“The bottom line is that conservatives and liberals are united, the left wing embraces the right, Pilate and Herod becomes friends, and the one proposition that unites them is that Jesus is impractical.”
People tried to press Jesus into their civic and political agendas and he would not allow it. In their mind, Jesus did not seize the opportunity to change the course of history. Jesus was political for sure – just not the way people wanted. He made it very clear that Caesar was not in charge. Nor was the high priest. The people’s attempts to draw Jesus into political debates on their terms fell short. He pulled no punches in reminding them that they were pretty clueless about the grand scheme of things
Likewise, our attempts to draw Jesus into our political agendas fall short. He’s on a different playing field. He is King of kings (King over all who think they are or should be kings) and Lord of lords (Lord over all who think they are to lord it over others). Because the resurrected Jesus humbled himself as a servant, even to the point of a criminal’s death, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord…” (Philippians 2:9-11).
My Response:
While I agree that Jesus was on a different playing field, perhaps it’s not simply trying to live on that different playing field with him. Admitting our lack of understanding, and acknowledge that he, God is above our thoughts. “Let go, let God” as the saying goes.
Nor is it agreeing that Jesus is impractical. Perhaps the opposite is true – we’re given the instructions for life and flourishing over and over again. Isn’t it true that God’s desire, no command is for us to flourish – “be fruitful”?
Rather its acknowledging the forces of this world continually hijack those instructions. The forces we identify with “evil”. And Jesus gives us a lot to consider when combating evil.
After all, Jesus was born into a specific society of that time. He urged his followers to play with him, in that society. Just not in the ways that they were taught to – using god, money, power and violence to get what they wanted. Rather striving for what was just and righteous – righteous being translated not into personal moral piety, rather into “rightwithness” – treating others well.
He certainly interacted with society. It wasn’t all “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s”. We forget the statement ended with “and unto God what is God’s.” Jesus had a lot to say about a just and righteous society. And before him, the Hebrew Bible.
He talked a lot about being the fulfillment of the Torah. The Torah was instruction on being a good human, in society in relationship with God. It stressed how we ought to treat others – how we ought to live well within it. It was about being part of the Kingdom of God. And he urged others, to follow him in his/God’s way of thinking.
So, he didn’t just play above society. He played deeply in it and said a lot about the society, especially given that Judaism was his birthright, and Rome was the power over.
And he made clear, he considered both corrupt.
So he sounded off on what society ought to be like, and urged others to follow him or to turn from what they were doing, and follow him.
He especially elucidated this in “The Sermon in the Mount”, Matthew Chapters 5-7, where he said the poor, those who morn, the gentle, those who seek rightwithness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who have been persecuted would receive what they desired and live the good life in the Kingdom of God.
And he especially chastised those in power in his occupied nation, his world, Israel. He went after the Jewish authorities, sure for not accepting him, but even more so for corrupting what God intended for his people, and becoming part of the principalities and powers of this world. In essence, becoming part of the institutional evil of this world.
Further he urged them to turn back to God’s Kingdom, and warned them of their utter destruction if they continued their corrupt ways, especially their nationalism, attempting to overthrow the Romans through violence.
In fact, we’re told that during his ride into the Holy City, Jerusalem, on what we now celebrate as Palm Sunday, it was said, “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.””
And sure enough, a few decades after his death, Israel’s Zionists had started a civil war. As a consequence Roman authorities had had enough. They amassed an army, sieged Jerusalem, annihilated the city, the temple, the nation and killed as many of the Israeli people as they could. The city of Jerusalem was sacked and utterly destroyed. Deaths were estimated at 1.1 M Jews, 15% of their estimated population. Many of the bodies were thrown into the valley of Hinnom/Gehenna – made a literal hell on Earth. Others were captured, enslaved and scattered into a further diaspora lasting for almost 2,000 years. The only larger devastation of the Jewish people has been the holocaust, with 6.1 M dead, 36% of estimated Jewish world population at the time. Ironically, this led to the reestablishment of the nation of Israel. Largely in the Zionist form.
This all seems so practical, doesn’t it?
So, I take Jesus words to us with some weight. And given the world changes since then(democracy was largely just a glint in eye of the Ancient Greeks at that time), we now have the opportunity to try to apply directly Jesus’ words about society.
Can we picture a just and righteous society within an understanding of the Kingdom of God? Not in the form of a theocracy or forcing others to comply to our perception of morality, rather in how we treat one another. And strive for this?
What does this society look like?
It starts, not ends with the poor, the widows, the orphans, the oppressed, and the immigrant. And we could add some others who may be oppressed in our day and age. But, these were the groups called out specifically by God. And those God stood by in ancient Israel and other nations.
How were these societies doing?
Their corruption was measured by how they treated these groups. So for example, we often focus on the violent sexual predation in the example of the cities of Sodom and Gomorra. But the lack of hospitality is now more often cited as the cause of this other immorality. This lack of hospitality was to its own poor, and in our example, certainly toward the “foreigners”. So, due to their lack of hospitality, and the ensuring sexual predation and violence they were destroyed. Not just because of individual moral failure, but because of their collective failure to be hospitable to others. The worse these groups were treated, the more corrupt the society in God’s eye.
So, I don’t view elections as if I can stand at a distance and say, “in this world, but not of this world”.
I say, God does have expectations.
Shouldn’t we know what those expectations are? Are we not able to adopt those expectations into the very practical matters of society, and government?
Are we serving those who Jesus would serve?, should he be with us today – the poor, the oppressed, the widows, the orphans, and the immigrants, and others. Or are we enabling a power and principality of this world where greed runs rampant, scape goats are oppressed, there is inhospitality, and corruption reigns supreme?
We can argue and debate on the means of getting there. This where differences ought and should be – the how. How do we best serve these groups?
But our arguments now seem to be about who. Who gets what? Who deserves what? Who deserves more? What do I get? What if I don’t get what I want?
Instead we hear “they shouldn’t be here”, and others, “well they, need to get to the back of the line”. And don’t we all sometimes think, “I need/want/deserve what’s mine. And I know, there’s not enough to go around. So, me first!”
Perhaps that’s why we’re so divided. The questions of “Who gets what?” tear at our core. They stoke our fears. Especially in a mindset of scarcity. It then put us in the role of God, again. Once again, “we see, we take for ourselves”, despite what God’s told us about caring for us. Despite being told over and over about caring for the least, first. Despite being told of God’s everlasting abundance. Despite being told to ask “Give us today, our daily bread.” Isn’t that what we deserve?
So the stakes seem to have gone even beyond just the practical, how do we do the right thing? The stakes are about our core – about who we are – who deserves – who doesn’t – what we’re entitled to. So, when are we going to strive for a value that both our originating national documents and God seem to agree – everyone deserves – we are all of equal value.
Are we going to strive to live according to the Kingdom of God where everyone matters – especially the poor, the widows, the orphans, the oppressed, the immigrant? Or will we cater to our worst fears, and become God for ourselves “to see, and take” and make sure we get what’s ours/mine.
So I’d encourage not a step back, or gazing heavenward. Rather jump into the fray – in humility, but with a sense of rightwithness. Help our society live as God intends us to live.
Then maybe we show a little of God’s favor amongst nations, and act at least as a small part of God’s Kingdom. Alternatively, we can act as God, and “see and take” for ourselves. But won’t that lead to belonging with all the others on the garbage pile of historically corrupt nations – Ancient Israel, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome, the Holy Roman Empire, the European Colonists, the Third Reich?
And then, what is our nation worth?
SeePhas 