The Politics of Jesus

The good news that Jesus Christ announces, embodies and demonstrates has implications for every sphere of life. The reality of God’s reign coming to fruition impinges on every aspect of creation. As the risen Jesus sends out his disciples in Matthew 28, he claims all authority and in Revelation 21:5 the risen Christ declares, “Behold I am making all things new.” Jesus is Lord of all.

This can be especially difficult to see in the realm of politics. So much of our political process engenders cynicism. Many of us are tired of crass and simplistic attempts to bring the Christian faith to bear on American politics and fearful of doing so ourselves. Yet, the lordship of Jesus extends even to this realm of life — we are called to follow him in this world as well. What’s more, the Gospel and faith passed on to us provide us with resources to engage this world in meaningful and hopeful ways beyond what we might expect.

I’m excited that we have the chance to press into these realities next week with the seminar “The Politics of Jesus: A Christian Vision of Political and Social Engagement” with the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Warren. These seminars are a part of our calling as a church to be a learning and teaching community, growing in our understanding of the Gospel and its many implications. The intention with this particular talk is that we might grow in our capacity to think Christianly about engaging our neighbors and communities, and to spur our imaginations as we think about following Jesus in loving our neighbors even in the political realm. See details below; I hope you can join us!

In Christ,
Peter+