Jesus AND the kingdom of God

The following reflection on the NT Gospel comes from notes from a prayer summit, an article by Wesleyan theologian, Donald Dayton, entitled "Wesleyan Option for the Poor," and meditations on Amos 5:21-24 and the book of James. The question: What is the Gospel?

Some say the Gospel is all about Jesus and personal justification. Wrong! A full biblical Gospel must also include and give equal emphasis to the kingdom of God as justice for the oppressed. Acts 8:12 and 28:23 and 31 tie Jesus and the kingdom of God together as Siamese twins. Acts 1:1-8 tie the Spirit and the kingdom of God together as twins never to be separated. The key verse in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 6:33, NEB) reads, "Seek first God's kingdom and his justice. . . . " Jesus begins his public ministry declaring, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is here." Luke 4:18-19 provides the content or key characteristics of the Kingdom: The Spirit, the poor, the oppressed and Sabbath Year justice. All four components are crucial, but few white theologians have kept all four components together; some highlight the Spirit and the poor but neglect releasing the oppressed and implementing the sweeping and radical principles of the Sabbath Year.

John Wesley and B.T. Roberts, the founder of the Free Methodist Church, highlighted the Spirit, the poor and love, but they were weak on oppression and justice with the one exception of slavery. As a result the second and third generations of Methodists and Free Methodists soon lost the original vision and became largely a middle class church.

The charismatic/Pentecostal churches are strong on worship and the gifts of the Spirit but weak on systems of oppression and kingdom justice. Do they fit into Amos 5:21-24 where God severely critiques worship without justice? Just as faith without works is dead so also worship without justice is dead. I would hazard a guess that nine out of ten white American churches practice worship without justice. A biblical church should give equal time to both worship and justice. Amos 5:26 ties worship without justice and judgment (exile) together. Amos 5:24 (The Message) declares: "I want justice---oceans of it." In America, the ocean is almost dry.

My paraphrase of Luke 4:18-19 would read as follows: "The Spirit has anointed me [and empowered the church] to release the oppressed by implementing Sabbath Year justice; this is truly good news for the poor whom I love dearly."

The church, if it is to practice pure, biblical religion must give high priority to releasing the oppressed poor such as widows and orphans by doing works based on love and justice. This will include charity, but much more than charity. The church must not in any way engage in worldly, worthless religion by favoring and honoring the rich and disrespecting and insulting the poor. How stupid! After all, it is the rich who oppress the poor.

Does your worship lead you to do justice by releasing the oppressed? Does your church devote as much time, energy and resources to doing justice as it does in worship? Does your church heed Pope Francis' exhortation to priest/pastor and people---to leave the security of the sanctuary and enter into the suffering of the streets?

Continuing the theme of Jesus AND the kingdom of God through the book of James. The letter from James to the church focused on ethical behavior, kingdom ethics, works of love and justice. Most white, male, American Bible scholars don't seem to understand fully this deep dimension of James, that James was fleshing out Mt. 6:33 "Seek first God's kingdom and his justice. . . ."

Elsa Tamez, a woman, a Mexican, a Methodist, does grasp the oppression-justice message of James. As she reads her Spanish NT, Tamez encounters justice around 100 times. A reader of the KJV NT never encounters the word justice; a reader of the English NIV NT sees justice only 16 times. Note that injustice is a synonym of oppression.

Tamez already had a deep understanding of oppression before she wrote The Scandalous Message of James: Faith Without Works is Dead, 1992. Based on her OT analysis of oppression, Tamez had previously written Bible of the Oppressed. No white, male, American theologian begins with this advantage. The gender and cultural blindness is so pervasive and so damaging that it appears there must be a conspiracy in our seminaries to avoid analysis of the extensive and important biblical teaching on oppression. In reality, it is a cultural conspiracy which whites can't or won't transcend.

Next, some insights from Elsa Tamez:

"We are dealing with a servant of Jesus Christ concerned with the poor and oppressed people of his time who were undergoing unbearable suffering. . . . "

"There is a community of believers that suffers [Remember that oppression smashes bodies and crushes spirits]. There is a group of rich people who oppress them and drag them before the tribunals. . . .by rich farmers who accumulate wealth at the expense of the workers' salaries. There is a class of merchants who lead a carefree life, with no concern for the poor."

"The oppressed in the Epistle of James are principally the poor. . . . The poor are poor generally because they are oppressed and exploited."

"Another group of oppressed people mentioned in the letter are the widows and orphans (1:27). In the Hebrew Bible these groups continually appear as representative of the oppressed classes. They are poor and oppressed because they have no one to defend them, nor can they defend themselves. They are truly helpless. Everyone takes advantage of them, especially those in power, . . . "

"The word used for oppression in this text is the Greek term thlipsis, commonly translated as 'tribulation,' 'difficulty,' 'affliction,'"
But these are weak English translations; oppression is a better translation.

"A [Greek] manuscript of the seventeenth century reads in 1:27, "Protect them [widows and orphans] from the world," instead of "keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world." The world as it is structured is hostile to the poor, for it keeps them out of the system constructed by the rulers and the powerful for their own benefit. James, then, urges that they be protected from the oppressive world."

"The poor were the ptochos, a Greek term designating those who totally lacked the means of subsistence and lived from alms; they were the beggars. The poor were also the penes, those who at least had a job but owned no property. Both groups were exploited by the rich and powerful, . . . ."

Next, James's summary of the characteristics of the rich:

1. "Unlike the poor, they dress elegantly."
2. "The rich are those who oppress the poor and drag them before the courts."
3. "The rich are anxious to acquire more and scheme to get it."
4. "They accumulate wealth."
5. "They live luxuriously, devoted to their pleasures."
6. "They condemn and kill the just person."

According to James 2, showing partiality or favoritism (rich over poor; also implied, Jew over Gentile, male over female) is wrong, sin evil. Especially so in the church. Instead, the church should preach and practice Gal. 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Or from The Message: "In Christ's family there can be no [social] division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. . . . you are all equal."

God's royal rule of love rules out, prohibits, forbids any type of segregation or disrespect.

James 2:1-4 declares what is wrong, evil, sin in the church. James 2:5-9 show why honoring the rich and dishonoring the poor is not only wrong, evil and sin, but also stupid. According to Douglas Moo:

1. God show no partiality; neither should the church.
2. Partiality insults the poor who are created in the image of God.
3. Partiality on behalf of the rich is stupid because the rich oppress the poor.
4. Partiality violates the law of love which requires love of neighbor, other ethnic groups, even enemies.
5. Partiality violates kingdom principles such as justice.

Remember, worship without justice is dead (Amos 5:21-24); instead give your highest priority to God's kingdom and his justice (Mt. 6:33).