NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — On a couple of occasions I’ve heard from readers who say something along the line of this post to the NWAOnline comments following my previous column: “Shame on you Lowell Grisham for representing Christ in the wrong way. Nowhere in the Bible does Christ call on the government to take care of people. It is the individual and the Church that he calls on to help others.”
While the gospel and the prophets do expect individuals and congregations to reach out in generous compassion, Jesus spoke in explicitly political terms, continuing the prophetic tradition of challenging rulers and governments to administer economic justice.
The central message of Jesus was his proclamation of the “Kingdom of God.” Jesus purposely chose to characterize his mission with a political metaphor.
He could have proclaimed the “Family of God,” or the “Ecclesia of God” - the Assembly or Church of God.
That’s not what he said. He said that in him the Kingdom of God had drawn near, and he called all who follow him to live here and now within the vision and values of God’s Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God is how things would be on earth if God ruled and human rulers didn’t.
Since we aren’t familiar with kings and kingdoms in our age, the phrase might better be translated for us as the “Government of God” ormaybe even the “Politics of God.”
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray “thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” That prayer continues with two concrete economic agendas of God’s government: daily bread and forgiveness of debts.
Usually when Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God he is teaching about a healthy society and a proper government. His teaching was so threatening to the officials of the Roman Empire that they executed him as an enemy of the state.
What does the Government of God look like? It is a society where people are unanxious about food, or clothing or shelter because if we seek first the government of God all these things will be secure. (Matthew 6) God’s government and healing are intimately joined. When Jesus and his disciples proclaimed the kingdom their characteristic activity was to heal and to feed. A government that follows the values of God’s reign makes food and medical care universally available.
Jesus summarized the Law with a commandment to love: Love God, love neighbor, love self. Whena scribe affirmed Jesus’ teaching, Jesus told him that he was not far from the kingdom. (Mark 12) What would a government motivated by love look like?
It would reach out with compassion to those whom Jesus served, including foreigners, aliens and strangers. Jesus offered the same gifts of feeding and healing to foreigners as he did to his own people.
In God’s government the poor are blessed. (Luke 6) All are invited to the great banquet. (Luke 14) Children are embraced. Lost sheep are found. The people who are most likely to understand God’s government and be drawn to it are sinners, like prostitutes and tax collectors. God’s Kingdom is remarkably inclusive. (Luke 13-29) The most endangered are the wealthy. (Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:23) Those who presume that they are holier than others are also iffy.
In God’s government, little seeds produce abundant fruits. And seeds are sown with wanton extravagance.
Most of Jesus’ words about the Kingdom speak of an earthly reality that Jesus inaugurates and calls us to support. Some of Jesus’words make it clear that the fullness of the kingdom is also the promise of an eternal inheritance.
When the early Church began to live under the values of Jesus and the kingdom he proclaimed, they adopted very political language to express their mission. In the Roman Empire, coins and public buildings declared that Caesar is Lord, Son of God, Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords. When the Church adopted those titles for Jesus, they spoke in revolutionary political terms. Many paid with their lives.
Jesus calls Christians to a political vision that promotes the values of the Government of God: Focusing on the needs of the poor, insuring daily bread, healing, forgiving debts, embracing children, welcoming strangers and foreigners, willing to sow abundant seeds, challenging the wealthy and powerful - all characterized by love and compassion. That’s a political agenda worth supporting.
LOWELL GRISHAM IS AN EPISCOPAL PRIEST WHO LIVES IN FAYETTEVILLE.
Opinion, Pages 17 on 11/07/2010