‘At that time, the Roman Emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Empire…’ – Luke 2:1
The second chapter of Luke’s Gospel contains the most widely remembered account of Jesus’ birth. Linus Van Pelt likely has something to do with its fame. For many of us, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until we hear the story.
We can imagine the scene unfolding before our eyes. There’s Mary and Joseph, racing into the ‘little town of Bethlehem,’ unable to find room at the inn – though they were more likely in a relatives’ home, just downstairs with the animals. Still, it’s a comfy, cozy scene, as Jesus is born into the midst of domestic tranquility – though he really wasn’t. Births are hardly tranquil events. But never mind, there’s baby Jesus, all swaddled and warm, radiant beams emanating from his holy face – well, not really. OK, so maybe the way we imagine Luke’s scene is off a bit, but it’s still a wonderful story – the story of the Living God, the One through whom all things were made, becoming flesh to dwell among us. And of course, adding to the wonder is the presence of the shepherds, outcasts invited in, after first being ‘sore afraid’ and told by angels that they would find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, complete with a heavenly chorus of ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill to men.’ Yes, that’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.
What’s interesting though, apart from the little things we get wrong, is the part of the story we miss. Over the years, we listen to sermons on what this story meant to just about everyone involved: Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, the angels. Then we branch out into other Nativity-related texts, bringing in the Magi, Herod, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna. We even flash ahead and talk about the ministry of John the Baptist from time to time. But there is one character, prominent in Luke’s account, that we tend to ignore, or, at best, mention briefly without comment.
Augustus Caesar. He’s part of the Nativity story too. Augustus was the Emperor of the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus’ birth. After the death of his adoptive father, Julius Caesar, there had been a power struggle, complete with civil war, throughout the empire. Eventually Augustus emerged victorious, which brought an end to the strife and ushered in a period known as the Pax Romana, or Roman peace, though it was, in truth, the peace of the oppressor, not the oppressed. Nonetheless, at least to the Romans, Augustus was a hero. He was rewarded with absolute power: military, political, and imperial. He was worshipped and adored as the ‘Son of God’ (yes, that was his title) and everyone was expected to pledge their allegiance to him. The world moved at his word, the activity in the wake of his order for a census being a case in point. Augustus said the word, and everyone moved to be registered. If there was one guy on earth of whom it could be said, ‘he holds all the cards,’ it was Augustus Caesar.
The original readers of Luke’s account understood all this. The mere mention of Augustus in the opening line said it all. But reading on, by way of contrast, we discover the son of another King. His name was Joseph, the descendant of David. You would not have known Joseph was descended from kings by looking at him. It had been a while since David had been king; his heirs long removed from the throne. Joseph was a mere craftsman, and an impoverished one at that. He held no military, political, or imperial power. He was neither worshipped nor adored. The world didn’t move for him. He was one of the ‘moved.’
As was his adopted son to be, Jesus. Yes, Jesus and Augustus were both adopted into a royal line. The difference was that while Augustus was adopted into the lap of luxury and power, Jesus was adopted into the lap of poverty and weakness. The contrast between Augustus and Jesus could not have been starker. Like I said, in the eyes of the world, Augustus held all the cards. Jesus held none.
Which was exactly the way God wanted it. The way the story unfolds reveals that God arranged for the arrival of His Son (for, after all that’s who Jesus REALLY is) in a manner that might cause us to rethink what power is all about. Luke tells the story masterfully, using words that, while tame to modern ears after decades of overuse, were, for his first readers, shocking. The angel brought the shepherds ‘Good News of Great joy.’ Good News. The Gospel. In Greek, euangelion. In the Roman world, that word had a specific meaning. It referred to an imperial pronouncement, usually accompanied by flags and political ceremony, that an heir to the empire’s throne had been born, or that a distant battle had been won. The Angel went on to say that someone had indeed been born, calling him both Savior and Lord. Again, in Rome, these words had specific meaning. Savior was a title given to – guess who? Augustus! He was the one who had healed the chaos of Rome and brought the empire into a golden age. Lord, as well, was a title for the Supreme Roman ruler. And then came the song of the heavenly host: ‘Glory to God in the Highest, and peace on earth to those on whom God’s favor rests.’ Similar choruses were sung to Augustus, who, after all, had brought ‘peace’ to the empire. The words to one such ode were inscribed upon a government building in Asia Minor in 6 BC:
‘The most divine Caesar…we should consider equal to the Beginning of all things…for when everything was falling into disorder and tending toward dissolution, he restored it once more and gave the whole world a new aura; Caesar…the common good fortune of all…the beginning of life and vitality…all the cities unanimously adopt the birthday of the divine Caesar as the new beginning of the year…whereas providence which has regulated our whole existence…has brought our life to the climax of perfection in giving to us the emperor Augustus…who being sent to us and our descendants as Savior, has put an end to war and has set all things in order; and whereas having become god manifest, Caesar has fulfilled all the hopes of earlier times…the birthday of the god Augustus has been for the whole world the beginning of the Gospel.’
