Faith and the Marketplace

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
October 9, 2011
Rev. Mark R. Miller
Matthew 22:1-14; Exodus 32:1-14
“Faith and the Marketplace”

Before I can talk about anything I have to directly address what I believe are difficult and troubling places in each passage. The first passage from Matthew has the story of a king throwing a banquet where people come and refuse. Those who refuse are slaughtered. Then when this king can find people who will come to the party it turns out he is angry that one of the guests has ignored the dress code so he gets thrown out. The story is disturbing because it is an allegory for the way God works. If we are not disturbed by it, we are not listening. Taken out of context it can be an easy step to judging not only who will be saved but open war on our enemies in the name of God. If we take this as God is the king and Jesus as the son, it is not long before we come face to face with a vindictive and petty God. Traditional interpretations have moved the church to accept this and quickly skip over the difficult parts. However, what is going on here is not a one to one comparison but a contrast. The kingdom of heaven may be contrasted to a king who acts in this way. How do we know? When Jesus finally stands in the halls of power, without the proper robe, he remains silent. He is then taken out where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth at Golgotha. Jesus tells this parable against the religious and political leadership who act in such ways. It is a warning that God does not act in this way. So Jesus is challenging the ways of the world with the way of God. In God’s world, if you do not have the right clothes for the party, you are in good company with Jesus. Unfortunately, not all biblical passages can be so easily redeemed through closer and more accurate scrutiny. Our second scripture is a case in point. While it is a passage about idolatry (and I will get to that soon) it is also a passage where Moses has to reason with God to save the lives of all the people. We cannot simply walk away from the hard reality of this passage. We are forced to ask some serious questions about God. Or, we have to ask how faithful Moses is in telling the story. God is ready to wipe out all of the people whom he saved from slavery because they make a God out of gold and say this is the image of God. It goes well beyond our sensibilities but there is still much to learn from this passage if we do not get stuck on this violence or believe that God has to be talked off the cliff of genocide by Moses. So, with those things, extremely important things, cleared up, let me say a couple of things about idolatry. The sin of idolatry is not simply the making of images for God. The problem with idolatry is when we fashion images of God they become static, fixed, and easily controllable. Idolatry is also the sin of allowing something else to reside in the one place where God belongs. God belongs at the center of our lives. But, it seems, the first impulse to sin following the covenant at Mount Sinai was that of idolatry. It is out of their anxiety over Moses’ absence that leads them to idolatry. Idolatry is placing something or someone ahead of God and that includes our favorite way of perceiving God. It is for this reason that the reformed tradition places such a high value on the freedom of God. God is God and God can do whatever God wants. And, it means we cannot use God for our pet projects. God is not on our side, God is not for us, and God does not join our causes. God is not to be used. However, we have made plenty of mistakes about this one. We have been certain about God’s intentions and desires often acting out on them. This is also why the reformed tradition has been leery of any organization, way of thought, or government that claims totality over all areas of our lives. I can think of no force that exerts more control and more power over all of our lives these days than what we refer to as “the market.” This is not a new phenomenon. The economic forces that have allowed for great advances in our time have also come to control most, if not all of them as well. Most of the language used with the market is inherently religious language. People no longer have faith and trust in the dollar. Markets will not like it if you act in a certain way. If you raise taxes on the rich the markets will not respond favorably. And if you increase domestic spending the markets will respond adversely. I once heard my preacher claim from the pulpit that Adam Smith believed the invisible hand of the market was God’s hand. We once lived in a time when the free market was seen as an extension of our faithfulness and God’s blessing. Much of the language around our current economic troubles is far too close to language which should be reserved for God alone. And the use of a bull to represent the market should serve as a stark reminder of how we have lost our bearings. While there is much that can and should be said about our current economic troubles it is that we need to think carefully about where we place our hope and trust. Whether we are shaping images of God or creating gods of our own making, we will find those Gods not worth the paper they are printed upon. Eventually they will fall. The gold cannot speak. The paper cannot be eaten. Despite promises from the priests of Wall Street the market gods actually need input and direction from the people. It is my hope that this time of crisis, when faith in the almighty market has been shaken, we will remember that it is simply an economic system. The market is not God or the hand of God. Let us never, in our anxiety or pride, confuse the tools of enterprise and other golden calves for the embodiment of God on earth. Amen.