Times were bad...
Illustration
Object:
Times were bad in Israel when God decided to anoint new leadership (David). Note what is not going well in America. Consider present international turmoil, the conflicts in which America is engaged. Note a 2013 Associate Press poll that shows 4 of 5 adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty, or reliance on welfare for at least part of their lives. A 2011 Environmental Protection Agency study found that the average American produces about 4.4 lbs. of garbage a day. A 2009 study of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development revealed that American students ranked 33rd among industrialized nations on reading, math, and science.
It will not be as simple as just electing somebody new. We need a cultural revolution. Reinhold Niebuhr provides insight about the first lesson needed for this new culture: "Modern democracy rests upon the insight that what I think to be just is tainted by my own self-interest" (Justice & Mercy, p. 44).
Until we recognize our political biases, we are unlikely to see many changes. But this awareness should make us suspicious even of the things in society that we think are just fine. In short, as Niebuhr claimed, we need leaders who will make (coerce) us do what is good for society (Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 218).
An ancient African theologian, Cyprian of Carthage, claims that the text teaches us that we have been anointed like David (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, p. 58). With such an anointment we will be able to begin to do what Martin Luther directs: "So let every man, if he has received a blessing or gift from God, learn to divest himself of it, shun it, give it up, in order that he may not look to himself, but rather note how his neighbor looks and how the neighbor is reflected in himself" (Luther's Works, Vol. 51, p. 37).
It will be easier to vote to turn things around and work for change (even if it is against our own interests) once by God's grace we see our less fortunate neighbors reflected in ourselves. The poor, the victim of poor education, and environmental racism is me and my family, you and yours!
It will not be as simple as just electing somebody new. We need a cultural revolution. Reinhold Niebuhr provides insight about the first lesson needed for this new culture: "Modern democracy rests upon the insight that what I think to be just is tainted by my own self-interest" (Justice & Mercy, p. 44).
Until we recognize our political biases, we are unlikely to see many changes. But this awareness should make us suspicious even of the things in society that we think are just fine. In short, as Niebuhr claimed, we need leaders who will make (coerce) us do what is good for society (Reinhold Niebuhr: Theologian of Public Life, p. 218).
An ancient African theologian, Cyprian of Carthage, claims that the text teaches us that we have been anointed like David (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 5, p. 58). With such an anointment we will be able to begin to do what Martin Luther directs: "So let every man, if he has received a blessing or gift from God, learn to divest himself of it, shun it, give it up, in order that he may not look to himself, but rather note how his neighbor looks and how the neighbor is reflected in himself" (Luther's Works, Vol. 51, p. 37).
It will be easier to vote to turn things around and work for change (even if it is against our own interests) once by God's grace we see our less fortunate neighbors reflected in ourselves. The poor, the victim of poor education, and environmental racism is me and my family, you and yours!
