By Rudy Barnes, Jr.
When the family of Jesus first heard that he was preaching to crowds, they said “He is out of his mind,” and “...went to take charge of him.” (Mark 3:21) When Jesus was told that his mother and brothers had come looking for him, Jesus asked the crowd, “‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ Then he looked at those seated around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and brothers. Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’” (Mark 3:31-35)
This passage raises the question of why, after Jesus’ miraculous birth, his family didn’t expect him to be destined for such a ministry. But what’s even more surprising is that Jesus ignored his family’s presence and concern for him, and then he used them as a metaphor for a universal spiritual family in which kinship was not based on blood, but on doing God’s will.
Jesus told Nicodemus that “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Kinship in the spiritual family of God implies being born again of the Spirit. (John 3:3-8) Repentance and reconciliation with God and others is how we are redeemed as children of God. Those are the mystical “three Rs” of faith that lead to new and eternal life in the family of God.
It was radical for Jesus to ignore his worldly family and then say to a crowd, whoever does God’s will--and that would include non-Jews, or Gentiles--were members of his family. Family respect and loyalty were paramount Jewish obligations, as was the belief that Jews were the chosen people of God. It was unthinkable that Gentiles could be members of God’s family.
What is God’s will? Jesus summarized God’s will in the greatest commandment to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves; and in the story of the good Samaritan Jesus defined an apostate Samaritan (they were detested by Jews) as a good neighbor to a wounded Jew. Jesus taught that in the universal family of God, inclusivity trumps exclusivity.
In Jesus’ day Jews avoided Gentiles, who were outside the family and tribe. It was us versus them. Tribal loyalties persist today based on race, religion, and sexual preferences. Most of America’s churches remain racially segregated. Many whites and most blacks consider homosexuality a sin, excluding homosexuals and unbelievers from the family of God.
Today, America’s partisan politics are polarized by race. Most white Christians vote Republican and most black Christians vote Democratic. Racial divisions along party lines are exacerbated by both parties; and demagogues like Donald Trump shamelessly exploit issues of race, religion and sexual preferences to mobilize their supporters along party lines.
Churches that ignore divisive issues of race, religion and sexual preference under the guise of separating religion from politics are complicit in continuing political polarization, even if they don’t promote partisan politics. The teachings of Jesus do not separate morality in religion and politics. They mandate the moral stewardship of democracy, not ignoring its flaws.
In America the black church has mixed faith with politics since the days of slavery and Jim Crow, while white churches avoided mixing religion with politics until the advent of the Moral Majority in the 1980s. Today racially polarized politics threaten democracy. To hold the fabric of democracy together, black and white churches must promote a politics of reconciliation.
If the church continues to lose members at the current rate, in another 20 years it will be outnumbered by those outside the church and no longer the dominant force in American politics. In light of the moral debacle of 2016, that may not be such a bad thing--and because of that the church itself may be on life support. If the church expects to be the universal family of God, it must experience a moral reformation to promote inclusivity with a politics of reconciliation.
Notes:
This commentary relates to Lesson #2, The universal family of God and spiritual kinship at pp 21-24 in The Teachings of Jesus and Muhammad on Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy, an interfaith study guide posted in Resources at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/p/resources.html. It addresses the mystical issue of being born again into the spiritual family of God. (Mark 3:21; 31-36)
Note errata on page 22: Reference to Jn 24:25,26 should be to Jn 14:25,26.
Related commentary:
On the greatest commandment and love over law:
(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
(1/18/15): Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy
(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(10/13/18): Musings on a Common Word of Faith and Politics for Christians and Muslims
(2/23/19): Musings on Loving Your Enemy, Including the Enemy Within
On the future of a church that has lost its moral compass:
(2/8/15): Promoting Religion Through Evangelism: Bringing Light or Darkness?
(2/15/15): Is Religion Good or Evil?
