JESUS - SUBVERSIVE OR
CHAPLAIN TO A RELIGIOUS CLUB?
The Rev. Dr. Harold Shepherd, CD
Sermon from May 12, 2003
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go
free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favour.” Luke 4:18
Over the years, scholars have attempted to understand the
nature of Jesus’ ministry. Often the interpretation
tells us more about the prevailing views of the society in
which the scholar lived than of Jesus himself. Nineteenth
century European “cultural Protestantism”
interpreted Jesus in terms of neo-Kantian ethics, turning
Jesus into a prophet who came to proclaim that God is our
parent and that we are all brothers and sisters. The
Kingdom of God was defined in terms of how we treat each
other within a Christian society. Conservatives rejected
this view and attempted to draw the Church into the safe
bulwarks of personal piety. Because Jesus came to safe MY
soul, what really matters is the degree to which liturgy,
the study of Scripture, prayer and other devotional
practices bring me closer to God. Emphasis was put on the
assurance of personal salvation. Because the worldly order
would pass away, little importance was placed on
transformation of social institutions. The twentieth
century witnessed the same phenomenon. When existentialism
became popular through the writings of such philosphers as
the Heiddeger, Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, New
Testament theology jumped on the band wagon and presented
Jesus in terms of one whose mission was to challenge us to
seize the moment and to become truly alive through choosing
to build up rather than destroy- to become a truly
“authentic” human being who has found his or
her place in the world and has invested him or herself in
making that life-affirming contribution. This notion of
self-actualization is not only found in the writings of
such New Testament scholars as Rudolph Bultmann and his
disciple, Hans Conzelman, but also in the work of such
noted psychologists as Abraham Maslow and Karl Jung. To
conservatives, twentieth century existentialism is really
only a reborn version of the liberalism of nineteenth
century cultural Protestantism which is based on social
ethics. To social activists, it did not go far enough. One
significant theological perspective emerged in Latin
America in the 1970's known as Liberation Theology. In
order to determine the point of entry for theological
reflection and intervention, liberation theologians began
by using a Marxist social analysis to attempt to understand
the nature of structural forces at work in society which
marginalise and exploit the weak and vulnerable elements in
society in order to secure the self-interest of the ruling
elites. Questions asked include: How is wealth generated?
Who controls the means by which wealth is created? To what
extent is there equitable distribution of wealth among all
of the stake-holders? Who gets left out and why? What
measures can be taken to ensure fair treatment for all?
Although a Marxist analysis was chosen for Latin America,
liberation theologians assert that this is only an
analytical tool, not an ideology. In first-world contexts,
other approaches drawn from the social sciences may be more
appropriate and helpful. The important thing is to be able
to name the powers at work in society and devise effective
strategies to root out “structural sin” that
crushes, oppresses and marginalises. Liberation Theology
has drawn sharp criticism from conservative circles within
the Church, principally on the grounds that it confuses
spirituality and personal piety with social ethics.
In light of these debates that have raged over the past 150
years, today’s reading from Luke’s Gospel is
instructive. Jesus did not come to make the religious
leadership of his day feel good in their own piety. On the
contrary, he came to turn their world upside down. He came
to challenge their fundamental perception about God’s
work in the world. The Holy Spirit anointed Jesus to bring
good news to the “poor”- that is to say, to the
peasant class of the society of his day. He came to
proclaim release to the captives, the recovery of sight to
the blind and to let the oppressed go free. In short, he
came transform power structures to permit those on the
margins of society to be incorporated into the social main
stream. He challenged the vested self-interest and selfish
pietism that puts personal salvation above the welfare of
others. But, did Jesus reject the interior dimension of
religion? By no means. By seizing the moment and becoming
fully and authentically human by engaging the
principalities and powers of this world in spiritual
warfare, we become agents of God’s Kingdom in the
world and become drawn into the mission of Jesus himself.
When we lose ourselves for the sake of Jesus and the
Kingdom, we find new life. On the other hand, those who try
to cling selfishly to their own life and self-interest will
lose it. It is in giving that we receive and in dying to
self for others that we inherit eternal life. God calls us
to be anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit and to be
transformed into the image of Christ. He calls us to have a
rich inner life rooted in Christ and fervent in prayer.
However, if our spirituality is not directed outward to the
transformation of the world around us into the image of
Christ- if we are only concerned with our own piety and
personal salvation, then we have completely missed the
point of Jesus’ teaching and what Christianity is all
about. As Paul exhorted us: “Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-
what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans
12:2). Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ!