This week, those of us at The Gathering began our discussion of practices our community wants to focus around. As I mentioned earlier, we are taking our lead from John Howard Yoder‘s book Body Politics and the five practices he mentions there-

• Group discernment and reconciliation
• Open Meetings–a community of equals
• Everyone has a gift and can contribute to the kingdom and the community
• Shared meals as a community (Lord’s Supper, communion, the Mass)
• Baptism as entry to a new world

This week we covered the idea of reconciliation and discernment as a group. We took our lead from the book of Matthew, chapter 18, verses 15-20;

“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Several things we discussed were:

That the goal in this process is never punishment, but reconciliation.  First and foremost, we want to settle disputes and correct wrong behavior, not wave a club of authority at sinners (which would be all of us…)

That brings us to our next point, which is that this is not something the ‘leaders’ do to the ‘congregation’, but is a responsibility of all of us Jesus followers.  We are to hold each other accountable.

That even in the worst case scenario (let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector), these are people who are objects of mission and the goal is always reconciliation and hope for repair to the relationship.

We discussed that the Bible is not a rule book, but a story or narrative and thus, we have to discern what is right or wrong (binding and loosing) with the help of each other and the Holy Spirit. Rather than give us rules, we have been a given a process, and this is it.

That this process is useful for reconciliation (such as if a member has an addiction, or is engaged in behavior harmful to himself or his relationship with us or Jesus), for individual discernment (what should I do in this situation) and for resolving disputes or discussion over ethics (Can I follow Jesus and be pro-choice? Even though we are not married, can she and I live together?)

Discussion was lively and spirited (We went over our time considerably) and everyone contributed to the discussion.  We also talked about how being in a community of Jesus Followers was a bit like a marriage, in that you give up something of yourself and your will in order for it to work.

Overall, our little experiment is going great! Already, our members are working to support each other, to correct each other and be there for each other.

Keep praying for us.

Photo Credit: Walwyn

Today’s text comes from the prophet Isaiah:

Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey! What will you do on the day of punishment, in the calamity that will come from far away? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth, so as not to crouch among the prisoners or fall among the slain? For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still.²³⁴ (Isaiah 10: 1-3)

If Bob cheats Sam, that is wrong, and it should be fixed. This is the sort of injustice we often think about-someone using their power to take advantage of another. However, in scripture we see the harshest words reserved for systemic injustice: That is, injustice that is impersonal and the result of systems and organizations. Another phrase used by some scholars for this is ‘domination systems’. A biblical example we are all familiar with would be the tax laws of 1st Century Roman Empire (ever wonder why so much hatred was addressed toward tax collectors in the Gospels?). A recent example would be the ‘separate but equal’ laws in the US or Apartheid in South Africa.

God views power as a gift, to be used in the defense of those who are left behind, those who are doing without, those who are vulnerable and oppressed. When that power is used instead to increase the wealth of the wealthy and to create hardship for the poor, the power structure has sided itself against God.

This particular passage is the fourth, and last, woe addressed to Israel, all ending with the phrase-

For all this his anger has not turned away; his hand is stretched out still.²³⁴

This is the hand of Judgment, the hand of anger. In short, God is ticked.

In my work with the homeless and very poor, I see this sort of thing all the time. Just one example is the ‘anti-camping’ ordinances many cities have. This is not geared to keeping Joe and Suzie Homemaker from camping out in the park, with the tent, the Coleman lantern and the Igloo cooler. No, this sort of law is passed to keep people from sleeping in public.  This is how it plays out:

Ron is homeless, and cannot get into the shelter. So he sleeps outside, hidden behind a building. As you can imagine, it is not restful sleep, so he is sleepy the next day. He sits on a park bench and dozes off. A police officer writes him a ticket for “camping in the park” (!). He dozed off, for crying out loud…

In any event, Ron goes to court, where he faces a fine, somewhere in the area of $100, which, of course he cannot pay, being homeless. Then he faces court costs of $120, which he also cannot pay. So, he gets sent to Jail for 30 days… for being poor.

This is but one example at a very low level. There are many instances of laws, systems, policies and structures designed to keep the poor in their place while benefiting those who have more resources. Can you think of any?

Just a quick note: Due to unforseen drama, I have to postpone the beginning of the Online Social Justice Bible Study until this Thursday.

Everything is OK, I am just behind.

Thanks for understanding.

By some counts, there are over 2000 verses in the Christian Bible that discuss how we are to deal with the poor and the oppressed. There are so many that some have claimed that it is the largest single theme in the scriptures.

I relayed this to some friends the other day, and they doubted both pieces of information. So, I thought I would investigate.

While I do not intend to tackle all 2000 verses (was that a sigh of relief I heard out there?), I am planning to take many of the major, plain teachings of scripture on the issues that today we would call Social Justice and blog about them, one passage at a time.

The Social Justice Bible Study will go up twice a week, on Tuesdays and on Thursdays, so we can study and digest them together.  This way we (myself included) can consider them together and discuss it, calmly, in the comment box following each post.

NOTE: If you want to be sure you get to see each post in this Bible Study, you may want to sign up to read our blog posts in your email inbox. When we update the blog, you will receive the text of the post in your inbox automatically!

Photo Credit: Josh Self