Thoughts on how Christianity changes the world
Jesus, Politics, and 24-Hour News: I was talking to David, our Teaching Pastor, this week about this special series, a subject that can be sometimes polarizing and argumentative. Any time pastors preach on this kind of topic, there can be some fear and trepidation. We can be misunderstood or disagreed with, especially when politics is such a volatile subject. But the conversation had a comforting tone because a preacher’s goal is to preach “what the Bible says,” to offer the “teachings of Jesus!” In other words, my opinion, and I always have one, takes a back seat to the teachings of Jesus. So, I learn from what the Lord says, just as those who might listen to me do. Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and your neighbor as yourself.” He told us to make disciples of all the world, teaching all He taught. He told us to be salt and light in the world. This is the task of the Church. The question is, “How?” And even more, how to engage this world — the political and the not political — and be faithful to Jesus.
The message of Jesus attracted the common person — Jew, Greek, Roman, religious and nonreligious. They all were attracted to Him and His message. They came to him by the thousands. It was those in power — Jew, Greek, Roman, religious and nonreligious — who typically opposed His message and eventually Him. It was King Herod who refused to intervene, the powerful High Priest Caiaphas who orchestrated his trial and charges. It was the Roman governor who washed his hands and passed the sentence of crucifixion. It was a Roman centurion who oversaw the driving of the nails. Yet, these are simply names in ancient history. King Herod died an awful death, and someone else took over his throne. Pontius Pilate soon returned to Rome in disgrace, and the authority of the high priests ended in just a few years when both Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed by Titus and his Roman legions after a Jewish rebellion. Most people know little about any of them, and if they know anything, it’s because of their connection with Jesus — Jesus who changed and is still changing the world, Jesus who changed thousands of lives and eventually billions, Jesus whose opinion we seek today while relegating the opinions of kings and Roman governors to ancient history.
As we think about 24-hour news and politics this season, just how does Christianity change the world?
Category: Weekly Thoughts
