I do recall a lot of references to mercy, forgiveness and peace....
I remember he once told Pilate that he would have no power over Jesus if it weren't given to him from above. In the midst of wrongful accusations, failing leadership and impending death, Jesus did not organize a protest or try to convince his friends and neighbors that they were evil. He stated the truth and submitted to the powers in place. When he was asked about paying taxes, even to a corrupt system, he advised people to give the government what was theirs, and bore its image (coins), and to give God what is His and bore his image (us- our entire beings). I think it's easier to pick a fight with government than to give God your whole life and risk losing your rights or entitlements. It makes me think about how faith in Jesus spreads like crazy in oppressive, anti-God cultures, but yet dies a slow, numbing death in a free and majority "Christian" country.
His approach appeared to be more subversive- his movement was not to bring in a government-sponsored faith...it was to spread a hope that took hold of people at a deeper, heart-level. He spoke of a kingdom that was not subject to the law or even promoted by it. It almost seems as though Jesus didn't want his movement to be institutionalized or patriotic- it is not something that can be enforced, legislated or voted in or out. The nations that mandated prayer, required bowing or honored specific deities, were usually the places that people lived in fear and empty ritual.
After the last political wave of campaigns, hateful commercials and judgmental press in all directions, I'm wondering wwjd... Seems like he didn't talk a whole lot about government and politics, other than submitting to authority and defending the cause of the poor, widows and orphans. He only seemed to come down hard on the church leaders and those using religion to manipulate, control and profit. He modeled righteous anger only when this was done in the very temple of God...
I wonder if his heart is saddened by all the hopes, passion, anger, fear of his people that are focused on a fight between two parties in one country that is lead by fallible humans. I wonder if his heart breaks as we trash one candidate and praise another. I wonder if he thinks ANYONE deserves to be hated, shamed or disrespected? I wonder if he only feels that way about the people that say they follow his ways in public, but intentionally live another life in private? hmmmm...
Sometimes I think that if we lived our everyday lives with as much passion and zeal that we vote against something or promote someone, the country might actually change in surprising ways...
if we forgive more readily, resist rudeness to strangers, offer what we have to someone in need, make ourselves available to our family, choose professions that honor people and God, comfort the hurting, spend less money on ourselves and more on things that matter...
then it seems like that would actually make more of a sustainable, eternal difference than a majority in congress for the current term would. We can get so caught up in causes that we lose sight of what we're even fighting for...and forget to embody that "cause" in how we make daily choices or care for one another. I wonder if we will someday be embarrassed or ashamed at how we attack or insult people because of our own sense of rightness or authority on a subject...when God actually was hoping to soften our hearts and teach us how to love...what credit is it to us when we love someone that loves us back or thinks like we do? I have a feeling that Jesus is looking back at us through the eyes of those we disagree with. What will he have to say about us?
I'm not saying it's not worth being informed, active, and engaged in the politics of our nation....there's just such a clear need for redemption in all the world, this arena included, that we can't bank our security, peace or lifestyle on who is in charge...especially is we claim to be residents of another kingdom...then no other leader actually has ultimate authority over us and we do not have permission to live in fear.
And I don't believe that God's ultimate goal is for us to be a "Christian nation", but a nation full of genuine, individual, Christ-followers that live radical, counter-cultural lives. Labeling something Christian doesn't guarantee anything...actually sometimes I think it does the opposite. I didn't give my life to Jesus because I was told it was the right or legal thing to do or because someone yelled at me about how awful and sinful I was....I fell in love with his kind eyes and open arms. The moment something is made religious and law-bound, is the moment we lose the free will and beauty of choosing to respond to God's call and doing the fear and trembling work in a community as we hold onto our faith by the skin of our teeth.
There is something so profound and beautiful about a supernatural kingdom we can join that lifts us above the temporal, unproductive battles that we thought would save us (and our country) in the end. The truth is there is no escaping the broken world we live in...we can work to usher in the new kingdom, but we cannot expect human structures and efforts to rescue us or make things right.
That will come one day...but not yet. So for now, where is the love?
No comments:
Post a Comment