'Be of good cheer; I have overcome the
world!' Jn. 16:33
Economically speaking, the West occupies a
prosperous First World state. However, spiritually speaking, it languishes in
Third World squalor. The spiritual poverty of the West, more specifically
western Christendom, is at the root of much of the worlds suffering. The
challenge lies then not so much in the fact that the West dominates the world's
purse as in the fact that her children are still charmed by the lure of 'shiny
things,' the pursuit of materialistic goals, to the exclusion of
other, more noble aspirations eg.: the riches inherent in actualising the
divine self. Its children are, in real terms, still quite immature. And so it
is that, 'Only when man has become sufficiently disillusioned by the sorrowful
disappointments attendant upon the foolish and deceptive pursuits of
selfishness, and subsequent to the discovery of the barrenness of formalized
religion, will he be disposed to turn wholeheartedly to the gospel of the
kingdom, the religion of Jesus of Nazareth.'i
True poverty is not simply a case of empty
pockets but a heart empty of spiritual ideals, values, dreams and vision, a life bereft of values, meaning and purpose.
The Christian scriptures teaches 'out of the
heart come the issues of life, murder, theft, adultery' Mat. 15:19 or 'as a man
thinketh in his heart so is he' Prov. 23:7. The social and cultural realities
of this world are reflections of our inner realities. Culture, in all its
multitudinous hues – dark or delightful, is simply the shadow cast by the human
heart. Consequently, all lasting transformation must occur on an inner level
and all such transformations are a matter of personal attainment, personal
growth – spiritual growth. Any effort not specifically focused on facilitating
personal growth, spiritual regeneration and inner transformation, is an effort
focused on the effect and not the cause of our social ills; it is
to attack the branch yet leave the root untouchedii. It was for this reason that Jesus
enjoined his followers to pray that God 'create in me a clean heart.' As a
result of these insights it can be seen that the first goal of any
transformational effort should begin with education, spiritual education - education on ideals and idealism, and the nobility of service.
The ills that plague the nations of the
Third World will never be solved with mere money. Were we to hand over a trillion
dollars to uneducated peoples, the money would be squandered as a direct result
of the fact that their cultural experience would unlikely have furnished them
with the intellectual tools required to manage such a resource nor would they
likely have acquired the skills of personal restraint and self-discipline
necessary to manage such wealth. Merely throwing money at a problem, without
adequate vision and support, would not only be of no practical use, it would
undoubtedly make things worse. It might be wise to make note that though the
West presently dominates this wealth it certainly has a ways to go in the wise and magnanimous management of it.
Challenging the oppressive structures of
this world, while significant, is not the 'final solution' to the ills that
assail us. Utopian civil structures demand first an ideal type of citizen; only
thereafter may such illuminated individuals safely employ the civil structures
and social institutions that govern such a society. Unless the lives and the
action/decisions of the citizens of any hypothesised Utopian state are founded upon some
transcendent Ideal then the structures are of no import. Corruption is a cancer
to any system but it begins in the human heart. Consequently, perfect social systems without similarly
perfection oriented individuals are doomed. Changing the system, without also
inculcating the ideals of perfection within the cultural experience of that
society's same citizens would be akin to putting a plaster on a bomb. Such
social shortsightedness can only lead to tragedy on an epic scale. This is the
insight alluded to within Jesus' parable of the Foolish Builders, Matthew
7:24-27. Without sound foundations, no project can stand the test of time. Our
greatest foe is never the cultural milieu and structures into which we are born
but the evil tendencies that ever spring from the soil of the imperfect corrupt human heart.
Similar views have been expressed by Daniel
G. Groody, in an essay of his to be found in the journal Theological Studies,
Vol. 62, No. 2., 2008; 'Globalizing solidarity: Christian anthropology and
the challenge of human liberation.' He notes that 'to argue in favor of the
strengths of the free market and material prosperity without reference to the
weaknesses of human nature is to court moral and social disaster because it
unravels the bonds that unite us as a human family.'iii Pointing out that:
'Without an adequate vision of human life,
it is easy to lose sight of our interconnection with each other and become
vulnerable to an inner slavery that not only ignores human need but even
rewards human greed. Structural reform is certainly needed, but politics and
economics alone are insufficient to bring about the renewal and reordering of
society. Nor can they map out the contours of a liberating human anthropology.
