Most scholars today agree that there once was a man named Jesus. In his time, Israel was occupied by the Romans who were mostly concerned with keeping the peace and collecting taxes. The local leaders, on the other hand, had a variety of agendas. People in general were mostly concerned with scraping together a living under very difficult circumstances. Some placed a great deal of hope in a number of rebels who claimed to be the Messiah, the anointed one, a savior sent by God, someone who would be a leader, a priest or king who would free them from the heavy yokes of Roman taxation and the corruption of their own leaders. Jesus was just one of several such liberators except his approach was radically different.
Jesus didn't seem to be concerned with Roman occupation all that much. His focus was more on the leadership among his own people criticizing them for their preoccupation with power and wealth rather than the condition of the poor and the sick. Large crowds began to follow him and the leaders became nervous that he might actually succeed in challenging their position of power. They wanted to kill him, but did not have the authority to do so themselves. That would look bad anyway, so they made up some charges about overthrowing Cesar knowing that the Romans would not take that lightly and do the dirty work for them.
Jesus' approach to speaking out against the deplorable living conditions of the people differed from conventional wisdom then as it still does today for most people. Turn the other cheek, he said. Now, go turn on the news. The first thing you will learn is that in today’s world, a small fight quickly turns into a major war resulting in death and destruction. Violence is not the answer.
Another thing he talked about a lot was wealth distribution. Give to the poor, he said. That would solve the Roman tax situation. If you don't have anything, there is no tax to collect from you. I believe the advent of private property when hunter/gatherers settled to grow crops is the source of much misery in the world today as it was then. It is for this reason we at New Covenant House, like the first church, have everything in common. We believe that there is more than enough for everyone. Everyone can and should have all their needs met if only the resources were justly distributed.
Jesus was also big on healthcare. The gospel writers have him heal people with magic. He even brings people back from the dead, they claim. The thing is that, despite scientific advances, disease is somewhat beyond our control and if no one cares, we will possibly die. Healthcare should be available for everyone just like food, clothing and shelter without any individual being able to profit from it.
The gospel writers go to great lengths to make Jesus look like God. He wasn't. He was just an extraordinary man who challenged the understanding of God the rich and powerful wanted people to have. He didn't invent a new religion. He simply re-interpreted the ancient scriptures to mean that God is fundamentally for us, not against us. God only wants the best for us including those who are against us. Jesus made it possible for us to see God as he really is.
No comments:
Post a Comment