(4/5/15): Seeing the Resurrection in a New Light
(4/19/15): Jesus: A Prophet, God’s Only Son, or the Logos? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/jesus-prophet-god-only-son-or-logos.html
(7/9/16): Back to the Future: Race, Religion, Rights and a Politics of Reconciliation
(8/5/16): How Religion Can Bridge Our Political and Cultural Divide http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/08/how-religion-can-bridge-our-political.html
(9/17/16): A Moral Revival to Restore Legitimacy to Our Politics
(9/24/16): The Evolution of Religion and Politics from Oppression to Freedom
(11/5/16): Religion, Liberty and Justice at Home and Abroad
(12/31/16): E Pluribus Unum, Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation
(1/7/17): Religion and Reason as Sources of Political Legitimacy, and Why They Matter
(1/21/17): Religion and Reason Redux: Religion Is Ridiculous
(1/28/17): Saving America from the Church
(3/18/17): Moral Ambiguity in Religion and Politics
(4/15/17): Easter and the Christian Paradox
(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World
(4/29/17): A Wesleyan Alternative for an Irrelevant Church
(6/24/17): The Evolution of Religion, Politics and Law: Back to the Future?
(7/1/17): Religion, Moral Authority and Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy
(7/15/17): Religion and Progressive Politics
(7/22/17): Hell No!
(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism
(10/7/17): A 21st Century Reformation to Restore Reason to American Civil Religion http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/10/a-21st-century-reformation-to-restore.html.
(12/23/17): If Democracy Survives the Trump Era, Can the Church Survive Democracy? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/12/if-democracy-survives-trump-era-can.html.
(3/3/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on America’s Holy War
(3/17/18): Jefferson’s Jesus and Moral Standards in Religion and Politics
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(4/7/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Need for a Moral Reformation
(4/28/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Virtues and Vices of Christian Morality
(5/5/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Nostalgia as an Obstacle to Progress
(5/12/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christianity and Making America Great Again
(7/14/18): Musings on Why Christians Should Put Moral Standards Over Mystical Beliefs
(8/4/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religious Problems and Solutions in Politics
(8/11/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Changing Morality in Religion and Politics
(9/1/18): Musings on the American Civil Religion and Christianity at a Crossroads
(9/29/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Resurrection of Christian Universalism
(10/6/18): Musings on Moral Universalism in Religion and Politics http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/10/musings-on-moral-universalism-in.html.
(12/1/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Mystical Logos
(12/15/18): Musings on the Great Commission and Religious and Political Tribalism
(12/22/18): Musings on Faith and Works: The Unity of All Believers and The Last Judgment
(2/9/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Hypocrisy of American Christianity
(3/2/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on a Post-Christian America
(3/9/19): Musings on the Degradation of Democracy in a Post-Christian America
(3/16/19): Musings on the Evolution of Christian Exclusivism to Universalism
(3/23/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Thinking Outside the Box
(5/4/19): Musings on the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
(5/11/19): Musings on the Relevance of Jefferson’s Jesus in the 21st Century
(5/18/19): Outsiders Versus Insiders in Religion, Legitimacy and Politics
(5/25/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Divinity and Moral Teachings of Jesus
(6/8/19): The Moral Failure of the Church to Promote Altruism in Politics
(6/15/19): Back to the Future: A 21st Century Pentecost for the Church
On religion, race and politics:
(7/5/15): Reconciliation as a Remedy for Racism and Religious Exclusivism
(7/12/15): Reconciliation in Race and Religion: The Need for Compatibility, not Conformity http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/07/reconciliation-in-race-and-religion.html
(7/19/15): Religion, Heritage and the Confederate Flag
(3/12/16): Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America
(3/26/16): Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery
(7/9/16): Back to the Future: Race, Religion, Rights and a Politics of Reconciliation
(7/16/16): The Elusive Ideal of Political Reconciliation
(10/22/16): The Need for a Politics of Reconciliation in a Polarized Democracy
(11/19/16): Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation Based on Shared Values
http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-politics-of-reconciliation_19.html
(11/26/16): Irreconcilable Differences and the Demise of Democracy
(2/18/17): Gerrymandering, Race and Polarized Partisan Politics
(8/19/17): Hate, History and the Need for a Politics of Reconciliation
(11/11/17): A Politics of Reconciliation that Should Begin in the Church
(12/9/17): Religion, Race and Identity Politics
(1/6/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Diversity in Democracy
(10/20/18): Lamentations of an Old White Male Maverick Methodist in a Tribal Culture
(12/29/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Justice in Religion and Politics
(3/9/19): Musings on the Degradation of Democracy in a Post-Christian America
By Rudy Barnes, Jr.
When the family of Jesus first heard that he was preaching to crowds, they said “He is out of his mind,” and “...went to take charge of him.” (Mark 3:21) When Jesus was told that his mother and brothers had come looking for him, Jesus asked the crowd, “‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ Then he looked at those seated around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and brothers. Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’” (Mark 3:31-35)
This passage raises the question of why, after Jesus’ miraculous birth, his family didn’t expect him to be destined for such a ministry. But what’s even more surprising is that Jesus ignored his family’s presence and concern for him, and then he used them as a metaphor for a universal spiritual family in which kinship was not based on blood, but on doing God’s will.
