Do the Poor Hear Good News?
Do the Poor Hear Good News?
It’s a time of social unrest and political division in what I affectionately call, “Murica”. I’m old enough to think it’s supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. The only time I feel that is when I watch World War II movies like “Ghost Army”. JFK’s famous line, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” was demonstrated by those brave men and women. Have prevailing themes in our educational system and the media over the last few decades turned us into the land of the fearful and home of the dependent? It feels like our response to the Pandemic has deepened our sense of dependence on government and social isolation. And now George Floyd’s death has ignited an already dry tinderbox. In too many cases the protests over his death have devolved into looting, arson, and mindless violence.
I was reading Jesus’ words in Matthew 11 and verse 5 ticked me off:
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
What ticked me off? Not the part about the blind seeing, the lame walking, lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, or the dead being raised. It’s that last part, “the poor have the gospel preached to them.” It should be translated “the poor have the good news preached to them.” It was the good news, not some religious organization’s views on what is significant about Christianity. And what was that good news? It was simply stated in Mark 1:15, “Repent (change the way you think) and believe the good news: the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And then He went about healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding the five thousand and yes, preaching good news to the poor. In other words, in a world full of malevolence and suffering, there is a better way. Change the way you think. There is a kingdom (a society if you will) which is coming and which will be led by the King of kings and Lord of lords and by the one who calls Himself Jehovah Jireh – the Lord our provider. Government will fail us. Every time. It’s run by fallen human beings who make mistakes. But He will not, and for me the best news ever is that one day the government will be on His shoulders. I’m reminded of the bumper sticker: “No Jesus? No Peace. Know Jesus? Know Peace.”
Perhaps never in history have people around the globe, and especially those who are economically, socially, or physically disenfranchised needed to hear the Good News than now. The Good News that while human-run institutions will let you down, His kingdom – His society will not. Yet what does the church do? They turn His message of hope into something only they can understand and call it “the gospel”. For many evangelical churches, the “gospel” is some sort of self-help program. For Catholics it can mean the power of the Church as an institution. For some radical reformed churches, it can mean secret knowledge about determinism and how people are saved. The one thing they often share is a failure to talk about how His kingdom (His society) will wipe out all pain and suffering. And maybe they won’t talk about how human efforts to create utopia in this life are doomed to fail. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try to make the world a better place (Dr. Jordan Peterson’s mantra, “clean your room”), but it will never be perfect. We have to understand the limitations of human-run institutions. They will fail us at times. When we expect our institutions to provide us with safety and security we will be disappointed. Every. Damn. Time. POTUS said on more than one occasion, “We worship God, not government.” We need to change the way we think and grow up. Dependence on human institutions is not God’s design for human existence.
How many times in Genesis 1 does it say, “And God saw that it was good”? But the world we live in is maybe not so good. Only He can redeem it. Paul wrote that the “whole world groans for the revealing of the Son of man.”
And Isaiah wrote about His redemptive work over six hundred years before He came:
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.” – Isaiah 11:6, NKJV Christians understand there will be no utopia in this life. George Floyd’s death will not be in vain if we take a step back and give up our demands for security, safety, and “social justice” from our institutions. I put the word “social justice” in quotes because it isn’t justice when you have to qualify it. Like “gospel”, the word “social justice” means different things to different people. The best we can hope for in this life is equality of opportunity. But some would have us eliminate equality of opportunity in favor of equality of outcome. That is not justice. That is letting the perfect get in the way of the good. Equality of opportunity says we must treat everyone the same under the law regardless of race, skin color, sexual orientation, religion, and so on. Is it perfect? No. It never will be. Some will take advantage of their opportunities and be more successful than others. But if we try to make a “perfect” society and enforce equality of outcome, who decides what that looks like? Only those who are “more equal than others.” And that’s the problem. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Yet there are those who love power more than God, man, woman, or whatever trans-gender pronoun you’d prefer. I look forward to the day when “the government will be upon His shoulder.” (Isaiah 9:6).