God Politics

Not too long ago, Jim Wallis put out an interesting book on the intersection between God and politics. Though sometimes uncomfortable, as Dan Ulrich would put it, this is an important intersection point of tension between "faith" and "government" (church v. state). But in Ulrich's portrayal, the "v" is turned upside down, crafting a tent... that is held up by the points of tension between the different points of the tent. Take one away and the whole thing collapses.

The answer to the point of tension is not really an answer of right or wrong answers but a heart that seeks to listen and learn in an open conversation: what does God have to say to us about these differing viewpoints?

A Nation of Humility
Deuteronomy 17:8-18:22

"He should not think he is better than his fellow Israelites, and he must not stop obeying the law in any way so that he and his descendants may rule the kingdom for a long time." (Deuteronomy 17:20)

Interesting to think that this is what is written about 'choosing a king.' Humility is not often a characteristic people look for in their leaders. But if a leader doesn't embody humility to a certain extent, she is not ready to listen to advising, to change the course of action when things go awry, to carefully study situations and make the best possible decision with all the sources given. The opposite of humility is arrogance which, when linked with ignorance, can lead to ruin... perhaps even the ruin of a nation. So at this uncertain time, when we are praying for our leaders and our nation, we pray for a spirit of humility in those leaders and our nation as a whole. What can those leaders learn from this situation, from past mistakes, from options that other countries in similar situations have taken? What can our nation learn from this precarious position and possible changes that we might model after other brothers and sisters in this world?

A Nation of Peace
Proverbs 12:20-22

"Those who plan evil are full of lies, but those who plan peace are happy." (Proverbs 12:20)

What a loaded piece of scripture. It reminds me of those unfortunate and elusive "weapons of mass destruction." This weekend we are praying for peace... and tonight we heard Dan Ulrich's talk on peace in Romans. There was so much in that talk that I think I'll have to write a whole separate journal on that, but what struck me was the interesting points of tension between the 'not yet' and the 'already' in so much of what Paul writes. This extends even to the point of where a single phonemically similar sentence may be interpreted in the indicative: There is peace or in the subjunctive: Let there be peace. It is in this contradiction of terms or tension, as the speaker named it, that we must pray for continued and for a new peace for our souls, for this nation, for the world.

A Nation of Grace
Luke 4:1-30

"All the people spoke well of Jesus and were amazed at the words of grace he spoke. They asked, 'Isn't this Joseph's son?'" (Luke 4:22)

Jesus' words were different- words of grace and not of condemnation... and he spoke them with authority. Interestingly enough, this chapter of Luke points out several times that many people were impressed with what Jesus had to say. But just as people begun to express interest in this leader and his words, they began to question him. Where did he come from? What gives him the authority? What type of experience does he have? What's on his CV? Where was he born? Lord, let our nation be a nation that preaches Your grace and that follows Your ways, so that the directions we take individually and collectively may be by Your authority alone.