Class #20

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.... He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

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What do the readings and video for today lead you to think about these different representations of

Jesus?

examine the life and death of Jesus to see whether and how he himself was a political figure;

and, if so, how that came out and how it should come out in the lives and commitments of those who claim to follow him today.

I. Jesus and politics: how & why does Christianity become political?

A. The ‘threatening’ Jesus of the Gospels: teachings, life, and death

B. The Kingdom of God1. “The kingdom that Jesus proclaimed in his word and his ministry

excludes no one.” (U.S. Bishops)

2. “The Church has but one sole purpose–that the Kingdom of God may come and the salvation of the human race may be accomplished.” (Vatican II)

C. Was Jesus a “revolutionary”?

D. What does all this mean for Christians today?II. Justice (preferential option for the poor) & Equality

“Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.’ Then Pilate asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ He answered, ‘You say so.’ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no basis for an accusation against this man.’ But they were insistent and said, ‘He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.’”

“As followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a fundamental ‘option for the poor’—to speak for the voiceless, to defend the defenseless, to assess life styles, policies, and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor. This ‘option for the poor’ does not mean pitting one group against another, but rather, strengthening the whole community by assisting those who are the most vulnerable. As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all our brothers and sisters, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response.”

“I’m here as a Catholic Christian and an American citizen—in that order. Both of these identities are important. They don’t need to conflict. They are not, however, the same thing. ... No nation, not even the one I love, has a right to my allegiance, or my silence, in matters that belong to God or that undermine the dignity of the human persons He created.”

—Archbishop Charles Chaput

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