“Jesus was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.” “Peter said to Jesus in reply, “It is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make… tents here.” But Jesus led them “down from the mountain.”
Peter witnesses a stunning transformation on high, above others. He wants to stay on the mountaintop, glorifying that existence. Institutional christianity has promoted Peter’s lofty goal to stay on the mountaintop throughout its history. For example, it has a long and vast network, still operative, of cloistered organizations: the Benedictines, Carmelites, Cistercians, and Trappists. But Jesus leads Peter back down the mountain. Jesus witnesses to Peter another stunning transformation, down below, with others. Jesus shows Peter how to live on common ground and continue his social mission to change the world. Institutional christianity has not so vigorously promoted Peter coming down from the mountain over its history. Jesus’ social mission to change the world, for example, through house churches, run mostly by women, and women-led faith communities, such as the Beguines, were not promoted by institutional christianity. In fact the Beguines were initially charged as heretics in 1184. Also, bishops at the Council of Trent in 1563 ruled all women in religious life would have to live in cloister. It was responding to women starting non-cloistered communities, potentially freeing themselves from rulers, priestly ones certainly, and thus changing the world. Priestly rulers therefore usually found it difficult to support let alone promote socially active disciples. Priestly rulers usually found it easier to support and even promote socially oppressive rulers; War Lords, feudalism’s Lords of the Manor, middle class bourgeois materialists, royal families, industrial robber barons, as well as nationalists and imperialists. The reason for the intertwined support among rulers is because rulers invented a ruler ‘God’ that dispenses divine justice through the ruler class. Across human history, earthly rulers put the name of divine justice on their injustice toward common people. Rulers called their judgments objectively true (e.g God is wrathful) and their authority objectively good (e.g. “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.”). When rulers promote a ruler deity that effects divine justice, they are intentionally sabotaging common people promoting Jesus’ social mission to change the world. These are two mutually exclusive paradigms for the world to live. Social activists promoting human transformation are thus accused by the ruling class of betraying ‘God.’ Rulers instruct citizens, laborers, common people to obey their promulgation of divine justice not challenge it. Rulers effecting social injustice will thus routinely push back against social change movements and they will do so in the name of their ‘God.’ They will routinely ridicule, scorn, oppose, or kill social activists, even though it was Jesus’ life witness. In truth, it was because social activism was the commoner Jesus’ life witness that rulers killed him. Commoners, like Jesus of Nazareth, give life witness to communion as the relationship model that is objectively true and good, not rule. In communion we need to keep challenging ruler injustice that continues to promote life on a mountaintop in which commoners fawn over glorified figures. We need to keep creating common ground among socially active people and thus transform the world of rulers.
“I was up to my elbows You know the way it gets I was looking for exits… so I packed up my suitcase I threw away my phone… Then I went walking through the rhododendron flowers Got me a fishing pole and it’s been years now I’m coming down the mountain again… The fishing was fine but fishing comes to an end… The yoke of this harlequin world will break you to pieces someday And you’ll go walking through the rhododendron flowers Looking for white robes but the prophet won’t be found Cause I’m coming down the mountain again.” (Coming Down the Mountain – Libby Rodenbough)
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, I vow an enlivened mission.
Question: How do I keep challenging rulers?
March 05, 2023 Gospel Matthew 17:1-9 Second Sunday of Lent
Institutions are only good in as far as their leaders who work with everyone for the common good. All too often today, Institutions are the cause of systemic racism, inequality, abhorrent corporate and political greed which also cause wars. Will the world implode before we recognize all this? Just saying…….