Meditations for Red Letter Christians

The Red Letter Christian Constitution

A Political Reflection on the Sermon on the Mount in preparation for Election 2008

By Dr. Norman R. Wise

Now I must explain from the very beginning that I really am a red and black letter Christian. I think that every word of the Bible is God breathed and has authority. I also believe that the teachings of Jesus the Christ are in harmony with both Moses and Paul. There is no hierarchy of truth. Truth is truth. The fact that 2+2=4 is true in the same way as “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no person can come to the Father except through me” is true.

Yet, saying this does not take away the fact that Jesus the Christ is the greatest and most clear revelation of God in history since He was “the Word made flesh” and was the unique incarnation of deity. There has also been a concern in recent times that Christians have failed to really think through and live by the words of Jesus in their daily lives and especially in the public square of culture. Because of this concern, there is now a focus on being a “Red Letter Christian”[1].

In my own spiritual journey the “Sermon on the Mount” had a special place in the development of my soul. Growing up I found this section found in Matthew 5-7 and became fascinated with its teachings and simplicity. I read it weekly and repetitively and it became part of my core philosophy of life. Latter, during a crisis in my life God led me to the book “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer which is largely made up of meditations on the “Sermon on the Mount” and which was used to revive my faith and hope. Latter, in my study of this section I found that this sermon was considered to be the constitution of the kingdom of God. So for me if I am seeking clarity in understanding God’s will it comes very natural to come to this section of scripture.

As we face an election year it seems then reasonable to look at this sermon by Jesus the Christ and think about its implication to us not just as individual disciples of Jesus in our private lives but also in our public lives. How would Jesus’ teachings translate into 21st century politics and social action?

Now the danger here is that we will just baptize our political beliefs to give them the status and authority of heaven. That is very dangerous. It is very important at the very start that we recognize Jesus as our Lord, King, Prophet, and one who is the ultimate and absolute standard of truth. Our ideas stand under Him and it would be grave blasphemy to manipulate His words to serve our purposes. So we must be very careful to simply and with integrity meditate on His words and muse upon their implications for our cultural and political lives. Yet, this should not keep us from making what we believe to be valid applications of this meditation on His word into the very real world of elections, politics, and social action.

Meditation 1

ESV Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

ESV Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

ESV Luke 6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

It seems that Jesus is pointing out two truths in this “blessing”. The first found in the Sermon on the Mount is that those who are “poor in spirit” (the humble) and not prone to self reliance and pride, will have the rule of heaven in their lives both now and in eternity. This means that we know that we have received God’s grace and help to have the right attitude when we are aware of our ignorance, weakness, ethical failures, and temptations. The society that is self aware of its own ability to lack understanding, to make moral mistakes, confess past sins, and aware of a need for divine help to succeed is one that is healthier and closer to reflecting the rule of heaven on earth than one which is sure of its opinion, self reliant upon its own strength, in denial about past sins, and perceives itself as the most righteous of all nations. God will resist the proud and rise up the humble. This is true of individuals and of cultures.

In addition in the “sermon in the valley” Jesus points out that many times this humble attitude is given to those individuals and nations who have the most humble of physical resources. Anyone who has done a study of “the poor” in scripture knows that God has great compassion on the needy and the oppressed (Psalm 72:13). Historically the greatest number of Christians have been found among the poor, oppressed, and powerless (1 Cor 1:26, 27). God’s will is to elect more people for salvation among those who suffer from temporal poverty than from those who have temporal riches. While poverty does not guarantee salvation, those in this category are more likely to truly believe than the rich. Being rich does not doom one to damnation but does place a significant temptation before the person which must be faced and overcome (Matthew 19:22). The majority of those who profess faith in Christ as Lord and Savior now live south of the equator where the greatest poverty exists and in those nations to the north of the equator Christian faith is represented strongest among the poorer segments of the population. It appears that having physical riches can tempt us toward the direction of being proud, self reliant, and focused on this temporal existence instead of eternity. Because of this Jesus warns the rich of God’s judgment (Woe) unless they use these riches for God’s kingdom. Cultures and nations that find themselves rich in material goods and military power need to be humble and seek ways to express a spirit of compassion, justice and generosity to the poor, weak, and powerless. It needs to be remembered that the unborn children who live in the wombs of their mothers are the most poor, weak, and powerless and need justice and protection by our nation most of all.


Prayer:

Lord, give me a poor and humble spirit. Help me put my treasure in heaven and not make material gain my ultimate value of life. Help our culture and nation to become poor in spirit and save us from our self reliance. Give to us a true fear and trust of you. Help us see that you care about those who are poor and in need. Grant that we will seek to give justice and compassion to those in need and who are oppressed both individually and as a culture. Help our hearts as individuals and as a nations reflect your heart concerning the poor and especially the unborn who are powerless to protect themselves. Help us see the temptation and danger in being among “the rich” and grant us the grace to not make material wealth an idol that we serve.
In Jesus’ name we pray Amen
[1] http://www.beliefnet.com/story/185/story_18562_1.html