With the election only a few days away, and I remembered to bring my computer to work today, I thought that I would take a few minutes and write about my recent read of the book Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw. It was like no other book I have ever read. The first part was about history, and for me it was very interesting to read. There were even a few humorous parts if you applied them to our everyday life now.
In the second part, they compared and contrasted Jesus and Caesar. I had never really thought about how huge it was when Jesus was on the earth to follow Him and what kind of statement they were actually making. (Maybe this is not new to everyone, and I’ve lived in a box for too long….) To proclaim Jesus, a mere peasant in most eyes, as Savior and Lord, above Caesar was asking for trouble, but it really showed me just how much they believed. I had to step back and question myself, and wonder if I would have been that sold out, or not….I would like to think I would. I loved the explanations that they gave about the parables and the mustard seeds…it amazes me that they honestly didn’t kill Him sooner….I wonder if they figured He would just go away, and at what point did they realize that something was going to have to be done. These thoughts lead us all the way up to the crucifixion, and even the similarities with it and a coronation of Caesar. And then we know the rest of that story, and how the risen Savior did something that no Caesar could or ever will be able to accomplish, and yet, somehow that wasn’t good enough for many Jewish people.
The next section, began to talk about the interference of church and state, and how we say they are separate, they really aren’t. To be honest, I had some problems in this section. The authors come across as anti-war and even say that Jesus was against it. (to this they make an excellent point with sound Biblical backup, but....) When Jesus returns to this earth, He is not going to quietly come back and make everything right, there is going to be a battle and He is going to win. This leaves me a bit confused......
In the second part, they compared and contrasted Jesus and Caesar. I had never really thought about how huge it was when Jesus was on the earth to follow Him and what kind of statement they were actually making. (Maybe this is not new to everyone, and I’ve lived in a box for too long….) To proclaim Jesus, a mere peasant in most eyes, as Savior and Lord, above Caesar was asking for trouble, but it really showed me just how much they believed. I had to step back and question myself, and wonder if I would have been that sold out, or not….I would like to think I would. I loved the explanations that they gave about the parables and the mustard seeds…it amazes me that they honestly didn’t kill Him sooner….I wonder if they figured He would just go away, and at what point did they realize that something was going to have to be done. These thoughts lead us all the way up to the crucifixion, and even the similarities with it and a coronation of Caesar. And then we know the rest of that story, and how the risen Savior did something that no Caesar could or ever will be able to accomplish, and yet, somehow that wasn’t good enough for many Jewish people.
The next section, began to talk about the interference of church and state, and how we say they are separate, they really aren’t. To be honest, I had some problems in this section. The authors come across as anti-war and even say that Jesus was against it. (to this they make an excellent point with sound Biblical backup, but....) When Jesus returns to this earth, He is not going to quietly come back and make everything right, there is going to be a battle and He is going to win. This leaves me a bit confused......
My heart does go out to the soldiers who find themselves trying to love God and serve somewhere else and follow someone else’s orders, and now find themselves in a crisis of faith and duty. Does this make me for or against the war in Iraq? I do not know…but I do think that anyone who does find themselves in this position, they should be let out of the military. In the world we live in, protection is necessary, so it is a hard call. Our world was broken from the moment Adam and Eve sinned, and only one person can put it back the way it was intended to be, but it is not time for that. So now, we have to live in the brokeness. That's my take anyway.
I did find it a bit disturbing to read about America and speeches from our Presidents, and one of our campaigners saying that America is the only hope for the future…really?? America who is so far in debt because we keep bailing everyone out…and now cannot bail itself out. I do not see anyone lining up to re-pay us for the billions of dollars we have given out over the years. Although, and I am not in politics or economics, but even I know that the way to get out of debt is NOT TO SPEND MORE MONEY!!!!! It’s time for Americans to stop spending and pull on their waders and get out of the @&$* that we’ve gotten ourselves into. (It does show me that politics and religion are a scary mix.)
This leads me into probably my favorite part of the book. The real stories of real people and the difference they are making to change the world around them for the better. I loved reading about them helping one another and living together and sharing life. I loved the story about Darin and Meegan and their family that included them taking in an elderly woman. I loved the statement about being pro-life that basically said if you are pro-life, then you need to be willing to take a young pregnant woman in and take care of them and show them what God’s life is all about, not just say I am pro-life because I am against abortion. Much of it made me stop and think…what have I missed the boat on? So, now it is time to see what I can do to change the way I ACT since the way I THINK has already been challenged. If you haven’t, go read Jesus for President…heck you can borrow it from me. You may not agree with everything Claiborne and Haw write, but they will challenge you to think about things differently.
I did find it a bit disturbing to read about America and speeches from our Presidents, and one of our campaigners saying that America is the only hope for the future…really?? America who is so far in debt because we keep bailing everyone out…and now cannot bail itself out. I do not see anyone lining up to re-pay us for the billions of dollars we have given out over the years. Although, and I am not in politics or economics, but even I know that the way to get out of debt is NOT TO SPEND MORE MONEY!!!!! It’s time for Americans to stop spending and pull on their waders and get out of the @&$* that we’ve gotten ourselves into. (It does show me that politics and religion are a scary mix.)
This leads me into probably my favorite part of the book. The real stories of real people and the difference they are making to change the world around them for the better. I loved reading about them helping one another and living together and sharing life. I loved the story about Darin and Meegan and their family that included them taking in an elderly woman. I loved the statement about being pro-life that basically said if you are pro-life, then you need to be willing to take a young pregnant woman in and take care of them and show them what God’s life is all about, not just say I am pro-life because I am against abortion. Much of it made me stop and think…what have I missed the boat on? So, now it is time to see what I can do to change the way I ACT since the way I THINK has already been challenged. If you haven’t, go read Jesus for President…heck you can borrow it from me. You may not agree with everything Claiborne and Haw write, but they will challenge you to think about things differently.
3 comments:
Katie, I think it's cool that you took it upon yourself to give this book a read and thought you had some good reflections.
The authors are definitely anti-war as they see this as outside of God's desire for his creation. You are of course correct, there will be a battle when Jesus returns, but perhaps not of the sort that we have been led to believe. There is a lot of thick imagery and metaphor in the book of Revelation. For instance, we read that Jesus will come and fight against people with a sword, but it is a sword which comes from his mouth - another way of saying that the words, or decree, of God will win the day. Lots more to be said there, I have been very helped in this area by several authors and professors. At any rate, kudos to you for tackling a big book that I am sure forced you to think harder than most would care to :)
Amen... and until then John McCain for president. See http://www.lifenews.com/johnmccainprolife.html
Glad someone else liked this book! I'm actually going to see Shane Claiborne speak at my church tonight, can't wait to hear what he talks about. The war thing was a big perspective change for me as I read the book, but I think it's really brought me along the author's point of view. Being anti-war doesn't make sense in our society these days, but not much of what Jesus taught really does. It's an upside-down way of thinking and living, and it's definitely not self-protective. I agree that it leads to lots of hard questions that I definitely don't have the answers to, but I can't help but think that the answers really lie with the kingdom Jesus is bringing rather than what works or seems to make sense.
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