Compare and Contrast

Just think about the context of these passages. Goverment will always say that it is doing good while it takes on authority – even while destoying the people it conquers.

And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.”

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

 

Søren on Judas

“You will get a deep insight into the state of Christianity in each age by seeing how it treats Judas.” -Søren Aabye Kierkegaard

How did Jesus treat Judas? Was Judas lost forever? Wouldn’t some straightforwardness avoided the pain in Judas’ future? What are we to learn from Judas?

I don’t know. I’m in more of an asking mood than answering one.

 

Parable of the Trees

Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and called out. Thus he said to them, “Listen to me, O men of Shechem, that God may listen to you. Once the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us!’ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my fatness with which God and men are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’ Then the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come, reign over us!’ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’ Then the trees said to the vine, ‘You come, reign over us!’ But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?’ Finally all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come, reign over us!’ The bramble said to the trees, ‘If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, may fire come out from the bramble and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’”

Judges 9

 

Subordination

Yoder talks about the apparent divide between the ethic of Jesus and the ethic of the New Testament letters. The mainstream church takes the instruction about subordination to authority and sees in it an implicit endorsement of a conservative, status quo supporting ethic. Yoder, however, sees in this call to subordination something Christlike. Instead of seeing Jesus, the prophetic revolutionary, versus the realistic need to come up with a sustainable way of life, we should realize that both Jesus and the ethic given in the epistles are calling for a revolution in the way that revolutions are understood.

Like any other revolutionary, Jesus calls out the supporters of the status quo for what they are: hypocrits. The way things are is bad. Rich oppressing poor. Man oppressing wife. Diginifed oppressing young. Owner oppressing slave. Roman (read: state) oppressing Jew (read: member of nonconformist religion or, simply, foreigner).

Because Jesus’ ethic is so radical, we assume that it must be in contradiction to the call to subordination found in the epistles. That we make such an illogical leap is a testament to the appallingly inadequate education to which most of us Westerners have been assigned.

The (early) Christian revolutionary message goes beyond the shallow revolutions to which we are accustomed. The revolution of Jesus is not simply, “Those in power are bad, so let’s rebel.” No! The revolution of Jesus calls for introspection. The revolution of Jesus calls not just for a change in the world structures but also for the revolutionary to look first at herself. First comes “Repent.” Then he says, “…for the kingdom is at hand.”

Too many conservatives stop at personally repentance.

Too many liberals skip ahead to the kingdom at hand.

To ignore either is to ignore Jesus.

The follower of Jesus walks as Jesus walked. Not only was Jesus’ condemnation of the world’s structures revolutionary. His response to these evil powers was a revolutionary way of being revolutionary. He submitted. He submitted to evil men… even to death.

“By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”