February, 2008

In his great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke these words: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."1 "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?"2

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. Do you love as Jesus loved, or is your love like a tax collector’s? Today I beseech you to heed the wisdom and follow the way of Jesus. Love your enemies as Jesus would have you, and as he loves you.

What I am specifically asking you to do today will not be easy. To some it will seem foolhardy. However, I think you will agree that what I am asking of you is the right thing to do in light of the principles Jesus preached and practiced up to the moment of his death on a Roman cross.

What action can you take today based on the words of Jesus? First listen to his words as to why you should take action: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."3 Will you be wise or foolish? Will you heed the words of Jesus? Will you stand with Jesus or will you crash?

The Apostles of Jesus tried to persuade him not to go to Jerusalem for that fateful Passover observance. The city was the seat of the religious leaders of Israel, and a stronghold of the cruel Roman governor. The Apostles knew that the chief priests and scribes wanted Jesus dead. And it is likely they knew enough about Pontius Pilate to realize he would readily execute one lowly Jew at the behest of the religious leaders if it suited his purpose. Of course Jesus knew all of this too, and, clearly, he did not want to die, for in Gethsemane he would pray, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me."4

Jesus’ decision to go openly into the lair of his arch enemies must have looked to his Apostles like the quintessence of foolhardy. What the Apostles didn’t know, but Jesus knew, and you and I know, was that his Father’s will was for him to go to Jerusalem and to his death in order to save all of us. As Paul said, "Christ was sacrificed to take away the sins of many people."5 "He became the source of eternal salvation."6

What I hope to accomplish today by invoking the words and wisdom of Jesus is to persuade you to follow his Way, to do God’s will in relation to your government’s war in Iraq; YOUR WAR! Your right action in this matter will not save all mankind, but it may save the lives of many innocent people who will otherwise die–if you fail to act! That, I am certain you will agree, is in concert with the will of God. What do you say?

Many Americans say they oppose the Iraq war, but do they really? If one pays federal taxes, those tax dollars are as important to the war effort as the killing weapons of the soldiers and marines on the ground. Your tax dollars are far more important to prosecuting the war than the wishes of Vice-President Chaney or the commands of President Bush. Our military personnel would not be there, could not go to war, without your tax dollars. You may say you don’t support the war, but if you pay federal taxes the undeniable truth is that you do support the war. It truly is your war.

The American system of government declares, and the Supreme Court has frequently concurred, that the people of the United States are the nation’s highest authority. Thus, those military personnel participating in this war, including the commander-in-chief, are the people’s agents–your agents. When an American soldier kills in Iraq, not just Bush, but every U.S. citizen-taxpayer is morally if not legally responsible for that death. In a republic or a democracy, it cannot be otherwise.

If the Common Law still prevailed in America, citizen-taxpayers would be legally culpable as well. Here is a definition of the agent-principal or master-servant relationship from an old law dictionary, which reflects the Common Law: "The master is answerable for every such wrong of the servant or agent as is committed by him in the course of the service and for the master’s benefit, though no express command or privity of the master be proved. Such liability springs out of the relationship itself, and does not depend on the stipulations of their contract. Within the scope of his authority, the servant may be said to be the medium through which the master acts. It follows, as a general rule, that for the tortious acts of the servant the master is liable."7

If you are a citizen-taxpayer, your agents are killing innocent people in Iraq right now! And you are responsible for killing them! Furthermore, those agents of yours will kill more innocent people tomorrow. And kill again the next day. Need I point out that God’s commandment says, "You shall not murder!"8 Not even one!

Jesus went even farther than the commandment: He said, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment".9

If you are a citizen-taxpayer, I beg you: Stop the angry killing being perpetrated in Iraq in your name by your agents with your federal tax dollars. You have the power to do that. You can begin to exercise that power now. You have both a right and an inexorable responsibility to do so because you hold the sovereign authority of the United States of America in your hands--and you profess to follow Jesus. Rest assured, you will be subject to judgment for your critical role in this disastrous war.

You are America’s sovereign authority! All you need do to exercise your authority and stop the killing is to stop financing the war with your federal-tax dollars. Therefore, I urge you to follow the way of Jesus: Stop paying federal agents to kill for you! STOP PAYING FEDERAL TAXES! In the United States today, federal taxes, like military service, are voluntary. They are levied on products you need not buy, and on income you need not receive. So–stop paying those taxes that finance war

Jesus said, "Love your enemies!"10 I say, if you follow Jesus, you will not willingly pay federal taxes, which produce the revenues used to kill your enemies! When you do stop killing your enemies, you may realize they were not your enemies after all.

