Politics
March 6th, 2008 | by Catherine Amber | Published in Featured, Theology | 9 Comments
Vote for Rick!! Just had to say that 
This is actually about an excerpt from Jim Wallis’ Sojourners(Sojourners) “God’s Politics” blog:
“Do you think Jesus was a politician?”
Of course not. But he had a vision of the Kingdom of God which was spiritual, personal, relational, social, economic, and yes, political - because it talked about allegiances and loyalties and authority, and if Jesus was Lord, Caesar was not. His confrontation that he provoked in Jerusalem was with the religious and the political leaders. They saw him as a political threat. If they saw him just as a private pietist, why would they worry? [If he was] helping people get their lives together, helping their marriages, making them better parents and make them go to less Roman orgies and drunken parties, why would that have been a threat to the ruling powers? They regarded him as a threat. I remember I was at Wheaton College once and I asked this class, “Why was Jesus killed?” and they had no idea. They just couldn’t comprehend the question. And then one young student said, “Well, to save us from our sins.” And I said, “So you think Pontius Pilate was sitting there thinking, ‘How am I going to save these American evangelicals from their sins? I’m gonna kill this guy and that will do it.’” Albeit that our theological understanding of the cross and our redemption — I’m orthodox on all those questions, but he was killed because he was seen as a threat to the rulers both religious and political. In the book I talk about how Jesus confronted the major political options of his day. All four of them were there, they’re always there: One was collaborationist, one was pietist, one was withdrawn — you know, the kind of counter culture — and one was political insurrection, or revolutionary violence. He confronted them all, he rejected them all. There was a fifth option called the Kingdom of God, and that’s our option.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:26 am (#)
I love Jim Wallis. My Pastor is going to do a summer midweek series on his’ newest book, the name of which escapes me right now. Anyway, I love Jim Wallis. Great stuff. Thanks Cat. (wow - check out those last three sentences - very Hemingwayish….)
March 10th, 2008 at 10:18 am (#)
I like the way Wallis has laid it out.
I’ve been thinking lately, how would Judas Iscariot fit in that political format? I’ve always thought Judas Iscariot was the insurrectionist sort. Maybe not after all, he may have been the withdrawn kind of fellow, trying to figure it out and on the verge of being an insurrectionist.
Then, I begin to wonder what Jesus saw in Judas Iscariot. Was this Judas a man with a kind heart and a burning desire to see change? Did this Judas, with his kind heart take a bad step, believing he would hasten the political change he thought Jesus was planning.
Then, I wonder, how well did Jesus communicate with his disciples, keeping them informed of what he was really trying to accomplish. If Jesus communicated well enough, how could Judas take a mistaken step in the wrong direction? Or, maybe Judas Iscariot really was evil in the end, doing what he did with full knowledge of the consequences, polital and otherwise.
I have so much free time, I may attend one of the mid week series there Barb.
March 10th, 2008 at 7:00 pm (#)
That’s a great question. Never thought about it like that before.
I know Jesus was about people, fairness and speaking out for the poor.
Huh…was Jesus a politician.
Or was He the true Bipartisan?
March 10th, 2008 at 7:01 pm (#)
Nice to be back in my sandbox….careful…but it’s my sandbox.
March 11th, 2008 at 5:05 pm (#)
John - we’d love to have you with us this summer. I’ll keep you posted. You can also check our website for updates - http://www.fbcmac.org.
Great questions about Judas. Personally, I think he just took a misstep. I can’t reconcile that he was truly evil.
Jesus a politician? Rick, you’re in good company!
March 13th, 2008 at 9:41 am (#)
Personally, I think Judas was trying to force Jesus’ hand. He’d seen the way that God had worked in him. The dominant idea of Messiah was the king figure. They were under the oppression of Pax Romana. And he’d seen the way that the people received Jesus.
But he also saw how reluctant Jesus was to claim his kingdom, so he figured that if he really was the Messiah, if he was forced into a confrontation with both the religious and political authorities (specifically the Romans), then he would have to show his true colors. Judas was just a little colorblind, so it would seem.
That’s why I believe he ran off and committed suicide. Things did not go according to plan, and his good friend was killed.
I think that it’s easy for us to “see what Jesus meant” when he said those cryptic sayings. The sign of Jonah? “So the son of man shall be in the belly of the earth for three days…” That’s not the kind of stuff you’re looking to hear. And it’s not just Judas who doesn’t get it. None of them do. They still don’t get it after the empty tomb.
Hindsight. It makes things a little bit easier to see.
March 13th, 2008 at 2:41 pm (#)
I think Mary got it. Granted, she saw the Risen Lord, but I think she got it.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:19 am (#)
Careful, Cat, in persuading the masses to vote for a particular candidate. We don’t want to lose our tax exempt status. J/K of course.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:16 am (#)
pontius pilate was…
Your post reminded me of “the richest man in babylon”…