Transitions of Power
“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
-John 14:11-14 NRSV
Bear with me. I’m about to use a political metaphor in the spectrum of religion/spirituality and try not to offend anyone.
Wish me luck.
Although…the complicated mixture of religion and politics is poignant to where I hope to end up so it might be worth exploring why clergy have been two-stepping around (or causing) political landmines since 313 CE when Emperor Constantine gave political viability to a previously ostracized, outlawed religious movement deemed to be insurrectionists (aka Christians). After all, you can’t go around calling someone else your Lord, King, Master, and Savior when that has been the title for Caesar since Augustus. The relationship becomes even more intertwined – and therefore more complicated – in 380 CE when Emperor Theodosius I makes Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire…which oddly enough doesn’t define the Roman Empire as Christian as much as it defines Christianity as Roman.
That’s the difficulty faced when we mix religion and politics; unless we practice an adulterated, nationalistic version of a religion. When dealing in politics, we are dealing in the rules and governance of a specific group of people within a specific land mass. Even when that specified group is engaged in international politics, the interest is typically the benefit of the original specified group and their land mass/culture/prosperity/security.
Revelation 11:15 refers to this as “The Kingdom of this World.”
The juxtaposition in Revelation 11:15 is “The Kingdom of our Lord.” Jesus often refers to this concept as “The Kingdom of Heaven,” and he has a lot to say about the differences between “this world” and “His world.”
Because, when we deal in religion/spirituality, we might be speaking about the functional group of people that practice a specified set of beliefs, but in most cases religious beliefs are not meant to be limited to a set of people in as specific land mass. The belief most often held is that the divine revelation extends to all the world – exemplified in passages such as Psalm 22:27-28:
“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD;
and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.”
(In the case of Psalm 22, God’s dominion in later verses even extends all the way to those “who sleep in the earth.”)
I think the intertwining of religion and politics becomes so confusing and convoluted because religion and politics aren’t having the same conversation. One is asking, “What is best for us?” while the other is asking, “What is best for everyone?”
Take, for example, “the transition of power.”
Just two days ago, we experienced the 60th Presidential inauguration and the 38th transition of power between American Presidents. We pride ourselves on a “peaceful transition of power” that is elected and decided by the citizenry of the country. It really is a remarkable and admirable characteristic of our country, but within the peaceful transition is an undertone of “winners and losers.” As the ABC News anchor said, “President Trump, his cabinet, and his party have now taken power, while President Biden and his party must watch to see what legacy is left.” I’m quite positive something similar was said at the last 38 transitions.
Power isn’t shared in the Kingdom of this World. It’s taken.
I’m daring to bring this up, because the unplanned concurrence of the inauguration, preaching through John 14, and our upcoming week centering on the value of “Generosity” is just too good to pass up and not ponder upon. If you remember the context of John 14, Jesus is explaining to his disciples that he will give his life for ours and will no longer be with them. However, they shouldn’t worry because He is sending the Holy Spirit to them and promises to give them whatever they need for the ministry to continue. Jesus even tells them that he expects them to do greater things than even him.
In a nutshell, Jesus is transitioning power…by giving it all away.
That’s a very different transfer of power. In the Kingdom of Heaven the transfer of power looks like giving power away, whereas any Kingdom of this World on Earth throughout all of history has looked like taking power for ourselves and those like us. I remember Andy Stanley giving a sermon and telling us, “If you’re following Jesus…and you walk into a room…and you realize that you are the most powerful person in that room, and everyone will do anything and everything that you say…then you need to start making some other people very important, very fast, or else you’ll miss everything that Jesus was about.”
Jesus is the rare world leader that measures success by how much he can give away. That’s why our fourth core value that we’ll explore on Sunday is “Generosity.” God is, by nature of love, generous. God is giving. God is sharing. God is all powerful…and yet, through Jesus, we are shown that God prefers to make others more powerful rather than jealously guarding power.
It would be easy to only juxtapose these two very different understandings of power dynamics on the national and international political levels, but that would grossly go against the whole point of The Kingdom of Heaven’s power-sharing ideals. Scripture says that we are given power. Not just the President. And so we must ask: “If we are given power, what will we do with it?”
If we are the popular kid, will we point out the likability of those who are ignored and undervalued?
If we are responsible for employees, will we make sure they are paid enough to live comfortably by forsaking additional luxuries for ourselves?
If we are in the orbit of children, will we help them to know their worth and mentor them with life skills and love?
If we see someone with a physical disability struggling to navigate an able-bodied world, do we help them that one time or do we make the world more accessible – even if it costs a little extra?
Regardless of our political party or beliefs about the role of government, we must wrestle with how those beliefs exist within and are influenced by the Kingdom of Heaven – which is a kingdom of generosity. Jesus wants as many people in heaven as possible. He talks about inviting people in off the streets. He makes more wine. He heals the lame and sick. He welcomes women and children. He tells us to give financially without prejudice to anyone in need. He freely gives his life for ours.
I hope you’ll join us Sunday for worship as we explore more of this important piece/peace of Jesus, and how being generous isn’t just about peace for your neighbor but for you as well.
Peace,
David Lessner
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