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Society, as in the Hebrew Scriptures Being Virtual (even when not on the Net) |
GOD GIVES UNITED PURPOSE
The Old Testament records of the eras of the Judges and the Kings show something about the Spirit's operation within a society : the Spirit can create renewed unity and resolve. Judges 3:7-11 provides a great example of this. The Spirit's also busy in Judges 6:33-35, Judges 11 and 1 Samuel 11:6-7. In other examples, the Spirit is not directly mentioned, but there is a pattern which infers how God is in action in the nation. The framework of the story is repeated time and again in the Biblical Histories and Prophets:
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The people were scared. They felt powerless. By normal earthly standards, they were hopeless. Though there's no way to tell exactly how the change came about, it probably started as each Israelite household had to face some part of the oppression for itself, and found out just how useless idols and politics were in the face of such evil. As a people, they turned to the One who had rescued them in the past. They may or may not have had any idea that other households in Israelite society were making the same grim discovery and making the same turn. God was moved by this change of heart, and took action to end the suffering. God chose someone to lead them, giving that person the special gifts needed to accomplish the task. The leader's key and unique gift was for galvanizing the people into a people again, once again eager to act together as a unified public with a common identity and purpose.
Not that the leader was such a paragon of courage and devotion. Just because someone has a special gift of the Spirit for leadership doesn't make the person instantly bold, decisive, devout, or wise. The track record of the judges and the kings shows this in great detail. They were very human beings, open to sin and greed and lust and power cravings, fear and confusion and doubt. The miracle of new unity and purpose in a people wasn't the doing of those leaders. It was the work of the Spirit on a people, in part through a leader. In a sense, without the Spirit's work, they cease to be 'a people', they were becoming just persons losing themselves into other 'peoples'.
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"We cannot answer the world's problems by adopting
toward them an attitude either of surrender or escape. We
can answer the world's problems only by changing these
problems, by understanding them in a different
perspective. What is required is a return on our part to
that source of energy, in the deepest sense of the
word.... What the Church brought into the world was not
certain ideas applicable simply to human needs but first
of all the truth, the righteousness, the joy of the
Kingdom of God." |
This says something about Christ's followers as a 'society' of sorts, citizens of the Kingdom. But it also says something about the broader picture. When a nation turns to the true God and away from the stew they cooked up for themselves, God responds. I'm not talking about official adoption of a particular religion or cultic practice - that would miss the point. I am talking about something in the people themselves, in what they do and what they are. Look at us today. Instead of seeing ourselves as a people, we see ourselves in all our sub-groups. We even divide our 'individual' time, our thoughts and our loyalties (such as they are) into parts which don't really tie together -- a 'me' for work, a 'me' for church, other 'me's for my school or tennis club or gang or fraternity, and on and on. Each is increasingly its own little world, warring in some way with the other mes. The 'me's do not make for a society that holds together. We look for public concepts to tie it together, friend or foe : the Red Menace, the Crown, the Constitution, the Battle For the Bible, the Great Satan, the Official Church, the Illuminati, Hegemonism, Nationalism, Separatism, Human Rights, Capitalism, the Great Society, Democracy, Pluralism, Anarchism, Freedom. As all-emcompassing great public causes or as reasons to unite against enemies, these concepts fail more with every passing year. God didn't make a world which has one earthly center of power, affection, or attention, or one binding institution. Instead, God made countless such centers. God made a world where we are free not to be God's, or anyone else's. Those that are God's would have to live in the same world and neighborhood with those that choose not to be God's. Public identity, community, and sense of purpose are works of the Spirit, from outside of human living. Yet the Spirit chooses to work through human beings, and in part through particular human beings, through the politics and policies they bring about. |
When I look at all the conflicts in this world, open and sub-surface, I think of Christ. Christ had a way of turning the tables on the world -- and I don't just mean at the Temple. Christ stressed love, honesty, justice, diligence, active caring for others, and reconciliation. Christ made it clear that the relationship with one's neighbors was the key sign of the health of one's relationship with God (see especially Matthew 5:21-24). Our societies need Christ's kind of reconciliation more than ever. Paul was even able to speak of believers having a ministry of reconciliation. He set his ministry into the context of what Christ did in bringing us back together with God; thus, reaching people with the gospel message is the key aspect of this ministry of reconciliation. Yet, the other part of a reconciliation ministry is that Christ wants us all to live in solidarity with God and each other. The "each other" part moves reconciliation out of just the private sphere into the public, cultural, and societal arenas. A vision of public reconciliation may be the most important gift Christ's followers can give to the world and the political systems right now.
If that sounds complex, it is. But it is the message which the Judges and the Kings have for us. All social unity that's worthy of being called 'unity', whether for a whole society or within any groups in a society, is a gift from God which, like all gifts, is to be used to build each other up. Pray for it to come to your society.
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"A man can no more possess
a private religion than he can possess a private sun and
moon." |
In my Christian walk, I come across many groups who've done remarkable things for Christ and neighbor, and go several steps beyond the usual 'charitable' vision of how to do it. Each, in a different way, calls on the whole society to do what it can both as persons and as a public. Here are some I support with time and/or money as well as links :
You may have heard of these, on TV or in church or in UN or NGO (non-governmental organization) circles. A few of you may already be giving to these groups. But these are active organizations that were born out of the desire to give not just a handout but a hand, and they're out there doing it. Well, they need the same from you -- a hand more than a handout. They need you to be part of their network, a community of sorts. Try it.
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