Fundamental structural reform must be accompanied by a more fundamental inner
change that originates in the human heart.iv
While the value of the observations made by Liberation
Theologies that 'many of the problems and disorders of the modern world... have
their roots in structural and systemic issues that create and perpetuate global
injustices,'v
cannot be discounted, Groody is concerned that the deeper issues at hand have
gone relatively unexplored. Pointing out that 'these disorders on a more
fundamental level are related to what happens within people.'vi Stressing that, 'Our inability to
deliver ourselves from inner discord not only contributes to global disorder
but also distorts our understanding of how we come to realize our identity as
human beings. This problem, at root, is not simply a political, economic, or
social one but a spiritual one.' vii
Thus can we more clearly appreciate the
depth of insight implicit in the teachings of Jesus. When he declares, 'the
kingdom is within' – it wasn't simply a figurative statement. By giving
preeminence to inner realities, he was laying emphasis on the fact that it is
our hopes and dreams or lack of them, our passions and ambitions idealistic or craven, above all – our loving
devotion to one another or its absence, that shapes our realities; while circumstances merely
offer the context for their extemporisation.
'Fear not
little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.'
Luke 12:32
The radical nature of the Gospel Jesus lived
and died preaching, is – to a degree – eclipsed by the tremendous social
transformations that have been realised in His name since last he walked the
earth. His prayer was always that all his followers, both present and to come,
should be one – that they enjoy the same unity and communion that he shares
with the Father among each other and with the Father, Jn 17: 20 - 22 . This
facet of his teachings was taken up by Paul in Galatians 3:28 when he declared
that: 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.' This teaching is
implicitly opposed to any forms of oppression, any form of inequality, and
challenges his followers to establish a radical equality, among one another and
throughout the world. However, it should be borne in mind that the Master understood the delusion of 'equity' for he pointed out that 'the poor ye shall always have with ye.'
It should be realised that the prayer's
Jesus uttered have a formative influence on this world and have not gone
unanswered. In the eyes of the Eternal Father the unity for which His
Son so ardently prayed, and died to establish, has already been granted and so
already 'IS', at least in terms of the experiential consciousness of Deity. We,
however, occupy a temporal frame of reference and therefore consciously
experience it as a relatively endless series of transformations. Consequently, those of us
that strive to bring about the unity of the world and that endeavour to
vanquish oppression KNOW that the long sought after day will come. We
know that the days of darkness and struggle are numbered and can draw succor
from that; while concurrently strength can drawn from the truth that every
effort, weak or strong, every success or failure, brings the day of victory
over oppressive forms that bit closer.
It was during that fateful dialogue with Peter that Jesus made another
instructive statement. Having finally led his apostle's to the point where they
were now capable of recognising his true identity, he then said that he would
commit to their keeping the 'keys of the kingdom'. Thereby establishing the
Christian community as an instrument of G*d on earth. It is their G*d given
right to organise themselves as they see fit, and according to purposes
envisioned by themselves, that is perhaps their greatest strength. It is this
'spirit led' community that is thus endowed with the necessary wisdom, personal
fortitude, and devoted commitment to kin-dom values that is destined to bring
the world into balance.
This community can, has, and will continue to
grow and nothing can stop it, not 'all the forces of evil' nor 'the hosts of
sin'.
From this study it should be plain that the
concept of kingdom as taught by Jesus sought to co-ordinate many dynamic
realities. While it is significant that many of the metaphors that Jesus used
to exemplify the nature of the kingdom shared a common element, namely
'growth', it should be pointed out that the multifaceted nature of the
expositions of Jesus regarding this subject served to highlight the many
varying dimensions of kingdom, thus offsetting any inclination to limit
conceptual range – while at the same time facilitating the elucidation of some
of the more instructive elements. However, the repeated references to 'growth'
indicates that Jesus envisioned the kin-dom growing, much as a seed will
through the seasons, until the time of the harvest. Harvest, in the context
outlined in this essay, can be nothing other than the day referenced in
the words uttered by the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah, 'and they shall teach no more every
man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they
shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
LORD. Jer. 31: 34. "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Is. 2:4
Jesus was introducing humanity to eternity
and to the means of engaging with it in time, as has been established by the
Source of Time and Eternity, Deity, i.e.: the will of God, the mechanism
through which the children of time find their way into the presence of the
Eternal and the means whereby the Eternal can both commune with and positively
guide the children of time. It was by means of commitment to the doing of God's
will that Jesus was empowered to 'overcome the world' and thus if his followers
similarly wish to 'overcome the world' then to them Jesus has only one thing to
say:
If you dare to believe in me and wholeheartedly
proceed to follow after me, you shall most certainly by so doing enter upon the
sure pathway to trouble. I do not promise to deliver you from the waters of
adversity, but I do promise to go with you through all of them.viii
iiThis idea
is found as theme within the works of the author James Allen, undoubtedly among
many others. Three titles reflecting this are 'As a man thinketh', 'The Byways
of Blessedness' and 'Above Life's Turmoils'. All these works can be downloaded
freely from The James Allen Free Library.
liberation. Theological Studies, Vol. 62, No. 2., Section: Pg. 250(19)
2008
viii
The Urantia Book, The Urantia Foundation, 1955. [159:3.13]
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