Are We Caught in a Cycle?

Are we just caught in a cycle? Is the suffering of yesterday a prophesy about tomorrow? Can there be an end to the logic of war that decides it is worth the deaths of our young men and women, and their young men and women, and the countless civilians who get caught in the crossfire, and the displacement of people and widespread poverty…in order to protect us from danger? As if these countless deaths aren’t a danger worth avoiding…

Is there a path out of the distrust that leads to division that leads to conflict that leads to war and death? Are we, like generations past, destined to fight and kill our brothers and sisters, just because we were born in different places under different ruling powers who can’t find a way to coexist? Is that our future?

It is easy to understand why so many Christians are fatalistic on this point. If the people with all the money and political power can’t find a path to peace, what can we do? It is easier to prophesy peace for another time when Jesus comes back. But what if he’s already here? What if we are his hands and feet? What if his Spirit has been liberally poured out on us? What if Jesus told us that we would do even greater things than he did? What if we held keys that could unlock peace? What if we are the catalyst?

You don’t have control. But you do have influence. You have friends. You know people. And those people know people. And in one way or another you are connected to people who will be pulled to the opposite side and become your enemy if worst came to worst. You are not a spectator in humanity’s unfolding drama. You are an actor. The steps you take leave footprints for others to follow. So what can you do?

When the Facebook world becomes rife with political divisions, conspiracy theories, and excuses to disconnect, choose to engage positively. Find a reason for hope. Find laughter. Find the beauty in humanity, and share it with your friends. When our communities are in conflict and racial or religious tension builds, be a bridge builder. Make friends with people from the other side. Learn about their culture. Listen to their stories, and share your own. Find the person behind the stereotype, and tell others what you find. And when fear threatens to derail your own peace and make you a prisoner to your own protective instinct, remember Jesus, who “for the joy set before him” endured the cross. Remember the man who sacrificed his own life for people who didn’t even want him. Rejected, despised, brutally beaten and crucified, his words were “forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing”. Remember that the tragedy that begot our victory was the sacrificing of the one sinless life on behalf of the sinful, not the other way around. And remember that when perfect love was finally extinguished and all hope seemed gone, it was only the opening act to a reborn love and eternal hope!

We are not bound by the cycle. We’re are not helplessly being led to destruction. Church, we have a voice! We have hands and feet! let’s use them to show love and mercy. Let’s walk in the Spirit of the one who would rather die for the many than send others to their deaths, and let’s resurrect hope in the hopeless, and peace in the confusion! Let’s use the influence we do have to establish peace, allowing God to grow it!

“Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” -Isaiah 9:5-7a

Politics, Religion and the Kingdom of the Heart

The time of Jesus (as well as the next 40 years or so after his death and resurrection) was very tumultuous and confusing for Israel. Foreign occupiers who didn’t believe in God and at times committed sacrilege according to the Jewish faith were the ruling power. The “king” of Israel (actually the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea to be specific!) was only partly Jewish and spent much of his childhood being educated in Rome. He was Jewish for political purposes, but really nothing more than a Roman puppet. Judea (which includes Jerusalem) wasn’t even under the Jewish leader’s rule but fell to a Roman governor.

The religious authorities walked a tightrope, attempting to preserve religious traditions and maintain control of the Jewish people while being careful not to challenge Roman rule in the fear that Rome would take away the special religious rights that it had given to the Jewish people. In this time of compromise and political intrigue, there were the teachers of the Jewish law who lamented Israel’s compromised position and who taught the law especially strictly in order that the Jewish people would maintain their faith and identity in the midst of the corrupting influence of Roman culture. At this same time, there were the zealots, who saw absolute freedom from the Roman occupiers as the most important concern. These men would often mount guerrilla attacks and stir up mobs against the Romans.

In this tense environment, it was impossible to not be caught up in the chaos of the day. Rumours of the Romans desecrating the temple or of the cultural corruption of the nation were all over Facebook (or whatever 1st-century website people used for gossip), and opinions were split on what should be done. Should the people join fighting units to drive out the occupiers? Should they be grateful for the partial religious freedom they still enjoyed and find a way to coexist? Should they follow a certain preacher who teaches about strict religious observances over politics, or should they listen to the preachers who remind them of the gallant battles of past days when Israel triumphed over her enemies? Should they wait for the prophesied messiah who would deliver them from oppression? If so, which of the many voices speaking might prove to be him? Or should they once and for all delete their Facebook accounts and ignore it all? Maybe they should just make a living and support their families?

Is it any wonder that people didn’t get Jesus? With so many serious problems that needed resolution, he seemed hopelessly out of touch.

