D & C 163  | |
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Doctrine and Covenants 163 Commentary Series
Pursue Peace
by Susan D. Skoor
Above all else, strive to be faithful to Christ’s vision of
the peaceable Kingdom of God on earth. Courageously challenge cultural,
political, and religious trends that are contrary to the reconciling and
restoring purposes of God. Pursue peace.—Doctrine and Covenants 163:3b
Strive.” “Challenge.” “Pursue.” Powerful action words claim our
attention in Doctrine and Covenants 163:3b. This is not a scripture for the
faint-hearted. When this portion of the inspired counsel was first discussed at
the 2007 World Conference, Christian Skoorsmith of Seattle, Washington, made a
memorable statement:
“This document is not only inspiring and challenging, it’s dangerous. If we, as
a people, affirm this as inspired scripture for our church, we will be
confronted in uncomfortable ways. The poor will ask us, ‘What matters most?’ The
hungry will ask us, ‘What matters most?’ Those facing the end of a gun
will ask us, ‘What matters most?’ Those holding the gun will ask us,
‘What matters most?’ And the way we answer those questions and the actions we
take in response will set us against the cultural, political, and religious
trends and institutions of our day. And that is what I call prophetic!”
The classical prophets of the Hebrew Testament were those who recognized
injustice and challenged people to join God in creating justice. John Dominic
Crosson in his book God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now
wrote:
Biblical prophecy (from the Greek pro-ph -mi) was not just
about ‘speaking before,’ about ‘fore-telling’ the future, but about
‘speaking for’ God, especially as an indictment against those who failed to
observe the covenant of distributive justice at the heart of Israel’s Torah
—p. 74
Isaiah told his people, “Learn to do good; seek justice, rescue
the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:17). Jeremiah’s
oracle to the king of Judah included these words: “Act with justice and
righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been
robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or
shed innocent blood in this place” (Jeremiah 22:3). Amos said, “Take away from
me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But
let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing
stream” (Amos 5:23–24). Micah is famous for his statement, “What does the Lord
require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with
your God?” (Micah 6:8).
Jesus of Nazareth was familiar with the prophetic challenges of the ancient
prophets. He taught justice and took positive action to transform society. Like
all Jewish males, Jesus lived in the shadow of the laws that governed daily
life. The original Torah, or law, fostered justice and healthy relationships
among Israelites who had known oppression in the land of Egypt. Through the
years, however, written and oral traditions accumulated around the Torah to
create complex codes regulating sabbath, food, circumcision, sacrifices, and
temple rituals. Jewish factions and leaders used those codes to increase their
status and control the people.
In Jesus’ day, the resulting purity system united with a strong sense of ethnic
identity to foster elitism on two levels: (1) a rampant nationalism that
excluded people of other nations; and (2) a social hierarchy within Judaism that
established who was clean and who was unclean, who was acceptable and who was
unacceptable. Compliance to the purity codes defined where a man stood on the
social ladder, which people could associate with him, and what his status was in
the community.
The wealthy and zealous kept the letter of the law and hired servants to do any
tasks that might result in ritual impurity. Tradesmen such as carpenters were in
the middle of the purity ladder. Farmers and the people of the land were low on
the purity scale. Shepherds, for instance, were judged unclean most of the time,
because they dealt with birth, disease, and death among their flocks and did not
have the luxury of obeying the washing rituals. Anyone diseased, lame, blind, or
malformed was also ritually impure. Lepers, tax collectors, and sinners were
shunned because contact with them made a person unclean. Women were not even
considered, but took their status from their husbands.
Gentiles were automatically unclean, and a good Jew avoided eating or
associating with non-Jews. Thus the purity codes also encouraged the separation
of the people of Israel from other nationalities."
Already in the time of Jesus, the Zealot movement was
gaining popular support for its holy war to drive Rome from the kingdom that
rightfully belonged to the sons of David. Even the cautious Pharisees were
openly questioning whether it was God’s will to support the Roman state
(Mark 12:14). By the late fifties when the ministry of Paul reached its
climax, Jerusalem was a powder keg of inflamed patriotism….—William Hull,
Beyond the Barriers, p. 40
Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God as an alternative to the
radical, exclusive nationalism of his day. Jesus’ critique was not aimed at the
Roman oppressors, but at the powerful elite within his own nation who oppressed
the poor. Jesus taught that God’s favor rested with the people of the land, the
weak, and the marginalized. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the
kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry…” (Luke 6:20–21).