Remember, Jesus made this promise: "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love."11 How will you repay Jesus for the love he showered upon you from the cross? Will you do what you can to stop the daily deaths in Iraq? Then stop paying federal taxes..

How you accomplish that is your business. Rest assured, I am not encouraging you to do anything illegal. Moreover, you must not do any thing dishonest, which would surely negate your good intentions and emasculate your courageous deed. All you need to do is quit doing or using those things the federal government taxes. By that simple-but-daunting action, you can stop the killing and end America’s war in Iraq.

Oh, I realize some number of your fellow citizens must join in your brave stand in order for it to succeed, but, if you follow Jesus, you will not wait, and you will not fail. Jesus knew in advance he would have to face the high priest and the remorseless Roman governor by himself. He warned his Apostles, "You will all fall away, for it is written: " 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered"12 But his Apostles’ fear did not deter Jesus.

Even if every person you know calls you a fool for refusing to pay taxes that pay for war, if you follow Jesus, you will have to go it alone. Jesus pointed the way. He also knew that not everyone would have the wisdom and courage to follow. He said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."13

Jesus did not wait for others to join him at the narrow gate. He was abandoned by his Apostles to die alone, perhaps as alone as any man has ever been. The Gospels tell us: "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’—which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’"14

Please, I entreat you, do not abandon the way of Jesus as his Apostles abandoned him. Enter through the narrow gate. Find out what products and services the federal government taxes. To the best of your ability and the extent you possibly can do so, stop buying or using those items until the federal government stops making war. Many federal taxes are hidden. You will have to research to discover what the fed taxes, but here are a few of the items on which federal excise taxes are levied: gambling, automotive tires and tubes, gasoline, lubricating oils, fishing equipment, firearms, cartridges and coal. Furthermore, imported products often include a federal import tax, which American-made products do not.

Of course the federal income tax is the primary revenue-producing, war-financing tax. Fortunately, you do not have to pay it. If, you work for wages, the government taxes your wages. So, stop working for wages until the war is over. Or, since the tax is levied on annual incomes above a certain level, work for a lesser amount, or, stop when your income reaches a level where the tax kicks in. If you are approaching retirement, don’t wait. Do it now. Spend your new-found leisure time working for peace. If you have taxable income from sources other than wages, do what is necessary to convert it to tax-free income. Get rid of your federal and corporate bonds, where your interest income is taxed, and put the money into state and municipal bonds, which are exempt from federal taxes. When only a small percentage of those Americans who follow Jesus adamantly refuse to finance the war, the war will be stopped dead In its tracks. You can do that. God will ensure your success.

What I am asking you to do may also appear foolhardy. It certainly is daunting. It may seem to portend dire financial consequences. To abate those very reasonable fears, I urge you to contemplate the courage Jesus displayed when he turned his face towards Jerusalem and a date with Pontius Pilate, agonizing torture and death. Knowing what you know about Jesus, who he is and what he did for you, which are crucial facts his Apostles did not know when they deserted him, will you stand with Jesus, or will you flee?

Keep in mind: You truly have nothing to fear but fear alone. If Jesus knew what he was talking about, there is no reason for you to worry. You cannot be harmed in any way by your refusal to finance war with your tax dollars: Jesus promised: "Do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."15

The path of righteousness which Jesus blazed for us always appears more difficult and dangerous than its alternative. But in the final analysis, in the long run, the road less traveled is the only way that leads to eternal salvation.

The Bible tells this sad, sad story: "A man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"16 "Jesus answered, ‘Sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’"17

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if you willingly pay federal taxes, you are unquestionably culpable in the killings in Iraq perpetrated by your agents. Sacrificing some income, even the lion’s share of your income, in order to avoid funding this immoral war is far better than losing one’s immortal soul. Can you follow Jesus? The young man in the gospel story could not, and he has been called the most destitute man in all of recorded history. For the story goes on to say, "When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth."18

It is manifest that the citizen-taxpayers of the United States are morally responsible for taking the lives of many innocent people in Iraq. Cowardly commentators euphemistically refer to such deaths as "collateral damage." What it truly is, is homicide. Do you understand? You have the power to stop the slaughter? The question is not whether you can; it is whether you will stop it?

This sermon is being shared among preachers and congregations across America. Can those of us who follow Jesus stop this war? The federal government is powerful, but the love of Jesus is awesome. It can change the hearts of war mongers. If his love touches you today, you wont pay any federal tax you can avoid until this war is over.

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you."19 His peace is yours to keep or throw away. Stop supporting the war in Iraq. Only when you do will you be following Jesus’ way. Allay your fears! Remember the words of Jesus, "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."20

Thank you. God bless you. And may Jesus hold you always in the palm of his loving hand.