A Fresh Perspective

Why did Jesus teach the way he did? Why did he tell stories and say provocative, even shocking things to give his hearers pause? Remember, Jesus’ culture was an oral culture and most of his hearers would not have been able to read and write. His sayings were designed to be memorable – so they would not be easily forgotten. They were intended to shake things up and knock his hearers off their heels so that they would be open to seeing God and the world and their place in it differently. We all know all too well how we are influenced and shaped by the mores, values, customs, and practices of our culture. We are all to some degree children of our culure. None of us escape the influence and impact of our culture – for good or bad. And our culture has a way of putting us asleep spiritually. Business as usual and common speech will not jar us awake. We need a jolt. Jesus’ words and deeds were designed to be jolting. Jesus zeroed in on common assumptions and practices that he felt ...

Nearly every weekend for six years, church groups have passed out free biscuits and coffee to the homeless at Moore Square in downtown Raleigh , led by an organization called, “Love Wins.” On Saturday, August 24, when the volunteers showed up to pass out the biscuits and coffee, police officers met them on the side walk and threatened to arrest them if they passed out the food. They cited a city ordinance that banned food distribution in the park. Because of that ordinance, the Love Wins volunteers had always set up on the sidewalk along the edge of the park. Soup kitchens do not operate in the county or city on the weekends, and so the Love Wins breakfast is one of the only ways the homeless can have a free, warm breakfast on the weekends. More than 70 people had already lined up for the free breakfast when the police issued the threat. Jerry Jones, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, has noted that some cities are trying to cut off homeless ...

This past weekend, Julie, my daughter, participated in the Special Olympics state softball tournament in Bowling Green , Kentucky . The Frankfort Bombers wanted to win and played to win, but in the end, it was not that big of a deal. They were just happy to be there, to be able to participate, to enjoy one another. They have much to teach us about what it means to be human and to pursue God’s dream for humanity. I read a story about a Special Olympian athlete competing in the one hundred meter race. He very much wanted to win and was ahead of the other runners when a friend slipped and fell. When he saw him fall, he stopped, turned around and picked him up, and they ran across the finish line together. His love for his friend was greater than his desire to win. I wonder how many of us are prepared to give up the prize, to give up our agenda, to relinquish our need to be first, to be on top in order to be in solidarity and in relationship with our sisters and brothers i...

Gospel scholars tell us that Mary’s canticle of praise (the Magnificat) was most likely a song or prayer used in early Jewish Christian worship. It is a song or prayer of longing that envisions a dramatic reversal : “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty” (1:51–53). . The overthrow of the wealthy does not come about through the rising up of the oppressed in revolution, but through the advent of a lowly, humble child, who is born in humility, if not poverty, and who, throughout his ministry, demonstrated what Gospel scholars call a preferential option for the poor. When he defined his ministry in the synagogue at Nazareth , he declared that his mission was to bring good news to the poor and set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18–19). When he said that he had come to declare “the acc...

I had not thought much about the wave of Tea Party members that swept into Congress until the recent debate over the deficit and the debt ceiling. The one thing that became crystal clear is that they share no concern for or feel any obligation to the most vulnerable in our country—the poor and marginalized.   Jesus, of course, defined his mission and ministry with particular focus on the most vulnerable. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . . to bring good news to the poor . . . to let the oppressed go free (Luke 4:18–19).  So my question is: How can one support the Tea Party agenda and be a Christian? I have no way of knowing, but I suspect a great many Christians voted to elect them to office. How is that possible?  My feeling is that many Christians have no real idea what Jesus’ mission and ministry was actually about. Jesus’ focus was on the kingdom of God (God’s new world of peace, equality, and reconciliation) coming into this world (“...