Get it? To the Roman world, a world focused on military, political, and imperial power, Augustus Caesar was the Good News. He was the Gospel. He was Savior and Lord. He was the one worthy of worship. God manifest among us! But in Luke’s story, the tale is flipped. The angels proclaim Jesus, the manger baby, to be the Good News. Jesus is the Gospel. Jesus is Savior and Lord. He is the one worthy to be worshipped. He is God manifest among us!
This makes the angel’s announcement the most politically subversive in history. It is the proclamation that the world’s glamorization of military, political, and imperial power isn’t all it is cracked up to be. It is the proclamation that in God’s eyes, true power is found in humility and weakness. The proclamation that, despite what the politics of Rome proclaim, God’s politics, the politics of Christmas, points to a different reality: Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. If you want a Savior, a bringer of peace, you must follow Jesus, not the emperor.
Well, that’s nice. But does it have anything to do with us? Of course, it does. Perhaps, at this moment in history, and in this country, it has more to do with us than at any other time in recent memory. American society is deeply divided. Over what? Over who gets to play Caesar. There’s a lot that needs to happen to bridge that divide. A lot of soul searching, deep listening, and critical thinking needs to happen, for as Jesus said, a house divided against itself cannot stand. But whatever the rest of society chooses to do, we who call ourselves Christians especially need to take a deep breath and search our hearts.
For the great temptation, first presented to Jesus in the wilderness (see, Luke 4:1-13) and us ever since, is that we will place our hope in power games and entangle ourselves in the politics of empire. That we will follow imperial saviors. That we will embrace a false Augustinian gospel, which is, as Paul would put it, no gospel at all (see, Galatians 1:6-9). For you see, we were never meant to sing songs to the empire, be it red, blue, or purple. Be it Roman or American. Our call has been, is, and always will be, to join the chorus of the shepherds and angels and proclaim that there is only one Gospel. One Savior. One Lord. One who is worthy of our worship. He is the one born and laid in a manger, who lived to die on a cross for the sins of the world, who, from the moment of his birth, was proclaimed to rule a different kind of Kingdom; to be a different kind of King.
That’s not to say Jesus would have nothing to say about the issues of our day, or that those who follow him should stay silent in the face of evil. That would be wrong too. But as we discern what we should say and do we must remember that in a world filled with those who still believe that the path to glory is the way of Augustus, who strive for, and pledge allegiance to, military, political, and imperial power, there is but one choice for those who claim the title ‘Christian.’ That choice is to forsake all other allegiances and embrace the politics of Christmas, allowing its author to inform our place and position on all matters. This is the politics that calls us to stand only where Jesus stands and say and do only what he would say and do.
To paraphrase a line from Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw’s Jesus for President, this is the politics that will cause the faithful to say to those political, military, and imperial powers that demand their fealty: ‘Enough your imperial eagles. Enough with your donkeys and elephants. We pledge our allegiance to the Lamb.’
This Christmas, may we all do so.
Under Christ’s Mercy,
Brent
Note: in addition to the paraphrased quote from Claiborne and Haw, I want to credit their book for the inscription to Caesar, historical references to meaning of ‘Gospel,’ ‘Savior’ and ‘Lord,’ and the overall spirit of this post.