After many years in Sunday School and Bible Study classes, I can attest that the second most often-asked question is “How does this Bible verse/story/chapter apply to us today?”Jim Wallis answers that question throughout his book in urgent ways, with a no-holds barred approach to his thoughts on the ways that the current administration befouls Christian ideals and is creating a Constitutional crisis. Crises can be catalysts to a return to faith, and Wallis states that “I believe two things are now at stake: the soul of the nation and the integrity of faith.” (pg. 17)I became aware of Wallis’ work after a gathering of diverse American Christian leaders, including the Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, met and and wrote a creed called “Reclaiming Jesus: A Declaration for Faith in a Time of Crisis,” and published it in May of 2018. Each profession of faith in this statement begins with “We believe” and ends with Therefore, we reject” to explain Christian belief and its influence on believers’ thoughts and actions. To me, this book is Wallis’ extension of this project as well as a culmination of the prolific amount of literature he has written on religion and politics.
The book is arranged in chapters that focus on eight specific teachings of Jesus with questions about how we are responding today. Chapters are examinations of Scripture with commentary on that reading from classical theologians such as St. Thomas Aquinas and John Calvin to contemporary scholars like Walter Brueggemann and Reinhold Niebuhr. Additional insights range from conservative to liberal columnists who write on religion and includes the faith-based actions of leaders like Pope Francis, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mennonite Will Jones who represent a wide-range of religious experience in the Christian tradition.
In the chapter on truth, Wallis quotes Courtney Hall Lee, who says the “‘value for truth is completely woven into our theology,’” (page 85), and he continues his discussion on how a disregard for truth has many dangerous implications affecting our faith community, the nation, and our children. Other chapters cover servant leadership, what it means to love our neighbor, human beings as the image of God, the work of peacemakers, and so on.
One of the most moving chapters is “The Discipleship Question,” based on Matthew 25:14 (Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”), which Wallis contends is not taught or preached in many churches. He says, “I call it the ‘it was me’ text. I was hungry, Jesus said: I was thirsty, I was naked, I was a stranger, I was sick, I was in prison. It was me. You either gave me food to eat or you didn’t, you gave me clothes to wear or you didn’t, you welcomed me as an immigrant or refugee, or you didn’t…. Whatever you did or didn’t to to them, you did to me—that’s exactly what Jesus is saying here.” (page 158) He calls it the “most challenging test for all of us: to measure our lives by the well-being of those who are always most easily forgotten and invisible—Jesus’s final test of discipleship.” (page 159) He ends the chapter with a discussion of the Matthew 25 movement, which has recently made courageous and successful steps in working with some of the most vulnerable populations in America.
Conclusions about how we as Americans—and particularly the current administration—are acting in light of our Christian beliefs are bold and searing criticisms of the treatment of refugees and immigrants, of truth, of racial relations, of treatment of women, the poor and vulnerable. Each chapter ends with a discussion of how Christians have responded to crises in the past and what responsibilities believers have in calling into question this current state of affairs. It’s a combination of encouragement, inspiration, and comfort.
While I initially thought that the chapters were slightly long for the lay reader, I realized that a lengthy discussion was essential for making these points. When the statement of faith was originally published, there was immediate backlash from some conservative columnists and evangelical leaders who called it partisan and hypocritical and ungodly.
At the outset of this book, readers may be taken aback by the severe criticism for the president and current administration and shrug it of as only a political statement from a liberal thinker, but it is obvious through the careful study of scripture, the wide-ranging commentary, and a lengthy historical perspective that this is important and impactful reading for American Christians.
Interestingly, this book is actually pertinent for non-Christian readers as well, because it explains the life and work of Jesus, explores how he was counter-cultural, and then discusses how faithful followers reacted in their own cultural experiences. And for both Christian and non-Christian readers, it explains how the name of Jesus has been co-opted for nefarious reasons and describes the ways American Christians are divorced from “the way” (the original term for followers of Jesus and his teachings).
This book was transformational for me, in that I am convinced that we Christians have a responsibility to study deeply, are called by our faith to speak out on the injustices of our administration, and need to step out in the defense and care of the vulnerable. The book would make a good multi-session discussion for a Bible study group.
(HarperOne, Sept. 24, 2019)
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an advance copy.
