Guest Blogger: Daniel Farrell
Coming off learning about different parts(Economic, Security, Terror and PR) of Jesus’ platform the authors move a little more into the thick of “what does that mean for us” type of stuff. How are those onboard supposed to live? Wanting to be very careful that we can’t get off on the easy side of “that means I’m supposed to give money to the church and then wait for heaven” they dive right into citizenship and allegiance. This kingdom of god/heaven is like a normal kingdom in that there are citizens and it does require allegiance to operate. Can you imagine a state/kingdom without any citizens? Would it really still exist? I feel like it might just disappear. How about a state/kingdom that no one had any allegiance to? What would that look like? Unfortunately for most of my life that is all I have seen the church be a part of. It was a part of a kingdom where everyone considered themselves to be citizens of someplace else first. It was a part of a kingdom where very few would pledge any allegiance to, especially not like they pledge allegiance to their country. What would it look like for us if we had more concern about being citizens of Jesus’ kingdom than of the US? What would it look like if our allegiance was to Jesus’ kingdom of love first?
Moving on from allegiance they talk about yokes and burdens. Yokes and burdens being the weight that is placed on all of our backs. Think “this is my burden to bear.” I’ve heard it said that we are all slaves but if we are lucky we get to choose what we are slaves to. That is the basic idea here, that being a slave/servant to Jesus is a whole lot better than being a slave to empires, kings, corporations, middle managers, sweatshop bosses, brands, consumerism, tv, video games, etc, etc. Do you feel like you have a burden to bear in life because of the culture we are in? Is that as simple as “live the american dream?” I feel like that idea is a burden to me that I fight against.
One thing I think the authors do very well in the book so far is to always connect things to a global perspective. Because our times are not unlike Jesus’ time, but our position in the story is very different then the Israelites position. We are like those living large in Rome, or if not living large then getting by and getting to enjoy some of the hand me down “large life” things of being on “the winning side.” The Israelites were much more like Iraqis, or poor South American farmers or those working in the sweatshops in east Asia. They were like those that get the raw end of the empire of global capitalism. Until we can read the story with some of that understanding we will always be looking to spiritualize or marginalize any part of it that could challenge our privileged lifestyles. Are the parts where they try to connect with a global context helpful to you?
Daniel Farrell is a follower of Jesus, a husband to Alicia and owner/operator of Farrell IT. He lives, works and plays in Richmond, VA. You can follow along the Pilgrimage that Daniel finds himself on here.
Filed under: Jesus, Jesus For President, Richmond, Shane Claiborne, books, economy, empire
It is a constant battle to allow my “privileged life” to be challenged.
I have been reading a great book that Matthew Freeman lent me call Reading the Bible with the Damned. It has been a great reminder that the eyes i approach the Bible with are not always the same as those who are found in the margins of society. In it the author shares story after story of how poor and oppressed often find the scriptures to be an oppressive weight rather than a liberating gift.
In his book of prayer (Prayers for a Privileged People), Walter Brueggemann says at the beginning of one of the sections:
“We need to be reminded of the ones who lack voice or whose voice we do not often hear. We think them unlike us, but they are our neighbors – the widows, the orphans, the immigrants, the poor, the laborers, the prisoners, the slaves, the addicts. They are the ones who dwell in places short of mercy, absent of justice, defaulted on the gifts of life. They are noticed acutely by God. Are they noticed by us?”
it’s funny (in the sad, pathetic sort of way) how often i think of myself as the victim or the poor or the whatever… but it’s true that i get to “enjoy the hand me downs of the ‘large life’ things of being on the ‘winning side.’”
it may be true that my perspective is my truth, but my perspective can get pretty effed up. as hard as it is to look at the truly poor, oppressed, addicted, etc., i appreciate the real truth that it reveals to me when i take the time to… and the refocus that sometimes comes with that. it’s pathetic how at other times i effortlessly and willingly walk into the wrong kind of slavery.
First, I ‘d like to thank you for ending your blog with a question each time. Hopefully it will open up a wider dialogue if others reply.
And, I would like to comment –
I think I’d like Brueggemann – recommend a read!
It’s always good when someone tries to connect us with the global context, although without experiencing alternative living, it’s hard to think we could ever “get it”.
The burden to bear is discernment – determining when enough is enough and what sacrifice means, is, and what is our role – and how to live in the tension without allowing our worry over giving everything away become all consuming and a rival god on the other end. (narrow way, of course)
Bunderwood
Kunderwood (friend)- So, how do we live in the kingdom with eyes wide open to appreciate and not fall under the yoke again? Grace for that journey, I guess.
And, maybe when our focus is loving God really…daily and hourly and deeply… the rest gets pale. ??
Even when I say I want Jesus’ side even if it doesn’t appear to be winning, I’ve never had to really be on the oppressed, brutally victimized, outcast margin…
Hoping I would want God enough to be willing. Hoping I don’t have to find out.
Anna-
I always recommend the Prophetic Imagination… it just so happens that it is the same one Haw and Claiborne recommend at the end of Jesus For President.
I also recommend his commentary on Genesis… i think it was the first commentary I have read cover to cover.
I can’t stop… Ichabod Toward Home, is another great read.
Alright – sounds like a good start. I’ll write them down and add them to my must reads!
Thanks!
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