The World is About to Turn

Before going to church today, I happened to watch part of a recorded show of country singer Willie Nelson. One of the songs he sang – which he called “gospel,” but which I would say is more blues – has the repeated refrain: “Satan, your kingdom must come down. I heard the voice of Jesus say: 'Satan, your kingdom must come down.'”

“I'm gonna pray,” it continues, “until they tear your kingdom down. . .

“Gonna shout until they tear your kingdom down. . .

“Satan, your kingdom must com down. I heard the voice of Jesus say: 'Satan, your kingdom must come down.'”

Satan is, of course, the mythical personifying of evil and his kingdom is the reality and impact of evil as it is expressed and manifested in our world. Listening to Nelson, I was reminded of our call as people of faith, to confront the evil of division and war, of poverty and discrimination, of violence between human beings and violence against the earth. And I identified with the call to the outward journey, the call to act in ways that contribute to tearing that kingdom down.

At church, this Sunday before Easter, the congregation heard and shared once again readings known as “The Passion.” The story moves from Jesus' last supper with his disciples, to his withdrawal and prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, to his arrest, trial, death and burial. But what especially caught my attention this Sunday was Jesus' response when Judas and the temple guards came to arrest him. “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?” he asks. “Day after day I was with you in the temple area, and you did not seize me!”

But then came the critical phrase: “But this is your hour,” he continued, “the time for the power of darkness.” And I remembered Willie Nelson's song. And it struck me that there are times when it seems that Satan and his kingdom are winning the game. I sometimes feel this way when I hear some of the absurd arguments given as reasons to own guns; or when I reflect on the costs financially and in lives of the last decade-plus of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and as if that were not enough, the madness of our politicians' sable rattling about conflict with Iran or North Korea; or when I hear the proposals of the super wealthy to further consolidate their place of absolute power and wealth, regardless of the cost to society and the rest of humanity; or when I think of mothers and fathers and children suffering the abuse and pain of desperate poverty with apparently little hope of escape. Jesus was about to die. And in these ways and in so many other ways in our world today, he continues to be put to death and to die. And it appears that it is indeed Satan's hour, the time for the power of darkness to reign.

But even in the darkest hour, we must not give in or give up. Through the journey inward we discover the foundation and promise for something better. Faith demands that we act, that we give of ourselves in the confidence that a more just world is possible - a hope that is  beautifully expressed in the Canticle of the Turning. Its chorus goes like this:

“My heart shall sing of the day you bring,

Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all tears for the dawn draws near,

and the world is about to turn!”

IMAGINE!

Paul David Hewson, better known as Bono, the lead singer of the rock band U2, is quoted as saying that “faith in Jesus Christ that is not aligned with social justice . . . is nothing.”¹ While this is not what we hear in most Christian communities today, I think Bono got it right. This is in fact a central theme not only in Jesus' life but in much of the prophetic tradition of Judaism as well.²

In the fourth chapter of Luke's Gospel (vss.14-22) we see Jesus announcing what today might be called the purpose or mission statement for his life and ministry. Among his own friends and family, in his hometown synagogue, he draws upon his Jewish tradition in the words of the great prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

What follows in this passage makes it clear that, for Luke, these words are fulfilled in Jesus. This is the meaning and focus of the ministry he formally announces to his compatriots that day.

And, if we hear these words within the rich context of their Jewish setting, we understand that what is being said here is that wrong will be made right. The focus is on those who struggle, the stereotyped and disregarded, the ones residing at the margins of society. It is a message of hope for people living in poverty, a declaration of physical healing (which also meant social and communal restoration) for those crippled (and ostracized) because of sickness, and a promise of liberation for all imprisoned by chains of unfairness and injustice.

The Jesus of Matthew's Gospel (chpt. 25, vss. 31 - 46) announces a similar commitment, identifying that the focus of his ministry (and thus also the mission priority for those who would be his followers) are the hungry and thirsty, strangers and immigrants, those so poor that they cannot afford to clothe themselves, the ill, and people who are in prison.

This is a message about caring, but what Jesus announces and calls humanity to here is much more. At the core, his message is about total transformation. Good news for the poor means an end to the insecurity and lack that is poverty. In Jesus' day, sickness was often interpreted as a sign of sin and so resulted in social stigma, in those ill becoming outcasts. Thus, what Jesus announces is not only physical caring and healing, but a social and spiritual healing that includes family reunification and people regaining a place of acceptance and participation once again in the life of the community. In the final phrase from Isaiah, his message calls for a world in which there is no discrimination, unfairness, abuse, a world emptied of all forms of injustice and oppression.

Evangelical missionary and biblical scholar, Thomas Hanks, offers an excellent study on the biblical theme of oppression.³ Within this perspective, poverty is not due to individual inability or laziness (as we so often hear). Rather it is a consequence of the economic and power structures operative within society. “According to biblical theology,” he writes, “the main cause of poverty is oppression.”⁴

I heard a story on the news recently about a new industrial park being built in Haiti, using government and private aid dollars donated after the 2010 earthquake.⁵ It announced the hope of jobs and an improved economy for the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. My initial reaction was that this was good news for the people of Haiti, an exemplary use of tax dollars and donations from caring people around the world. But then the story continued. The typical salary paid workers is between $5 and $7 a day! “Not enough to live on,” according to one worker interviewed. After transportation costs and meals, most people's daily take-home is between $1 and $2! Haiti's own government spokesman admits this will not be sufficient to pull people out of poverty. “But it's better than no job at all,” he offers.  

And who benefits from this investment in infrastructure – my tax dollars, your tax dollars and donations? The multi-national corporations and companies who employ these workers! And, in fact, I do too – when those starvation wages make it possible for me to buy products at a much lower cost. One of the companies at the park makes t-shirts that will be sold for $7 at Walmart stores in the U.S. To buy one of these t-shirts him or herself, a Haitian worker would have to spend most of one week's take-home pay! Imagine – for a t-shirt!! The cause of poverty is oppression!  Get it?

This story is just an example, because it is repeated in a million ways and places. In the United States we know that the number of people living in poverty here is on the rise. And poverty is no stranger in other places either. According to a recent report,⁶ “80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day!” “The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income!” “22,000 children die each day due to poverty!” The statistics go on, and on.

And in facing this world, what do we do? What are we called to do? If we would be followers of Jesus – and I would broaden this to say -- if we are to be people of faith, who believe in the value of each human being and in a loving higher power, then we must be scandalized by the reality we face. We must be challenged to imagine and to give ourselves to creating a different kind of world. We are called to dedicate our efforts and strength to living justice, to building a world in which there is no discrimination, unfairness, abuse, a world emptied of all forms of injustice. Imagine!!

1 Quoted in the excellent online article “Bono as Person of Faith” at http://www.david-kilgour.com/mp/Bono%20as%20Person%20of%20Faith.htm#_edn55

2 Modern biblical scholarship argues that Jesus should be understood within the prophetic tradition. See Donald J. Georgen, O.P., The Mission and Ministry of Jesus. A Theology of Jesus Series, Vol 1. (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1986), pp. 146 – 176. Also Marcus J. Borg, Jesus A New Vision: Spirit, Culture and The Life of Discipleship. (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1987), pp. 150 – 171.

3 Thomas D. Hanks, God so Loved the Third World. (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1983).

4 Ibid. p. 59. Emphasis added.

5 http://www.northernpublicradio.org/post/will-made-haiti-factories-improve-life-haiti 2013-02-15

6 http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats#src1 (last updated January 7, 2013)