UNIT 2: Biblical Foundations of Christian Education for Social Change
Implications of the Gospel of the kingdom of God for Social Transformation.
Different understandings and interpretations
There are different understanding and interpretations of the kingdom of God among the Christian theologians. Some of the theologians, like Adolf von Harnack understood kingdom of God as the human spirit and its relationship to God. C. H. Dodd said that it is the absolute, the “wholly other” it’s enters in to the world through Jesus Christ. Albert Schweitzer says that message of Jesus is pointing toward future and supernatural.
Another type of interpretation of the kingdom of God, since the time of Augustine, is the church. As the church grows, the kingdom grows and is extended in the world. It is believed that, the mission of the church is to win the entire world to Christ and thus transform the world into the kingdom of God. The kingdom is to established by the church’s proclamation of the gospel. The gospel must not only offer a personal salvation but it must also transform all of the relationships of life here and now. They say that kingdom of God is primarily concerned with the social problems of the present. We can build the kingdom of God by working for the ideal social order and for the solving of the problems of poverty, sickness, labour relation, social inequality such as caste, class, gender, etc.
Kingdom of God for the social transformation.
The idea of kingdom of God found in both Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament understanding of kingdom of God is, God’s everlasting and complete dominion over all creation (Exod. 15:18; Ps. 145:13); heaven (Ps.11:4), earth (Ps. 47:3), and all people (Jer. 10:7-10). That dominion will be dominion of love, justice and peace, completion and wholeness, unity and happiness, fullness and plenty, joy and victory, and end to human suffering. As prophet Isaiah said in chapter 25:6-8, “on this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filed with marrow…… he will swallow up death forever. Then the lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the lord has spoken”. According to Pannenberg “The kingdom of God, according to the Old Testament, is expected in the form of establishing law and justice in the society.” Justice for the oppressed, food to the hungry, liberation of the captive, sight to the blind (care for the sick), care for the orphan and widow, clothing the necked one etc.
The kingdom of God as “the central theme” of Jesus’ public proclamation.
His teachings show that how people might enter the kingdom of God (Matt 5:20, 7:21), his mighty works show that the kingdom of God come upon them (Matt 12: 28), he taught his disciple to pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” When the Old Testament prophet talks about
the messiah, the Jews thought of a worldly ruler who will deliver them from the foreign ruler. However, the kingdom of God that Jesus described was not the kingdom that the Jews were expecting. Instead of the powerful, militaristic kingdom that the Jews thought their God would give them, the gospel of Jesus Christ described a kingdom of love, meekness, and peace.
Some of the reflection from Jesus’ vision of kingdom of God
Importance of the little one
Jesus has given importance to the children. In the adult dominion world, many a times children are neglected. But Jesus affirms that children are the inheritor of kingdom of God.
Compassion for the suffering and neglected one
Jesus addressed the problems of the suffering and neglected people. This is illustrated in Jesus’ compassionate response to the women who was suffering from haemorrhage for twelve years and his healing the blind Bartimae’us on the Jericho road. Jesus respected the self-worth of the people and makes time to talk to them.
Love, the greatest Law
the Jews leaders such as Sadducees and Pharisees, took advantage of Mosaic Law and started corruption in the name of temple collection offering and so on. They themselves interpreted the law for their benefits. There was argument between Jesus and Pharisees regarding Sabbath, as Jesus broke many times the law of Sabbath, in the conclusion Jesus emphasise that Love is more important than human law.
Forgiveness
in Judaism, for the forgiveness of sin, one has to sacrifice the sin offering. But the rituals made by Pharisees was very hard to fulfil for the ordinary people. That is one of the reasons why Jesus called the temple as the den of robbers. Jesus introduces God as forgiving father. He taught through the parable of the forgiving father waiting for the lost son, he taught his disciple to pray and ask for forgiveness, he himself prayed on the cross and ask God to forgive the people who don’t know what they are doing.
The social implication of the teaching ministry of Jesus and the Apostolic Church.
Old Testament background
The teaching ministry (religious education) in the Old Testament begins with God as the Teacher. The God who is a Teacher Himself commands Moses to teach the Israelites His laws, statutes and commands. Moses not only teaches those laws, but he in turn, commands Israelites to teach their children about God (Deuteronomy 6: 1-9). Along with God and Moses, the Old Testament further portrays Jewish parents, priests, prophets, sages (Wiseman) and Scribes (Rabbis) as teachers within the Jewish context of relationship with God.
Teaching ministry of Jesus
Teaching was also one of the most important ministries of Jesus Christ. He always spent time for teaching to disciples and followers. He used various methods and ways like metaphors, stories, parables etc. His teachings are very relevant and effective not only in the context of Jesus but our present days. There are some of the characteristics of Jesus’ teachings and its social implication.
Characteristics of Jesus’ Teachings
Racial Unity
Luke 10: 25-37 In the parable of “The Good Samaritan” Jesus presents the Samaritan as the symbol of genuine human concern and compassion. That Samaritan had gone to the rescue of the wounded and exploited Jew setting aside all man-made restrictions, in a society where racial discrimination was the order of the day. John 4: 7-30 Jesus stand against untouchability is conveyed through this narrative, where Jesus not only communicates respect, but also solicits the hospitality of the Samaritan woman. It is remarkable that Jesus takes the intuitive being a Jew to break the so-called sacred traditions established by the self-righteous scribes and chief priests.