Jesus told Nicodemus that “no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Kinship in the spiritual family of God implies being born again of the Spirit. (John 3:3-8) Repentance and reconciliation with God and others is how we are redeemed as children of God. Those are the mystical “three Rs” of faith that lead to new and eternal life in the family of God.
It was radical for Jesus to ignore his worldly family and then say to a crowd, whoever does God’s will--and that would include non-Jews, or Gentiles--were members of his family. Family respect and loyalty were paramount Jewish obligations, as was the belief that Jews were the chosen people of God. It was unthinkable that Gentiles could be members of God’s family.
What is God’s will? Jesus summarized God’s will in the greatest commandment to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves; and in the story of the good Samaritan Jesus defined an apostate Samaritan (they were detested by Jews) as a good neighbor to a wounded Jew. Jesus taught that in the universal family of God, inclusivity trumps exclusivity.
In Jesus’ day Jews avoided Gentiles, who were outside the family and tribe. It was us versus them. Tribal loyalties persist today based on race, religion, and sexual preferences. Most of America’s churches remain racially segregated. Many whites and most blacks consider homosexuality a sin, excluding homosexuals and unbelievers from the family of God.
Today, America’s partisan politics are polarized by race. Most white Christians vote Republican and most black Christians vote Democratic. Racial divisions along party lines are exacerbated by both parties; and demagogues like Donald Trump shamelessly exploit issues of race, religion and sexual preferences to mobilize their supporters along party lines.
Churches that ignore divisive issues of race, religion and sexual preference under the guise of separating religion from politics are complicit in continuing political polarization, even if they don’t promote partisan politics. The teachings of Jesus do not separate morality in religion and politics. They mandate the moral stewardship of democracy, not ignoring its flaws.
In America the black church has mixed faith with politics since the days of slavery and Jim Crow, while white churches avoided mixing religion with politics until the advent of the Moral Majority in the 1980s. Today racially polarized politics threaten democracy. To hold the fabric of democracy together, black and white churches must promote a politics of reconciliation.
If the church continues to lose members at the current rate, in another 20 years it will be outnumbered by those outside the church and no longer the dominant force in American politics. In light of the moral debacle of 2016, that may not be such a bad thing--and because of that the church itself may be on life support. If the church expects to be the universal family of God, it must experience a moral reformation to promote inclusivity with a politics of reconciliation.
Notes:
This commentary relates to Lesson #2, The universal family of God and spiritual kinship at pp 21-24 in The Teachings of Jesus and Muhammad on Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy, an interfaith study guide posted in Resources at http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/p/resources.html. It addresses the mystical issue of being born again into the spiritual family of God. (Mark 3:21; 31-36)
Note errata on page 22: Reference to Jn 24:25,26 should be to Jn 14:25,26.
Related commentary:
On the greatest commandment and love over law:
(1/11/15): The Greatest Commandment: A Common Word of Faith
(1/18/15): Love over Law: A Principle at the Heart of Legitimacy
(1/23/16): Who Is My Neighbor?
(1/30/16): The Politics of Loving Our Neighbors as Ourselves
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(10/13/18): Musings on a Common Word of Faith and Politics for Christians and Muslims
(2/23/19): Musings on Loving Your Enemy, Including the Enemy Within
On the future of a church that has lost its moral compass:
(2/8/15): Promoting Religion Through Evangelism: Bringing Light or Darkness?
(2/15/15): Is Religion Good or Evil?
(4/5/15): Seeing the Resurrection in a New Light
(4/19/15): Jesus: A Prophet, God’s Only Son, or the Logos? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/jesus-prophet-god-only-son-or-logos.html
(7/9/16): Back to the Future: Race, Religion, Rights and a Politics of Reconciliation
(8/5/16): How Religion Can Bridge Our Political and Cultural Divide http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/08/how-religion-can-bridge-our-political.html
(9/17/16): A Moral Revival to Restore Legitimacy to Our Politics
(9/24/16): The Evolution of Religion and Politics from Oppression to Freedom
(11/5/16): Religion, Liberty and Justice at Home and Abroad
(12/31/16): E Pluribus Unum, Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation
(1/7/17): Religion and Reason as Sources of Political Legitimacy, and Why They Matter
(1/21/17): Religion and Reason Redux: Religion Is Ridiculous
(1/28/17): Saving America from the Church
(3/18/17): Moral Ambiguity in Religion and Politics
(4/15/17): Easter and the Christian Paradox
(4/22/17): The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today’s World
(4/29/17): A Wesleyan Alternative for an Irrelevant Church
(6/24/17): The Evolution of Religion, Politics and Law: Back to the Future?
