesn't he?
Jesus stands up against the appalling decision of the supreme court’s ruling this past week, right?
Jesus stands up against the appalling oppression of those who would withhold the rights of the LGBT community, praising the supreme court decision, right?
Jesus demands that we recognize the confederate flag is a symbol of racism, hatred, oppression, and slavery, right?
Jesus acknowledges that the confederate flag is a symbol of our heritage and history allows us to know where we come from and where we are going today and Jesus never denies our freedom to display such an image, right?Jesus, JOIN OR DIE!
Change your Facebook profile picture, Jesus! Condemn those who would destroy our future and freedom!
Jesus you know I am right!
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Today, we hear of the Pharisees who approach Jesus. Carefully laying a trap before him. The Pharisees on one side and the Herodians on the other with the crowd surrounding. The Pharisees know that Caesar is not a god and he is certainly not the God. The Pharisees know that for Jesus to acknowledge the right of the Herodians to collect a tax is to acknowledge Caesar as a god. But if Jesus denies this he is most certainly a revolutionary. The Pharisees are quite certain that Jesus is not the Son of God or the return of Elijah. To them he is just a clever revolutionary who hasn’t shown his hand just yet.
If the Pharisees can get him to show his hand at just the right time not only can they be rid of him but perhaps they can ride the wave of the mob that will revolt against Rome. They can renegotiate their terms, solidify their power in the temple and with the Roman authorities; the Herodians. Maybe, just maybe, they could even overthrow Herod, taking power for themselves.
But it doesn’t work out that way. Whether in their tone or in their actions Jesus doesn’t respond to their question, he responds by first letting them know he is fully aware of what they are up to, "Why are you testing me, attempting to lure me into a trap?" Essentially, acknowledging he is fully aware of their intentions and is prepared for their challenge.
Strike one for the Pharisees.
Jesus asks for a denarius because he himself does not possess one.
Strike two for the Pharisees who pull out their own, acknowledging their own dependance on the symbol with which they are attempting to trap Jesus.
And finally, Jesus uses a traditional Jewish method of religious debate; answering questions with questions. Yes, he asks who is on the coin but more importantly he asks for the superscription or title of the one on the coin. Certainly, the Pharisees cannot acknowledge the divinity of Caesar for the greatest law of all is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, and your very being and to place no other gods before THE GOD.
Strike three, the Pharisees have overplayed their hand and acknowledged that Caesar is an earthly title thus giving Jesus the final say;
"Give it back to the one it belongs to and give to God what belongs to God."
It doesn’t matter what is printed on a denarius. Flags, rainbows, court decisions, presidential elections, my mob, your mob, my view, your view, my fear, your fear. We are all the people of God called to live like the mythological Greek beast the Hyrda. Many heads but one body. In every tale I have heard concerning the Hydra there was only one way it could be defeated; when one head attacked another thus destroying itself oblivious to the heart that is shared.
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Sisters and Brothers, we have come to a time in our history that is ripe with fear. It is not the first and it will not be the last. We can “Join or die” with the mob that seeks to overthrow those we fear, those we despise, those who we feel certain wish ill on all we hold dear. We can demand that those who disagree with us “Join or die” with our own mobs. If they are not with us then they are most certainly against us, right?
In HBO’s depiction of one confrontation between Samuel and John Adams, in the mini-series John Adams, Samuel confronts John as he rallies a crowd through the streets of Boston behind a sign with Benjamin Franklin’s illustration of the eight portioned snake proclaiming “Join or Die”. Samuel asks John in a snarky tone; “How’s the case going John?” drawing the crowds attention to John Adams. At one point Samuel directly addresses John making him aware that “This is a time for choosing sides”John, much like Jesus, responds with a question; “I am for the law, cousin, is there another side?”
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Over this past year and especially this past week we have been informed that as Christians, as Americans, as friends, as family, as a church, “This is a time for choosing sides!” Can we find the courage to respond with the question? "I am for the crucified One, my sister/my brother. Is there another side?"
God help me, I really want to pick a side, I want to join a mob, but the one mob I keep trying to get into I am not strong enough to stay in, in fact it’s not really a mob at all, it’s just one man and he has been nailed to a tree.
God help me, I really want to pick a side, I want to join a mob, but the one mob I keep trying to get into I am not strong enough to stay in, in fact it’s not really a mob at all, it’s just one man and he has been nailed to a tree.
Amen
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