BlakeHuggins.com

Introduction | Part I | Part II | Part III

Ok, before anyone calls me out on it, I borrowed this image from a book. And a book I haven’t completely read, which is dangerous.

So far I’ve dealt almost exclusively with political images and metaphors to describe the kingdom of God. But the kingdom is just as much economical as it is political, and although “commonwealth” is a political term, I think of economics when I hear the word.

I don’t know. This may be failed attempt from the get go because I don’t hear anyone using the word “commonwealth” anymore. I looked it up on Wikipedia, and apparently states like Kentucky and Massachusetts are designated commonwealths, but I sure as hell don’t hear the Sean Hannitys or the Lou Dobbs throwing it around on their polarizing, propaganda steeped “news programs.” But then again maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised, they are in service to the empire after all, being fueled by our suicidal political machinery, if I may borrow Brian McLaren’s verbiage.

When you break the word apart it’s not surprising at all that nobody “likes” the word, especially now, especially here.

Common - wealth.

Now, I don’t know much about economics, I’ll be the first to tell you that. But on the most basic, semantical level this seems pretty simple. People holding their “wealth” in “common.” People acting humanly. People sharing. People not hoarding up wealth privately for themselves but giving it away to whoever is in need. People being treated equally as people who bear the image of God.

Now, I’m sure that sounds communist or socialist or whatever else you’d like to label it, we do like to label things don’t we? It sort of makes it easier for us to dismiss “that” or “them.” But don’t take my word for it. I seem to remember Jesus saying something like “give to whomever asks.” “Be generous to the needy among you.” Or how about that chapter in Matthew about “the least of these.” Jesus didn’t talk about damnation and punishment much, but he sure did there, and take note of who the hottest fires of hell are reserved for, those who neglected and ignored the least of these. Hmm.

People are really getting excited about “the early church” these days. Whatever that means. I see people all the time (mis)quoting Acts 2:47 to justify church growth, consequently making them feel better about building huge monolithic buildings and buying expensive state-of-the art you fill in the blank. They always miss the verse before that, verse 45 to be exact, where the followers of the Way sold all their possessions and distributed the proceeds to anyone who had need. Anyone. Who. Was. In. Need. Not just the whites, or the men, or the sober, or the clean.  Anyone. Or, how about a couple of chapters later in Acts 4:32 where it says that no claimed private ownership or possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. . .huh. . .that makes the cries of consumer oriented mega-churches, and hyper-capitalists governments ring rather hollow.

“Sell it all and give it all away to the poor.” Why don’t we take that seriously? Didn’t Jesus mean it? Or, was he just screwing around? Why do we insist on being greedy, ignoring the call of the poor, starving, addiction stricken Jesus in our slums and in our ghettos? Damn us all.

I think Barbara Ehrenreich was right when she wrote, “Christ crucified rules, and it may be that the true business of modern Christianity is to crucify him again and again so that he can never get a word out of his mouth.” But even that phrase “Christ crucified” means nothing to us. We’ve domesticated it’s jarring subversiveness. Perhaps it would better to say we’ve castrated Jesus, or we’ve waterboarded Jesus to death. Yes, we’ve castrated and waterboarded Jesus so he cannot turn over the coffee tables in our living rooms. Damn us all indeed.

The Commonwealth of God.

People truly being people.
People genuinely being treated equally.
People authentically living as people together.
People sharing and giving to help each other without reservation.
People acknowledging and honoring the divine mark upon the other’s being.

Imagine that.

~bh ><>