World Council of Churches
Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches
Reformed Churches Bern-Jura-Solothurn
Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF)
INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL CONFERENCE
“Promised Land”
Church Center Bürenpark, Bern, Switzerland
10 - 14 September 2008
People of God
Ethical and Moral Implications
Prof. Dr Mammen Varkey
Vichara Center, India
What is codified, recorded, interpreted, preserved and passed on to us in the Old Testament is the collective consciousness of a community that tried to journey towards God. According to the collective consciousness of the Israelites, “God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). All human beings originate from God. All human beings bear the likeness and image of God. All are people of God.
This is not an individual affirmation but a collective expression of the faith that emerged out of the Israelites’ journey towards God. It was an incredibly courageous declaration of their willingness to see the image and likeness of God in all human beings and a call to all communities to do likewise.
The second element of their collective consciousness was that they were a chosen people, the descendants of a chosen man. They did not hesitate to declare that they were chosen so that all the nations of the earth be blessed: “…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3); “…by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice” (Gen. 22:18).
Chosenness reaffirmed that they were people of God but was also a reminder that their blessing was to be shared with all the nations, all the families. The blessings could not be narrowly appropriated for themselves.
The third element of their collective consciousness was the remembrance that they were slaves in Egypt: “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm…” (Deut. 5: 15).
By incorporating this as part of their faith statement, by making it an integral part of their collective consciousness, the Israelites were declaring their unshakeable responsibility to lead a life in solidarity with the slaves.
We can see a parallelism between Jesus’ life and teachings and the collective consciousness of the people of Israel. Jesus, through his life and ministry, also explicates who the people of God are, how God is concerned with them and what their responsibilities are.
As God created all people in the image and likeness of God, so God’s love is for all: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). As Abraham was chosen so that all nations on the earth would be blessed, Jesus was sent so that all people may become partakers in the good news offered by God: “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10). As the people of Israel reminded themselves that they were slaves in Egypt and had to be in solidarity with the slaves, so Jesus, “filled with the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14), said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me 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 favour” (Luke 4: 18-19).
There is a crucial point in Jesus’ life and ministry: It is the cross that transforms him into the personification of the people of God. During the early part of his public ministry, he sends his disciples out to Israel only: “Go nowhere among the gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:5). But the resurrected Christ sends his disciples to all nations. The cross enables him to transcend the barriers of ethnicity and embrace all nations as people of God.
This is well explicated by Paul: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28). The cross pulls down all walls of separation, calling us to transcend the barriers of race, class, and gender.
The crucified and resurrected Jesus filled his disciples with the same Spirit with which he was filled: “When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). This was the same Spirit that anointed him to preach good news to the poor. So his disciples cannot escape the cross in likewise proclaiming release to the captives and setting at liberty those who are oppressed.
The cross, understood not in a narrow religious sense, not in a conquering mode, nor in a triumphant tone, must be seen as the key to perceiving all human beings as people of God. This cross must be the defining principle and destiny of the people of God. If this is accepted, it has several ethical and moral implications.
“People of God” is not an exclusivist identity. It is a call to be committed to the unity of all human beings, including those who belong to no religion, and to resist all divisive, dehumanizing forces and agencies.
“People of God” is not so much a statement about a present form of existence as the assurance of the realization of a new possibility. It recognizes the sinfulness and inadequacy of the present reality and the need for grace and redemption. Repentance and a willingness to be corrected by high truths are marks of the people of God.
God’s people, in a context of religious plurality and cultural diversity, have to affirm the unity of humanity—transcending barriers of caste, colour, race and religion. In the Indian context, caste is the most formidable and frightening divider. The Dalit people were once not even considered human!
In a situation of dehumanizing poverty and deprivation, God’s people understand themselves as ethically obliged to fight against poverty and exploitation. In the context of structurally institutionalized poverty, God’s people are obliged to fight for radical structural transformation.
God’s people are those who know the freedom offered in God. Unfreedom is anti-God, satanic. A world of empire building where many nations and groups are denied even the most basic freedoms is an inescapable concern of God’s people. Palestine and all situations of unfreedom demand their intervention. Neutrality is not an option. We cannot be silent or inactive in the context of what is happening in Palestine. Taking sides—taking God’s side—becomes a mandate.
We live in a neo-liberal globalized world that is extending the reach of the market to all aspects of life, commodifying people and things. Globalization empties persons of their Spirit and fills them with the urge to consume. It is a challenge, or rather a threat, to all people of God. Consumption becomes the sole objective of life, replacing “being” with “having”. This is an ethical issue that should concern God’s people. Consumption uses resources indiscriminately, threatening sustainability. Sustaining life and all its forms is an ethical imperative of God’s people.
