Presented 25 December 2016 to The Salvation Army 614 Warehouse Christmas Dinner in Toronto and 25 December 2018 to Alberni Valley Ministries on Vancouver Island by Captain Michael Ramsay*
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The second chapter of Luke’s Gospel opens with, “And it came
to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that
all the world should be taxed.” It is not by accident that Luke invokes the
name of Caesar here. It is actually a crucial part of our Christmas story. Do
we know why? Do we know who was Caesar Augustus? His given name was Gaius
Octavius.
Octavius’ uncle was Julius Caesar. He saved Rome from the republic and became the first
Roman Emperor. Julius Caesar was worshiped as a god. Julius Caesar was
murdered in 44 BCE; when he died his will was read and in his will Julius
Caesar adopted Octavius as his son – so Octavius/ Augustus inherited the throne
of the whole Roman Empire – He was the adopted
son of a Roman ‘god’ and he became king of all the Roman kings. Thus Caesar
Augustus was known as a son of a god and the king of kings. Luke knew this and
the first people reading Luke’s Gospel knew this. This is important because by
mentioning Caesar in this opening passage Luke is not so subtlety telling
people that Caesar is not the son of God and Caesar is not the ultimate king of
Kings. Do these titles sound familiar? Who do we know is the real King of
kings? Who do we know is the real Son of God? This is important.
There is another interesting thing about the Christmas story
as it relates to Caesar and another famous king. After taking power, Caesar Augustus
and his allies slaughtered thousands of political enemies. Antony and Cleopatra then waged war against
them. They were defeated by this other famous
person in the Christmas story. King Herod Agrippa was the one whose navy
defeated Antony
and Cleopatra in 31 BCE and within a year they both famously committed suicide.
Following this, Rome
officially named Octavian ‘Augustus’: the name ‘Augustus’ means ‘the exalted.’
The politicians then gave him the legal power to rule every aspect of the Roman Empire all to himself. Through wars, murder and
intrigue, Caesar Augustus became Rome ’s
ultimate Emperor, bringing stability to the realm.
Caesar Augustus ruled with an iron fist. He was worshiped
as a god and as a son of a god; by destroying his enemies in war he even
ironically became known as the prince of the Roman peace.
Luke and all his readers know very much what we have just
said about Augustus Caesar. They know his story. That is their life and times. This
is important to Luke’s Gospel because Luke knows and is showing us that Jesus –
not Caesar- truly is God, the Son of God, and the Prince of Peace. Notice how
different the real King of Kings is from Caesar Augustus or any other king or
any leader of any superpower either past or present. Luke, in invoking Caesar
Augustus’ name and this taxation is drawing this parallel and making this contrast
between all other political leaders and Jesus.
In our passage today Luke is showing us that Jesus, Jesus’
mother and adoptive father are very different from Augustus Caesar and his
adoptive father. Rather than conquering an Empire by force, Joseph and Mary
walked to faraway city to pay their taxes to this Caesar Augustus.
When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem , the city was full. There was no
room in the inns so the real king, the real Son of God, the real God incarnate
comes into the world – a little differently from Caesar Augustus or anyone else
– even today – who is a powerful ruler. Jesus’ mother, Mary, gives birth in the
only room available in a cave or a stable and makes her baby as comfortable as
possible, wrapping him snugly in pieces of cloth and placing him in a feeding
trough, in a manger packed with straw.
Whereas the king Augustus Caesar had his power acknowledged
by the powerful politicians of his day through war, murder, and intrigue.
Christ Jesus’ kingship is heralded through angels to working class shepherds
who were working the night shift.
Luke 2: 8-14: And there
were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the
glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the
angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great
joy, which shall be to all people. For
unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men.” And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
These working class shepherds, who are working that night,
are invited by God’s messengers to come and see His new born Son, born to
parents who are here to pay their taxes to the leader of the temporal
superpower of their day: who is ironically enough an impostor pretending to be
the son of a god. These shepherds listen
to God and go to Bethlehem
and are blessed to see the birth of God’s truly only begotten son who will grow
up to save the whole world.
Our thought for today thus concludes with the same questions
as was before the readers of Luke’s gospel in the first century. Which of these two kings will we serve? Will we serve Caesar or Jesus?
Are we with Christ or Augustus? Will we serve the rulers of our current time
and place in history who stand where Caesar did – Presidents, Prime Ministers,
Premiers – and their empires and systems – capitalism, democracy, consumerism,
imperialism… - or will we serve the real Son of God who lived and died and rose
again so that we can all live forever in His Kingdom to come if we so choose?
On this Christmas two centuries closer to the return of our
King, the choice is ours. Who will we serve: the rulers of our time and place who
wage war in the name of peace or the true Prince of Peace who was born in a
manger 2000+ years ago and who is returning anytime soon?
* Based on Luke 2:1-20: A Tale of Two Kings which was presented to Swift Current Corps and community on Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, 2011&12 http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2011/12/luke-21-20-tale-of-two-kings.html
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