“32 Jesus told them plainly what would happen. Then Peter took
Jesus aside and began to tell him not to talk like that. 33 But Jesus turned and looked at his followers. Then he told
Peter not to talk that way. He said, “Go
away from me, Satan![c] You don’t care about the things of God, but only about things
people think are important.”
Last
week I posted a link from a tweet on my Facebook page entitled “Shadows” (http://sojo.net/blogs/2015/02/10/shadows#.VOdFTjcYuh4.facebook),
a beautifully written blog by Trevor Scott Barton. The topic of this article focused on the
struggle and challenges immigrant children face to become something more than a
shadow in society. It described that to
instill hope and value into a child who has been outcast or subjugated in
society, it takes extraordinary efforts and acts of selflessness by individuals
who take the time to care and to love.
In my
post I commented that this article should be read by all who are angry about “aliens”
in our country to learn what human toll is the result of such harshness. I also put out a personal thanks to friends
in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic who are desperately attempting to lift
children from the shadows of poverty, homelessness, starvation, lack of
education, physical and sexual abuse, prostitution, and myriad of other
societal “batterings” that snuff the light of hope from millions of children
each day around the world.
The
comments I received on the posting took an unexpected turn. I should have expected it considering the
political climate in the U.S. against illegal immigration, but my focus was on
the plight of children worldwide which seems to me to be a no-brainer when it
comes to our calling to fight injustice.
It seems to me, that Christianity 101 teaches that we have a responsibility
towards having an open heart and for spreading good news in bad news situations
– especially where children are involved.
The
comments brought into my awareness the element of Immigration Laws being a
criteria for Christian passion. “I only have a problem with those who fail to
follow the legal process.” My knee-jerk
reaction to this statement was: "What makes the legal process necessarily
the right thing to do? Shouldn't the plight and sufferings of all peoples be
the priority of the Christian heart?”
Since I
made that comment I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching on the topic. Are we as Christians being called at times to
break the law of our own country? The “Render
unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” could be a guideline from Jesus that indicates we
are to respect and uphold our government – in all circumstances. And yet, Jesus
was also a well-known rule breaker when he challenged the “Jewish
elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law” by
doing little things like healing on the Sabbath.
In my study of this topic I have come to believe
that there are two kingdoms in which we live.
There is the Kingdom of the United States of America and there is God’s
Kingdom. Jesus’ angry rebut of Peter: “Go away from me, Satan![c] You don’t care about the things of God, but only
about things people think are important,” demonstrates
that God’s Kingdom should always be our top priority. Fighting against injustice in the world in the
form of poverty and sexual exploitation is Kingdom of Heaven work. It is the Gospel Message at work. We pray “your kingdom come, on earth as it is
in heaven” and Jesus taught in the Beatitudes that the Kingdom of Heaven is at
hand and as Christians, how we live our lives has a direct result on what the
Kingdom of Heaven on earth will look like.
Man’s
laws, either the laws created by the Pharisees or by law-makers today, have a
clear purpose… to protect and serve the Kingdom of Man. They are not always in line with Kingdom of
Heaven work. If we put up barriers to
Kingdom of Heaven work and only focus on the injustices in certain
circumstances, protecting our selves from the risk of some very necessary
law-breaking activities, then I believe selfishness prevails and we will lose
our souls.
“Those who want to save their lives will give up
true life. But those who give up their lives for me and for the Good News will
have true life. 36 It is worthless to have the whole world if they
lose their souls. 37 They could never pay enough to buy back their
souls.38 The people who live now are living in a sinful
and evil time. If people are ashamed of me and my teaching, the Son of Man will
be ashamed of them when he comes with his Father’s glory and with the holy
angels.”