Jesus welcomed sinners and tax collectors in table fellowship (Luke 19:1–10) and
reinterpreted sabbath laws (Luke 13:10–17). He turned the purity system upside
down by affirming the worth of women, children, lepers, prostitutes, and
gentiles. He touched the untouchable, loved the unlovable, and affirmed the
invisible. In modeling inclusive, compassionate fellowship, Jesus reinterpreted
the laws in the light of grace, generosity, the love of God for all nations, and
the establishment of whole, healthy relationships.
But the Jewish religious authorities saw only that Jesus was
acting against the cultural, religious, and political institutions they wanted
to preserve. As his teachings gained adherents, those in power (both Jewish and
Roman) could not let the threat go unchallenged. The Jewish authorities turned
him over to the Romans, in a desperate attempt to stop this kingdom movement
that overturned their social order and worked against their zealous, exclusive
nationalism. Two thousand years later, the proclamation of the kingdom is alive
and well. It rests at the heart of the identity, message, and mission of the
Community of Christ.
From the beginning, our movement has centered on Jesus Christ and the
establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. “Keep my commandments and seek to bring
forth the cause of Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:3). Early experiments in
community attempted to establish Zion with city charters and prophetic rule that
set this “peculiar people” against the cultural, religious, and political
institutions of the day. But the people failed to live out the fundamental
issues of justice and inclusiveness.
Today, the challenge remains. Jesus came not just to denounce
the purity system of his day, but to denounce the purity system of every
culture, in every age—including ours. Community of Christ congregations exist in
countries where
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abject poverty is the norm;
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it is culturally acceptable for a man to physically abuse his
wife and children;
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greed and consumerism lead to lives of comfort and complacency;
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conflict consumes faith, innocence, and family stability; and
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the engines of war are supported by vengeance, greed, and fear.
Wherever we reside, we are called to give our highest allegiance
to God’s kingdom. It takes precedence over any nation or government in
existence. When God’s kingdom collides with the accepted norms of culture,
religion, or governments, we are challenged to be countercultural in dramatic,
visible ways.
God lives among us and sheds grace on the impoverished and invisible, the
outcasts and enemies, the perpetrators and terrorists. When we hear the message
most deeply, it stirs in us questions—and concerns for the status quo. To
believe and follow requires change and sacrifice.
Our task is “to bring good news to the poor…to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim
the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19 NRSV). We cannot bring such “good
news” without challenging the cultural, political, and religious trends that
dismiss the poor, oppress the powerless, and exclude the stranger. Do we dare to
strive for the kingdom, challenge injustice, and pursue Christ’s peace?
Brad Shumate, pastor of the Portland, Oregon, congregation, participated in a
nonviolent protest in Washington, D.C., against a proposed federal budget that
was oppressive to the poor. Blair White, Bountiful Mission Center president,
went to Washington, D.C., to talk to his congressman about the revocation of
habeas corpus. Janet Irby and Andy Shelton of Novato, California, have
joined other civic and religious organizations to challenge civil rights abuses
among the immigrant population and to provide a welcoming place for immigrants
to find compassion, dignity, and self-worth in the midst of a hostile,
prejudiced society.
Sergio Juarez, of Los Angeles, negotiated housing for a Latino family unjustly
evicted from their apartment. Seventy Frank Young initiated a halfway house in
Billings, Montana, for paroled women transitioning back into society. Untold
numbers of Community of Christ members around the world are speaking out for the
worth of persons in Darfur, Sudan; elsewhere in Africa; Australia; and the
Caribbean.
“Pursue peace.” “Find your voice.” “Strive for the kingdom of God.” “The Holy
Spirit is moving ahead, preparing the way.”
The path will not always be easy, the choices will not
always be clear, but the cause is sure and the Spirit will bear witness to
the truth, and those who live the truth will know the hope and the joy of
discipleship in the community of Christ. Amen. —Doctrine and Covenants 161:7
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