JESUS AND JUSTICE Living Right While Righting Wrongs INTRODUCTION Jesus’ first days were marked with poverty. The family was on the road. There was no room available—anywhere. A smelly stall in a barn was Jesus’ starting place in life. The details surrounding the night of his birth are largely unknown. Perhaps there was a midwife staying in a nearby hotel. Surely someone came with water and a basin to bathe the newborn child. Whatever the specifics were, we are left to guess. What we do know is, the beginning was bleak. Only the bare essentials were there. We also know that the birth did not go unnoticed. The shepherds, who were on duty out in the night air, were honoured with the first birth announcement. They rushed to be the early worshippers of this special child. The shepherds didn’t think much about the place where Jesus was born. They had been in many barns before. They were comfortable kneeling on the straw. They didn’t appreciate the incongruity of the Son of God’s meagre beginning. The quandary for those of us who follow Christ is to link Jesus’ first days with his continuing mission. The honoured shepherds were poor. The rewards of their work barely put food on their tables. Yet, they were the first worshippers. As examples of God’s bias toward the poor, the shepherds are historical spiritual heroes. They remind us that God’s heart still leans toward those who are pressed to live with less. Jesus’ articulation of his mission on earth is best expressed in his inaugural address delivered in his hometown synagogue. Again, he identifies with the poor. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:16-21 NRSV). Early in his ministry, Jesus returned home to Nazareth. Rumours were spreading about his teaching and miraculous powers. He was invited to speak at the local synagogue where he had worshipped as a child. Jesus’ audience that morning was filled with sceptics. “What is Mary and Joseph’s son doing now? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Sensing a special moment, Jesus took the occasion to lay out his mission. He read the Hebrew text from the revered prophet Isaiah (61:1-2). And when he finished, Jesus rolled up the scroll and essentially said, “Let me tell you what this means.” The essence of Jesus’ mission is captured in a single vision—one vision with two dimensions. Jesus’ hope for a restored humanity has a double focus: people who are spiritually poor and people who are socially poor. SPIRITUALLY POOR: Jesus begins with a personal claim: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me.” I have been touched by God and I am in touch with God. And the good news I bring to those of you who are spiritually poor is: You can be in touch with God, too. SOCIALLY POOR: Jesus understands the systemic nature of social poverty. He sees people in poverty as those who are held captive. They are oppressed. They are victims of their circumstances. People living in social poverty need eyes to see beyond the barriers that imprison them. They need to be freed to explore a new future.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:13:42 +0000