Posted by Kevin Bates A couple of points are pertinent here. Firstly I cannot live the gospel without seeking to live justly. I cannot eat at the Lord's table without committing myself in some way to the doing of justice. This is as old as the gospel itself, it is expressed time and again by the Church Fathers, it is at the heart of the Church's social teachings as articulated by the Popes, and especially by the present Holy Father, and at the heart of the Vatican Council's documents, particularly those on the Church in teh Modern World and on Ecumenism. Secondly, it is impossible to engage in dialogue around justice issues without being politically involved. Jesus was killed as much for the political implications of his teachings as for their religious implications. The early Christians were dragged before governors for 'upsetting the present order" (Acts), and all through its history, when the Church has done well in the area of justice, it has been seen to be politically involved. This is not the same as being aligned with a movement or a Party, though in fact there will be resonances from time to time of course between worthy movements and parties and the church. No one has a mortgage on the truth. So in short - we have no choice - the gospel we proclaim with our lives and our words is about reformation, and even at times is of a revolutionary character: "he has cast down the mighty from their thrones and raised up the lowly." - the one to whom this was attributed was the gentlest of souls, and yet gave birth in herself to the most transformative moment in human history. The Word became Flesh -- you can't do that without getting involved and when he said that his kigndom was not of this world, good scolarship would tell us that he was referring to "this world" of greed, lust, unforgiveness, violence and so on, for God looks at the world and sees that it is good and longs for it to find its peace!
on July 19, 2002, 3:40 pm
In a little gathering earlier this week, one of the group expressed the concern that social justice issues got in the way of living of the gospel because they were often too politicised.
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