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Thursday, 21 August 2008

Undercover

So, I was thinking...... is all this discipleship angst really necessary? Perhaps a bit of undercover following would be just fine. Gaining a bit of power and influence so you can pull it out of the bag now and again to do the odd good thing, even brave thing. For the rest of the time though, you could be .... well...... incognito so to speak.

Joseph of Arimathea would be a precedent. Member of the Sanhedrin involved in the decision to crucify but at the point of death, uses his clout to get the body and do (quite literally) the world a favour. (For this interpretation you have to ignore Mark's account, as he makes it out to be a rush job before the Sabbath so the Jewish authorities can bury the bad news).

I have had the conversations which tell me you need influence and money in order to make a difference. I understand that declaring yourself Christian can be counter productive in an environment that thinks it outdated, unintellectual and inhibitive.

So, take seriously a call to follow provocatively and counterculturally, or go the way of Joseph and try make it through with some walking in the shadows?

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Comments

Jesus seemed pretty all-or-nothing about following Him. Drop your nets, leave your family behind, sell all your possessions, take up your cross, you're either for me or against me, etc. I'm not sure if wangling a tomb is quite as all-encompassing and self-sacrificial a move.

That's not to say God doesn't specifically call people to roles directing resources to his purposes from time-to-time - God can do what he wants, after all - but that I think it's probably rare (even more so with a welfare state where charity is not the primary means of receiving healthcare, benefits etc) in our times that God wants someone to be super-rich to help distribute resources to good causes.

It's also a valid question as to how much (given that we benefit from cheap goods produced the world over by exploiting people, from a distribution network relying on ill-gotten oil etc) we can be anything but Joseph of Arithmaeas in this country.

But I think for people who have that role, they (we) have to accept not being on the frontline of the struggle, because the rich and powerful and those closely connected with them are never going to be the ones who direct fundamental and lasting change; they do not have as much agency as the oppressed, so those of us that are rich and powerful (or relatively rich and powerful) have more of a supportive role to play. The more we side directly with those who are on the frontline, the more we can be there too, though, I think.

So I would say certainly you don't need power and influence to make a difference, but having access to it doesn't necessarily disqualify you from making a difference either, although likely in a more limited way, and you always have to check yourself to make sure you're not fooling yourself.

Posted by: tim f | Monday, 25 August 2008

Hmm, crypto-disicpleship? Dunno 'bout that but you can be a "brillante weblog"!

Hope all is well with you and yours. Maybe catch up sometime?

Posted by: Catriona | Monday, 25 August 2008

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