Hope is the distinguishing mark of God’s people, who are to be understood as a set of people who redefine themselves and reorganize their activities on the basis of the future consummation. In a world preoccupied with today’s concerns, God’s people are ethically bound to speak of the future and sustain hope amidst the travails of the present.
What is codified, recorded, interpreted, preserved and passed on to us in the Old Testament is the collective consciousness of a community that tried to journey towards God. According to the collective consciousness of the Israelites, “God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). All human beings originate from God. All human beings bear the likeness and image of God. All are people of God.
This is not an individual affirmation but a collective expression of the faith that emerged out of the Israelites’ journey towards God. It was an incredibly courageous declaration of their willingness to see the image and likeness of God in all human beings and a call to all communities to do likewise.
The second element of their collective consciousness was that they were a chosen people, the descendants of a chosen man. They did not hesitate to declare that they were chosen so that all the nations of the earth be blessed: “…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3); “…by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice” (Gen. 22:18).
Chosenness reaffirmed that they were people of God but was also a reminder that their blessing was to be shared with all the nations, all the families. The blessings could not be narrowly appropriated for themselves.
The third element of their collective consciousness was the remembrance that they were slaves in Egypt: “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm…” (Deut. 5: 15).
By incorporating this as part of their faith statement, by making it an integral part of their collective consciousness, the Israelites were declaring their unshakeable responsibility to lead a life in solidarity with the slaves.
We can see a parallelism between Jesus’ life and teachings and the collective consciousness of the people of Israel. Jesus, through his life and ministry, also explicates who the people of God are, how God is concerned with them and what their responsibilities are.
As God created all people in the image and likeness of God, so God’s love is for all: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). As Abraham was chosen so that all nations on the earth would be blessed, Jesus was sent so that all people may become partakers in the good news offered by God: “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10). As the people of Israel reminded themselves that they were slaves in Egypt and had to be in solidarity with the slaves, so Jesus, “filled with the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14), said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me 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 favour” (Luke 4: 18-19).
There is a crucial point in Jesus’ life and ministry: It is the cross that transforms him into the personification of the people of God. During the early part of his public ministry, he sends his disciples out to Israel only: “Go nowhere among the gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:5). But the resurrected Christ sends his disciples to all nations. The cross enables him to transcend the barriers of ethnicity and embrace all nations as people of God.
This is well explicated by Paul: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28). The cross pulls down all walls of separation, calling us to transcend the barriers of race, class, and gender.
The crucified and resurrected Jesus filled his disciples with the same Spirit with which he was filled: “When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). This was the same Spirit that anointed him to preach good news to the poor. So his disciples cannot escape the cross in likewise proclaiming release to the captives and setting at liberty those who are oppressed.
The cross, understood not in a narrow religious sense, not in a conquering mode, nor in a triumphant tone, must be seen as the key to perceiving all human beings as people of God. This cross must be the defining principle and destiny of the people of God. If this is accepted, it has several ethical and moral implications.
“People of God” is not an exclusivist identity. It is a call to be committed to the unity of all human beings, including those who belong to no religion, and to resist all divisive, dehumanizing forces and agencies.
“People of God” is not so much a statement about a present form of existence as the assurance of the realization of a new possibility. It recognizes the sinfulness and inadequacy of the present reality and the need for grace and redemption. Repentance and a willingness to be corrected by high truths are marks of the people of God.
God’s people, in a context of religious plurality and cultural diversity, have to affirm the unity of humanity—transcending barriers of caste, colour, race and religion. In the Indian context, caste is the most formidable and frightening divider. The Dalit people were once not even considered human!
In a situation of dehumanizing poverty and deprivation, God’s people understand themselves as ethically obliged to fight against poverty and exploitation. In the context of structurally institutionalized poverty, God’s people are obliged to fight for radical structural transformation.
God’s people are those who know the freedom offered in God. Unfreedom is anti-God, satanic. A world of empire building where many nations and groups are denied even the most basic freedoms is an inescapable concern of God’s people. Palestine and all situations of unfreedom demand their intervention. Neutrality is not an option. We cannot be silent or inactive in the context of what is happening in Palestine. Taking sides—taking God’s side—becomes a mandate.
We live in a neo-liberal globalized world that is extending the reach of the market to all aspects of life, commodifying people and things. Globalization empties persons of their Spirit and fills them with the urge to consume. It is a challenge, or rather a threat, to all people of God. Consumption becomes the sole objective of life, replacing “being” with “having”. This is an ethical issue that should concern God’s people. Consumption uses resources indiscriminately, threatening sustainability. Sustaining life and all its forms is an ethical imperative of God’s people.
Hope is the distinguishing mark of God’s people, who are to be understood as a set of people who redefine themselves and reorganize their activities on the basis of the future consummation. In a world preoccupied with today’s concerns, God’s people are ethically bound to speak of the future and sustain hope amidst the travails of the present.
