“Obama is not a brown-skinned anti-war socialist who gives away free health care. You’re thinking of Jesus,” jokes the popular comedian John Fugelsang. While offered as a comedic reflection the reality of the jest is no laughing matter, at least not in American politics these days and certainly not in the pews of American Christian churches.
Battle lines have been drawn between Progressive Christians and those of the more conservative Religious Right and the raging battle is to be found on the field of American politics. While this is not a new battleground for Christians it is at least one of the most contentious fights of the 21st century.
At stake is not only political ambition, with elections looming this fall, but perhaps more importantly for people of the Christian faith, the understanding of what it means to be an American and a Christian in light of the Social Gospel.
The Social Gospel was an intellectual movement out of the early 1900’s within primarily the Protestant Christian church. It attempted to address community needs and social problems from a Christian sense of compassion, outreach, and civil contribution as much as it sought to define Christian ethics and responsibilities in terms of community activism launched from within the church. The movement has seen a resurgence in the last ten years.
In the debate on health care reform and various other social programs presented by the Obama administration, battle lines have been drawn and the call to arms sounded. In the cross hairs, to borrow a popular phrase, is the basic understanding of what it means to be a Christian and an American and to love your neighbor as yourself, caring for the poor, the oppressed, and those who are sick, indeed the “least of these.”
Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV) The Sheep and the Goats
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 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, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I 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.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
We’ve embarked upon a new ministry in a largely undiscovered mission field, in a land on the fringes of society, and unexplored by many other Christian ministries. You can’t get here by plane, train, automobile, nor boat. This is a land so exotic and primitive that you can lose yourself and in the losing of yourself, quite possibly discover a whole new you.
In SL you create a virtual avatar that represents you and your personality. Needless to say I created that of a monk: Abbot DeSantis. I look like a monk, gesture like a monk, do the work of a monk, and in SL live like a monk. In this new world you can be anything you want to be and look like anything you want to look like. In my heart of hearts I am a Celtic catholic monk in the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart and so that’s who I chose to be in SL.