Empowerment of Women
Mt 26: 6-13 Jesus gives public recognition to the woman who had offered her devotion and love to him, irrespective of the formalities and protocol upheld in a male dominated society during his days. This is recorded in Mark, Luke, and John Gospels too. (Mk: 14:3-9; Lk 7: 36-38; Jn: 12: 1-8). John 4: 7-30 While the Apostles of Christ went to different parts of the world to preach the gospel and proclaimed ‘Jesus as the expected Messiah,’ the woman of Samaria went to her own village, where everybody knew her past sinful life. She dared to declare ‘come, see a man, who told me all that I ever did. Can this be Christ? (Jn :4-29). Here the passage brings to light that the woman of Samaria was the first missionary to the Samaritans, presenting her as a proof for the transforming power of Christ. John 20:1-18, Mary Magdalene out of whom Jesus had cast out seven demons (Lk: 24:1-9). Further, Jesus had commissioned her at the first Apostle of his resurrection and directed her to declare that good news to his Disciples (Jn: 20:17) Through Marry Magdalene announcement that need for evangelism within the Church is brought to focus.
Master Servant Relationship
Jesus preached and also practised the values of the kingdom of God. He introduced a culture contradictory to that of the dominant society. It was evident in the way he related with his disciples. A disciple was expected to attend to the needs of his master, but during the Passover meal in the upper room Jesus knelt and washed the feet of his disciples (Jn 12:2-15). This universal of roles was an important feature of Jesus’s counter culture.
Periphery to the Centre
During the time of Jesus attributed any physical aliment or untimely death to one’s sin or the sins of his/her ancestors (Lk 13:2-5; Jn 9:2). The sick especially those afflicted with leprosy were treated as unclean and out castes. But Jesus’ s approach was one of compassion and love that reaches out to those who were forced to lead sub-human lives. This is exemplified by Jesus’ healing the leper and his instruction to the leper to, ‘Go show yourself to the priest, offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to the people’ (Mk 1:44b). Thereby, Jesus paved way for the one who was pushed to the periphery to come to the centre and affirm him/herself. (Mt 8: 2-4; Mk: 1:40-45; Lk 5:12-14).
New ethics-Enrichment through Emptying
Mk: 10: 17-22. Jesus lived in an agrarian society where rich landlords and farmers formed the elite and looked down upon the poor and needy. In such context Jesus solution to establish economic equality was to appeal to the rich to share their resources with the poor. This is implied in his conversation with the rich young man, who came seeking ‘eternal life’( Mk10:17). Here Jesus impressed upon him that the eternal life begins here
and now, not with the abundance of earthly possessions, but in emptying one’s self for the enrichment of the ‘have nots’ (Mk.10:21).
Social implication of the teaching ministry of Jesus
Jesus and Social Ethics
Social ethics is concerned with the responsibility of a group in relation to its own internal structure and life, or in relation to another group, or in relation to an individual. However, in the literature concerning Jesus’ ethical teaching, the focus is often on the social responsibility of the individual Christian and the Christian group. In general, Jesus calls his followers to live a life in union with God and neighbour. Many scholars termed Jesus’ ethical teaching in different way relating with love with one another. The three Synoptic account mention the two-fold commandment of love of God and neighbour as the core of ethical teaching of Jesus (Mk 12:28-34, Matt 22: 34-40, Lk 10: 25-37).
The Kingdom of God
The kingdom of God is meant for all mankind, and all people are called to become members of it without any discrimination. The kingdom of God is the concern of everyone, the kingdom God that Jesus proclaimed is not purely otherworldly reality to be realizes only in the future, but something that has effectively enter into human history, transforming the whole human existence. It does not consider merely in the salvation of soul but in total liberation of the human person from all kinds of slavery, oppression, affliction and sins. We see the kingdom concept in Matt.12:28, Matt.22:34; Lk.10:25-28.
Jesus concerned for the just society
The socio political and economic scenario of Jesus in which he lived was a time where Palestine was ruled by two powers: the foreign colonial Roman power, and the local Herodian dynasty under the Roman rule. They were both illegitimate and vied with each other in collecting taxes from the people, and impoverishing them. The people were oppressed and there was no justice for the lower-class people. Their social inequalities could be attributed to their economic poverty caused by the unjust governments. The religious milieu of Palestine at the time of Jesus was intolerant of the poor. The priestly class who had the monopoly over the great temple of Jerusalem and all the temple activities gained richness through the big income from the temple, and enjoyed several social and political privileges.
In such an unjust situation, Jesus showed a very favourable attitude towards the poor and the underprivileged. In his vision, a just society can be achieved only by a clear option for the poor. In the manifesto about his mission, he makes this point very clear. Attributing the words of Prophet Isaiah to himself (Isaiah 60:1-2), he asserts, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring the 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 4:18-19). Jesus mingled freely with all those who were in the bottom ring of the social ladder, and gave them confidence and courage. He befriended sinners, tax collectors and those afflicted by diseases. He accepted sinners like Zachaeus (Luke 19:1-10), and
the women caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), and gave them a new life. He empowered the despised and the marginalised as in the case of the Samaritan woman (John 4:7-38). He took sides with the poor even to the extent of defying certain age-old Jewish traditions, which were only maintaining the status quo in the Palestinian society.
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