{"id":18836,"date":"2020-05-07T09:29:35","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T13:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=18836"},"modified":"2020-05-07T09:57:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-07T13:57:56","slug":"jesus-social-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=18836","title":{"rendered":"Jesus&#8217; Social Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Community<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cac.org\/jesus-social-program-2020-05-07\/\"><strong>Jesus\u2019 Social Program<\/strong><\/a><br>\n<strong>Thursday, May 7, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9PugD11k3JU\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Jesus\u2019 experience of divine kinship, which Beatrice Bruteau described yesterday, naturally led to the creation of equitable community. His community was very different than the larger society in which he lived\u2014and the individualistic, largely unfettered capitalist society in which we live today. In fact, Jesus\u2019 community looks very similar to networks of mutual aid which are springing up to help one another during this global pandemic. In the midst of crisis, people often begin to rely on others more<\/em><em>\u2014<\/em><em>whether neighbors, local organizations, or even online communities<\/em><em>\u2014<\/em><em>for physical, emotional, and psychological support. By giving what we can and receiving what we need, we build relationships that last.<\/em> <em>Bruteau continues: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The total social program that Jesus advocated was based on communion, friendship, distribution, and partnership. This contrasts with a social organization based on domination, exploitation, accumulation, and force. His program\u2019s central principle is equality, just as the contrasting paradigm\u2019s principle is inequality. The latter is vertically ordered by \u201cpower over.\u201d The former is horizontally ordered by sharing and mutual care. Even what might have been a vertical dimension\u2014the power of God over all\u2014is developed [through Jesus] in a horizontal way by the distributed Spirit indwelling each social entity (individual, family, local community, the whole people). This distribution of the God-expressing Spirit implies that people must be in active partnership with God at all points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the \u201ccovenant\u201d idea: contribution, responsibility, and care work both ways, in the context of equality and mutual respect. There is no \u201csocial status.\u201d . . . &nbsp;All persons are respected equally, while particular gifts and expertise organize collective activity appropriately for the benefit of all. The people are committed to one another and pledge to care for the other as one cares for oneself. \u201cBenefit of all\u201d is a real incentive, a strong motivator. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These ideas and their accompanying feelings . . . cannot be imposed on people. They have to <em>emerge<\/em> in a natural and spontaneous way. The thesis is that all people <em>have<\/em> such feelings, at least the propensity for them, and vaguely the desire to let them surface and operate, but they are discouraged from showing and fulfilling them by [dominant] social systems. . . . Occasionally individuals appear who have broken free from the prevailing culture and who can give opportunity to others to be free. If they can come together, they can form a community that welcomes newcomers and grows. Their cooperative lifestyle makes for stronger community unity than the selfishness, suspicion, competition, and hostility of the lifestyle they have left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The type of community that Beatrice Bruteau describes is an essential part of the Jesus \u201cprogram.\u201d It flows naturally from the recognition of God\u2019s presence within each and every individual and all of creation. How could we, who have God\u2019s Spirit within us, ever rob, cheat, oppress, or harm others, within whom the Spirit also dwells?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matthew 25:35-46 \u2026.For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.\u2019  37  \u201cThen the righteous will answer him, \u2018Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?\u2019  40  \u201cThe King will reply, \u2018Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.\u2019  41  \u201cThen he will say to those on his left, \u2018Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.\u2019  44  \u201cThey also will answer, \u2018Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?\u2019  45  \u201cHe will reply, \u2018Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.\u2019  46  \u201cThen they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Community Jesus\u2019 Social Program Thursday, May 7, 2020 Jesus\u2019 experience of divine kinship, which Beatrice Bruteau described yesterday, naturally led to the creation of equitable community. His community was very different than the larger society in which he lived\u2014and the individualistic, largely unfettered capitalist society in which we live today. In fact, Jesus\u2019 community looks [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18836"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18836"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18839,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18836\/revisions\/18839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}