When the Jewish faith needed teachers who would rigorously uphold the law, Jesus at times seemed like he would fit. Certainly he didn’t preach against the law, and his sermon on the mount clearly calls for a purity not only of the body but even of the heart. But then he goes and eats and drinks with sinners. And talks alone with a foreign woman who a proper Israelite wouldn’t even say “hello” to. Then he allows a morally bankrupt woman to clean his feet with her hair, and touches lepers and other people the law declare “unclean”. Jesus seemed to not understand the pressing need Israel had for a return to pure religion. To those looking for religious salvation, he was far too friendly with outcasts to be considered.

When the zealots needed a popular leader who could unite their nation and take it back from Roman oppressors, Jesus again seemed like a possibility. He had a large following among the common people, and rumours were spreading that he was indeed the messiah. He performed countless miracles that seemed to show he had favour with God (either that or he had a demon, as some said), and if God would favour him to heal, surely He would also favour him to fight and win like He had with other leaders in the past. But then this Jesus seemed to be completely inept at leading people. A good leader knows how to direct his popularity towards achieving a common goal, but Jesus just allowed all of his influence to be wasted, even working against his own popularity by teaching strange things (like something about eating his flesh??) and allowing even tax collectors, who collaborated with the Romans to extort money from the Jews, to be part of his inner circle. To the zealot looking for political salvation, Jesus was just too impractical and poor at leadership to lead a movement.

Even after his resurrection and appearance before his disciples, proving his identity as the Son of God, he acted so strangely. With an imperishable body, why didn’t he just claim authority? Why didn’t he march back into Jerusalem and declare himself king? No one could have stopped him, and seeing the man who was killed before such an audience back among the living surely would have encouraged belief! But instead, he disappears again, leaving only the promise of the “Holy Spirit” to help the flesh and blood that are left to pick up the pieces.

While we now have the hindsight of history to shed some light on what Jesus was (and perhaps still is?) up to, at the time it seemed that he made a complete waste of his influence, authority and position. The corrupt religious institutions of his day WERE a big problem…why didn’t he sort that out? Why not sit as high priest in Jerusalem? The oppressive and often murderous regime that ruled Israel was a huge problem! Why not fix things by taking charge himself?

But you see, in Jesus mind, it has never been about politics. Or religious purity. No, Jesus is the King of another world. He is King of the heart. This is no secondary kingdom…it is the only kingdom that really matters! Because whatever puppet is sitting on whatever political throne and writing whatever clever law, it is in the heart of each person that love, hope and the promise of change can be awakened. A politician can make it illegal to use certain drugs, and people will adjust and find secret ways of using said drugs, but it is in the kingdom of the heart that Jesus gives us an identity as sons and daughters of God. It is in the heart that he awakens our union with Christ! This produces a deep and often euphoric peace that is far superior to the best drugs. A politician can tell us not to murder, but it is in the heart that we become recipients of an unquenchable love that births in us a love of the same kind; a love that gives and forgives. Such a heart cannot murder! A politician may tell us that we can kill our unborn children, but it is in the heart that God’s sacrificial love for us enables and impassions us to lay down our lives for our children, however inconvenient and difficult it may be! Likewise, a preacher or pastor can tell us to pray more, but it is in the heart that desire and love for God are awakened, and a heart that has been awakened needs no other compulsion to pray! Another religious leader may teach permissive sexuality to better match the prevailing culture, but it is in the heart that sexual desire is reunited with restored identity and selfless love, and it is to such a heart that committed love no longer restricts sexuality, but perfectly partners with and enhances it!

Jesus is everything he says he is. Don’t be fooled by his apparent silence and don’t be distracted by the pressing issues of today. If he is quiet, it is because he is calling you to be quiet with him. Maybe it is in the midst of the political or religious “valley of the shadow of death” through which you are now passing that he is calling you to walk “beside still waters and restore your soul”. Maybe he is awakening something in the depth of your heart that will banish fear and heal wounds. Maybe he is restoring your heart to a place where your inner life is no longer at the mercy of external events. Maybe he is birthing in you a kingdom. It may appear out of touch or insignificant when compared to the much louder worlds that surround you…but it is in the kingdom of the heart that you will find the life and purpose and love that you are afraid to even hope for. It is in the kingdom of the heart that you will learn what love is, and begin to receive and give it freely. It is in this kingdom that you will begin to change the world around you…not because you have found a way to harness your influence or attract a following, but because one who has been awakened cannot help but awaken others.

Let us join Jesus in becoming out of touch, impractical and confusing. Let us waste our influence, lose our moral superiority and throw away our standing or appearance of purity that “good people” so value. Let us love and embrace people of questionable morals. Let us be counted as drunkards and gluttons because of it! Let us gain popularity only to lose it by our strange behaviour. Let us leave those who don’t understand us utterly bewildered! Let us welcome the King of our hearts to awaken whatever beautiful madness he wants to! Whatever dignity we lose in this world will be worth it. Who needs respect when you have joy? Who needs reputation when you are beloved children of God? Who needs politics and religion when you have a kingdom of the heart?