“Politics is about the organization of society and public affairs”
“Basically,…politics is about how groups of people organize themselves…’political’ can be used to describe organizations and the dynamics of relationships of groups”
Per Merriam-Webster, origins of “politics” – politikós “of citizens, civic, of a state, political, public”
These quotes are from a chapter titled The Bible and Politics, by Christopher Rowland. The book, Scripture and Its Interpretation, was assigned reading for a biblical studies class. I have been known to say a number of times that Jesus was political. Sometimes there is a lack of understanding and a questioning as to why I say that. In reading this chapter, I find that first quote to be the clearest definition of the term politics.
Unfortunately, that is not the definition that comes to mind when one utters that word today. Today, “politics” is understood to mean partisan, competition, conservative, liberal, power struggle, woke, control. It rarely seems to be about actual public affairs themselves, but rather of who has the majority and who is throwing monkey wrenches. Politics today(if it ever was), is not well focused on public affairs for the benefit of the public. At least, not what is typically on public display. Often when someone says XYZ is political, they are saying that we don’t talk about politics, it’s not polite conversation. Why? Because the topic is challenging.
Going back to Jesus, why do I say he was political? I say that because during his ministry, he was very much concerned about how society was organized and how public affairs played out for those at the bottom of the hierarchy. In the first century there was no separation of politics and religion. People did not silo those two aspects of their lives. In the first century, the Roman Empire was well established. People like to make the excuse that it was a peaceful time. Except that “peacekeeping” comes at a price…oppression of the poor and marginalized, high taxes, and the quick elimination of trouble makers.
Jesus being political meant he was concerned about those whose voices were suppressed, those pushed to the outside, and those taken advantage of by leaders at all levels. It also meant pushing back on the systems that organized the society of his day and its public affairs, including the religious authorities. The guiding principle was what created wholeness. Healings were done on the Sabbath because healed people were made whole and returned to family and community. Lepers were made clean so the individuals could rejoin their communities. Jesus ignored societal rules put in place to exclude people…”sinners”, tax collectors, Samaritans.
The society at the time was set up to benefit a few. Those with wealth held power and they used that power to accumulate more wealth and more power. Jesus spoke of turning systems upside down. Why? Because so many were suffering under the established systems. The way society was organized was unjust, the way public affairs were conducted was unjust. Too many were living below a subsistence level. Society 2,000 years ago sounds very much like our society today.
Today, in the U.S., 68% of the wealth is owned by the top 10% of earners. Hourly wages have barely budged and taxes have gone up on the middle class, yet top executives and corporations have made obscene profits and paid little in taxes. The justice system favors the white person. The healthcare system favors those with money and full time employment. School systems often favor those who live in the “right” zip code. The way our society is set up is unjust. We are not making it just by having food pantries, diaper banks, and second-hand shops. While those things provide a stop-gap, they do nothing to change the systems.
Jesus was about bringing wholeness to people who were excluded from experiencing full lives because the systems that were in place and the way public affairs were conducted left a whole lot of people out in the cold. That made Jesus political and a threat to the status quo and ruling powers. And if the Church can’t speak to the unjust ways that we have organized our societies and managed our public affairs because that is being “political”, then it can’t preach the Gospel. We can’t claim to be followers of Jesus and not care that the way our systems, public institutions, and societal affairs are so unbalanced. Jesus was political.
Rowland, Christopher. “The Bible and Politics”. Scripture and Its Interpretation, edited by Editor Michael J. Gorman, Baker Academic, 2017, pages 365-376.
“Politics.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/politics. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.
Leave a Reply