Social Jesus

 

'For I hunger and you give me to eat' I thirst and you give me to drink; A stranger was I and you took Me in; naked and you clothed Me; infirm am I and you visit Me; in jail was I and you came to Me.'  "Then the just will be answering Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we perceive Thee hungering and nourish Thee, or thirsting and we give Thee drink?  Now when did we perceive Thee a stranger and take Thee in, or naked and we clothed Thee?  Now when did we perceive Thee infirm, or in jail, and we came to Thee?  "And, answering, the King shall be declaring to them, 'Verily, I am saying to you, Inasmuch as you do it to one of the these, the least of My brethren, you do it to Me.' 

Matthew 25: 35-40, Concordant New Testament 

Have you ever heard or read the social gospel of Christ Jesus?  Can you ever recall the social gospel being spoken to in any Sunday morning sermon?  Well, there is a good chance that you have heard the social gospel spoken and not even known it.  But, what is this they call the social gospel?  I only came across it from an article in a recent union newsletter written by a man named John Blake.  Until I read of this burgeoning Christian social gospel (so the author claims) movement, I had no idea that what Jesus calls upon us to do even had a separate name for it.  I would say that a good deal of what the author referred to as the social gospel can be narrowed down to the words we see Jesus speak in Matthew 25.  Here, Jesus describes one who cared for Him when He was hungry, thirsty, sick and in prison.  Now, you might even ask yourself, when was Jesus in prison?  Of course, He wasn't, yet His message remains.  "Inasmuch as you do to the least of these, you do to Me" {Matthew 25:40}.  That is, as you treat those around you, so you treat Jesus Himself.  Somehow, the author has latched onto this scripture from Jesus and used it to fit his narrative.  Yet, the author claims that this social gospel movement is growing stronger.  Also, it apparently has nothing to do with Republicans.  Now, as you read this article you need to understand that the author filters his thoughts through a lens of union organizing and sticking it to the man.  However, the message we have from Jesus about how we should love one another remains to this day.  So, you may have never heard of the social gospel movement, but you almost certainly have heard of Jesus' words on caring for others.  One of the messages of this social gospel is that saving people from poverty and the slums is just as important as saving them from hell.  But what are we to make of Jesus' words when he tells us not to worry about such worldly possessions {Matthew 6:25}?  I believe that there is truth in that simple saying, the Lord will provide.  I also believe that the message which Jesus was attempting to get across is that we should trust in the Father and not our worldly possessions.  True social gospel is putting the words of Christ Jesus into action as we care for our brethren.  

"I have decided to stick to love...hate is too great a burden to bear." 

Rev Martin Luther King

Mr. Black claims that one of the greatest men involved in the social gospel movement was the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  I would agree, with the caveat that the author is misusing Kings words to fit his union narrative.  For Dr King spoke adamantly about the social and economic inequalities in this nation.  It's no secret that Americans both black and white took his words to heart.  Had he lived, there is little doubt that Martin Luther King would have been a strong advocate for social change.  Had it not been for a assassins bullet in Memphis on April 4th, 1968.  Even the most adamant conspiracy theorist might assume that perhaps the nation wasn't ready for social change just yet.  Yet, if we set aside the labels and agendas and focus on the true gospel of Jesus we can indeed have more than a few good words to live by.  I don't believe in using the gospel of Jesus as a union organizing tool.  I also don't believe in using the gospel to stick it to the rich among us.  This was not what Jesus was speaking to.  In the eyes of the Father, there is no common enemy.  We are all created by God in His image {Genesis 1:27}.  In the eyes of the Father, there are no rich land owners, only His beloved children.  The desire of the Lord is that ALL of His children would be reconciled to Him {John 3:17, John 17:21}.  We can all learn a valuable lesson from Dr King...hate is simply too great a burden to bear.  

He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love

1 John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~