What are the responsibilities of an Old Testament prophet? Overall it was to call people to convert. Old Testament prophets could fulfill their responsibilities by lording sinner’s guilt over them. They could threaten doom until offenders repented. Jesus’ witness was not centered on guilt or doom or harm of any type. Jesus was instead centered on transformation, on bringing a person into a fuller relationship with the Power of the Spirit and with others. This is shown in Jesus consistently reaching out in truth to harmful people time and time again, usually hierarchs. Disciples’ witness is thus also to reach out time and time again to others who cause harm., especially hierarchs. Sunday’s Gospel encourages reaching out in truth during offense. First we reach out to people who offend others. If unsuccessful, we reach out to others for help with the offenders. If those attempts are unsuccessful we reach out to community faithful to help resolve the conflict.
What if the offender harming people is the institutional church? There are currently public persons who self-identify as pillars of the church yet offend and harm people. What are our responsibilities for reaching out in truth to self-identified christians who use Jesus’ name while they violate Jesus’ truth telling witness? One example of such an offender is Ted Cruz. Mr. Cruz is a self-identified christian who publicly calls on Jesus’ name while he lies about and promotes the violence of guns, the death penalty, and war. He uses Jesus’ name to defend reducing taxes for wealthy people while harming commoners through austerity programs. He has been particularly threatening towards poor children crossing the U.S. southern border. Mr. Cruz spoke of his ‘Christian’ faith and the positions it moved him to support during a Liberty University speech. He opened by quoting Jesus from this Sunday’s Gospel: “The Word tells us when two or more are gathered in His name, He will be there.” Mr. Cruz was confident in Jesus’ Presence at a gathering telling lies about the U.S. Empire. Cruz encouraged other self-identified christians to do their utmost to defend, violently, a ‘Christian’ U.S. Empire from offenses. Not once in all the lies Mr. Cruz told did he tell the truth about Jesus and Jesus’ call for people to reach out in truth.
It is difficult to take a public figure aside and tell them of the harm they do to Jesus, to others, to the truth. It is especially difficult to do so if they are linked to institutional christianity. It is needed though, as it is unfortunately true that institutional christianity is not of Jesus. It is of empire. It consists of Ted Cruzes and Liberty Universities who will not see the harm they do – to the truth, to Jesus, and to those following his Way – and they will not convert from that harm. Let we who do follow Jesus’ Way set about to transform that.
Prayer: Spirit of Truth, I commit myself to a peaceful heart when relating with those who lie.
Question: Who are the self-identified christians I can reach out to about Jesus’ witness of truth when they distort iwith lies?
September 7, 2014 Gospel Matthew 18:15-20 Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time