(7/1/17): Religion, Moral Authority and Conflicting Concepts of Legitimacy
(7/15/17): Religion and Progressive Politics
(7/22/17): Hell No!
(8/12/17): The Universalist Teachings of Jesus as a Remedy for Religious Exclusivism
(10/7/17): A 21st Century Reformation to Restore Reason to American Civil Religion http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/10/a-21st-century-reformation-to-restore.html.
(12/23/17): If Democracy Survives the Trump Era, Can the Church Survive Democracy? http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/12/if-democracy-survives-trump-era-can.html.
(3/3/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on America’s Holy War
(3/17/18): Jefferson’s Jesus and Moral Standards in Religion and Politics
(3/31/18): Altruism: The Missing Ingredient in American Christianity and Democracy
(4/7/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Need for a Moral Reformation
(4/28/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Virtues and Vices of Christian Morality
(5/5/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Nostalgia as an Obstacle to Progress
(5/12/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Christianity and Making America Great Again
(7/14/18): Musings on Why Christians Should Put Moral Standards Over Mystical Beliefs
(8/4/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Religious Problems and Solutions in Politics
(8/11/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Changing Morality in Religion and Politics
(9/1/18): Musings on the American Civil Religion and Christianity at a Crossroads
(9/29/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Resurrection of Christian Universalism
(10/6/18): Musings on Moral Universalism in Religion and Politics http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2018/10/musings-on-moral-universalism-in.html.
(12/1/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Mystical Logos
(12/15/18): Musings on the Great Commission and Religious and Political Tribalism
(12/22/18): Musings on Faith and Works: The Unity of All Believers and The Last Judgment
(2/9/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Hypocrisy of American Christianity
(3/2/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on a Post-Christian America
(3/9/19): Musings on the Degradation of Democracy in a Post-Christian America
(3/16/19): Musings on the Evolution of Christian Exclusivism to Universalism
(3/23/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Thinking Outside the Box
(5/4/19): Musings on the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
(5/11/19): Musings on the Relevance of Jefferson’s Jesus in the 21st Century
(5/18/19): Outsiders Versus Insiders in Religion, Legitimacy and Politics
(5/25/19): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on the Divinity and Moral Teachings of Jesus
(6/8/19): The Moral Failure of the Church to Promote Altruism in Politics
(6/15/19): Back to the Future: A 21st Century Pentecost for the Church
On religion, race and politics:
(7/5/15): Reconciliation as a Remedy for Racism and Religious Exclusivism
(7/12/15): Reconciliation in Race and Religion: The Need for Compatibility, not Conformity http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/07/reconciliation-in-race-and-religion.html
(7/19/15): Religion, Heritage and the Confederate Flag
(3/12/16): Religion, Race and the Deterioration of Democracy in America
(3/26/16): Religion, Democracy, Diversity and Demagoguery
(7/9/16): Back to the Future: Race, Religion, Rights and a Politics of Reconciliation
(7/16/16): The Elusive Ideal of Political Reconciliation
(10/22/16): The Need for a Politics of Reconciliation in a Polarized Democracy
(11/19/16): Religion and a Politics of Reconciliation Based on Shared Values
http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-politics-of-reconciliation_19.html
(11/26/16): Irreconcilable Differences and the Demise of Democracy
(2/18/17): Gerrymandering, Race and Polarized Partisan Politics
(8/19/17): Hate, History and the Need for a Politics of Reconciliation
(11/11/17): A Politics of Reconciliation that Should Begin in the Church
(12/9/17): Religion, Race and Identity Politics http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/12/religion-race-and-identity-politics.html.
(1/6/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Diversity in Democracy
(10/20/18): Lamentations of an Old White Male Maverick Methodist in a Tribal Culture
(12/29/18): Musings of a Maverick Methodist on Justice in Religion and Politics
(3/9/19): Musings on the Degradation of Democracy in a Post-Christian America
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