Doesn’t it seem like everything is politics these days? Seems we just can’t escape the arguments, the outrages, and news, fake or not. I know! We’ll go to church! No politics there, right? OK, not true, which is why we have to figure out what to say.
The Politics of Blessings
What we call the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12) is Jesus getting political. Here he sets up laws for his new community. Funny thing is that these laws don’t sound like laws. It’s not about the rules, it’s about direction. Those who put Kingdom priorities first will see a future blessing, which brings up one question:
Does it work?
We have only one way to find out: Obedience. Do this, and see. It’s an experiment in faith. Which brings us to our politically obsessed situation.
Jesus speaks of trusting in righteousness and peace, but that’s not what we’re trusting now. What we want is what guides us: America First! Don’t worry about the impact of our lives on the rest of the world. Have no concern for the needs of others. The poor, the victims of conflict, the outsiders, refugees—what do they have to do with us? Compassion and generosity might be admirable, but expendable when they get in the way of what we want. We have here an experiment in selfishness. How should we respond?
No matter our politics, Christians know a few relevant things. First, we see that this vision has nothing to do with Jesus. His law of blessing inviting us to place our hopes in a bigger picture, his description of judgment based on how we treat the stranger and poor (Matthew 25), Jesus gives a very different set of guidelines. We can argue about how to care for others, but making the effort isn’t optional for Christians. We have a name for this tendency to place ourselves at the center of the universe and think only of our desires. We call it sin. No blessings there.
We also know that the experiment in selfishness will fail. Entertaining fear only increases fear. Building walls and closing ourselves off from others only shrinks our world. Compassion provides the way forward. What we may not know is why.
Jesus calls it the way, but St. Paul’s language is more colorful–the foolishness of the cross. What does he mean?
Winners, as everyone knows, win by the power to get others to do what they want. That power may be found in armies, force of personality, connections or money. That’s why this fearful experiment in selfishness seems so practical. Then we add Jesus to the picture. In some strange experiment of his own, Jesus backed up his message of salvation with no signs of power. No surprise–his mission fails: Jesus is abandoned, arrested, condemned and killed. What would you expect? A loser.
Then expectations turn upside down. Defeat becomes victory and the source of hopelessness now the sign of hope. Jesus wins. That’s the foolishness of the cross, and it isn’t just about Jesus. God’s strategy of salvation is love, the law we follow as Christ’s people.
That is, if we want to be fools. Would we?
Are we Fools?
Politics is where I began, and politics is definitely a place for fools and foolish action, but you don’t have to call your congressman to be a fool. Consider some foolish possibilities:
Repent: Only fools change their minds! Sadly, the rest of the world misses out. Change is the life-giving sign that we are following Christ into ever deeper ways of understanding and commitment. How is Christ’s law of love changing your mind?
Listen: Arguing is pointless, but the only option is foolish. Jesus invites us into community where all people have something to contribute, offering the intriguing possibility that we could learn from each other, and maybe even work together for a better vision. Foolish, but possible, if we quit assuming we know everything and that the other side is ignorant and prejudiced. Listen.
Connect: Out of fear for our safety, we have closed ourselves off from the pain of others. These divisions will never give us the security we seek. Let’s try another way. Learn about the stranger. Meet the neighbors. Foolishly act like we are all part of one world with common interests and concerns.
So many foolish ways to demonstrate that we are on the side of love–what will you do? What’s crazy is to not do something!
Share your act of foolishness here: