5 Things I'm Pretty Sure Jesus Would Say To His Followers About the LA Protests
I woke up this morning to a text from a friend asking if I would consider writing a blog post about the protests in Los Angeles, and my first thought was, "Absolutely not. I am a pastor, not a politician or even especially politically astute. I have no desire to wade into these murky, turbulent waters where I will find myself quickly over my head." But then, I started editing a different blog post, the one that I intended to publish this week, and I read these (my own) words:
“Our goal should not be to separate our spiritual lives from our political lives but rather to integrate the two, to learn how to view our politics through a spiritual lens. Or put differently, we ought to seek not to separate our political selves from our spiritual selves but to weave them together so our earthly citizenship reflects our heavenly citizenship.”
With that in mind and with humility and some trepidation, I offer this ad hoc blog post: a pastor's take on the protests in Los Angeles, which I'm titling, "5 Things I'm Pretty Sure Jesus Would Say To His Followers About the LA Protests.”
“Eyes on me”
We need to treat moments like these (truly all moments, but especially moments like these) as if we are Peter stepping out of the boat. As long as we fix our gaze on Jesus, we’ll be fine. We will walk on the storm. But the second we take our eyes off him and focus instead on the wind and the waves and the depths, we will sink. And the real tragedy here is that, when we sink into the same currents that are consuming everyone else, we lose the ability to be of any use to people who are drowning. We were created to shine in the darkness, but when we fixate on the same things that everyone else is fixating on, we become indistinguishable from the darkness (remember, as William Blake put it, “We become what we behold.”) and leave the world without a viable witness to the resurrection power of Jesus, which is the true hope of the world. So, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, which means we must look to him, first and preeminently, for guidance and perspective. We must watch him intently, studying his every movement, and do ONLY what we see him doing.
In other words, we must sincerely and diligently ask questions like, "What does Jesus think about all this? What would he do, say, post, if he were me? If he were physically in Paramount right now, where would he be standing? How would he be acting? How would he talk to his friends and family about this? How would he vote and encourage his representatives to vote on these issues? These are the kinds of questions that any follower of Jesus must ask. And then we must not assume that we already know the answers or assume that our previously held biases or beliefs are Christian just because they’re ours but instead must be willing to hear and put into action his answers, even when/especially when they challenge our views and values, as they inevitably will. To be Christian is to surrender completely our kingdoms to his, to exchange our crowns for his cross, to live his life in our bodies. We must make every effort look like our Rabbi, or we are, by definition, not his disciples.
Practically speaking, in this moment, this means we should be spending more time in prayer, mediation, Scripture, worship, and Christian community than we are on social media and 24-hour news. Our Christian identity will not be affirmed and strengthened by the new cycle. In fact, just the opposite. It will often be attacked and undermined in these places. Despite what they might tell us, neither side of the political spectrum represent, speak for, or make disciples for Jesus. And their respective pundits are, at best, poor substitutes for our true Rabbi, or, at worst, false teachers leading his lambs astray. Our Christian identity will only mature as we spend time with Jesus and with others who spend time with him. We must be with Him, learning his mind and heart, learning how he would live if he were us. If we are Christian, we must endeavor, with all our hearts, to become like Christ. We must stubbornly refuse to be conformed to the pattern of this world and instead, intentionally and regularly put ourselves in a position to be transformed by the mind-renewing power of his Holy Spirit. Only then, will we be able to “test and approve,” that is, understand and put into practice, “his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” This doesn’t mean that we will always get it right or even that all Christians will always agree on what Jesus thinks about or would or would not do in a situation like this. However, if we seek him humbly and diligently and daily take up our crosses in order to follow him (that is, put to death our own agendas in favor of his), we will arrive at unity and love far more often than not.
“Uphold the rule of law so long as the law of the land does not contradict Kingdom law.”
As I will discuss in a blog post in the very near future, Jesus commanded his followers to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” In other words, disciples of Jesus are to be humble, respectful, law-abiding citizens of the nations in which they find themselves as an expression of their discipleship to Jesus. He expects us, as Paul reminds in Romans 13 to “be subject to the governing authorities,” understanding that the authority they have was given to them by God. Peter echoes this sentiment when he writes:
“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.” (1 Peter 2:11-14)
The language Peter chose here is particularly instructive. He calls God’s people, “foreigners and exiles,” even though he was writing to people who, more than likely, were living in their own countries of origin. So, when he speaks of their “citizenship status,” he is talking about their heavenly citizenship. They are foreigners and exiles because, when they bowed a knee to King Jesus, their citizenship changed. No longer were they “Jew or Greek”; their previous citizenship and allegiance was now superseded by a higher law. They were, we are, kingdom citizens, first and foremost. And as an expression of his love for the world, Jesus has loaned the citizens of his Kingdom as ambassadors to the nations of this world. As such, we who are his people, are to see ourselves as his ambassadors and to behave in a way that suitably represents our true Lord and land, which means that, for his sake, we humbly obey the law of the land to which he has sent us.
In this current moment, as we watch the situation unfolding in LA/Paramount and now beyond, this means (at least) two things. First, it means that we can never participate in, condone, or glorify lawlessness. We are prohibited by our King from taking part in or celebrating looting, destruction of property, or violence in any form. Jesus knows that violence only begets violence, and he came to help us pound our swords into plowshares, that is, to help us break cycles of retaliatory violence once and for all. We must deal with our enemies the way Jesus did, by transforming them through courageous love and mercy. Second, it means that we should advocate this posture not only among the protesters but also among law enforcement at every level. As Kingdom ambassadors with secondary citizenship in this democracy, we should make clear our expectations that all members of our government, particularly those of the executive branch, responsible for enforcing the laws of this land, from the police to the National Guard, from the Governor to the President abide by the laws that govern this democratic nation in order to safeguard the basic human rights upon which our nation is founded and to ensure that all people are treated with dignity and respect and afforded equal access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In other words, we must oppose injustice and lawlessness wherever we find it, whether among protesters or law enforcement. Jesus condones neither rioting nor abuse of power, and neither should we.
“Where the law of the land contradicts Kingdom law, oppose with respect.”
Related to the above, there will inevitably be times when either the law of the land or the enforcement of those laws (or both) directly contradicts Kingdom law. When this happens, Kingdom citizens serving as ambassadors to this nation must abide by the higher law of their King, even when doing so means that they will violate the law of the land. However, this should be the exception not the rule, and when we must act on this exception, in extraordinary circumstances, we are still bound by the Kingdom law of humility, respect, and love.
The primary way in which we, as Kingdom citizens, should oppose unjust law is through persistent, travailing prayer. We recognize the truth that Paul explained in Ephesians 6: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” In other words, the problems we are facing are not, first and foremost, physical problems but spiritual ones. Behind unjust laws and actions are unjust systems established and perpetuated by dark spiritual forces. If we believe this to be true, merely opposing the people perpetuating the injustice is something akin to chopping heads off the hydra. For every one we chop, two more grow. We must instead recognize the thing behind the thing, the true power behind the injustice and attack it with the mightiest weapon available to us, the persistent prayer of the people of God, which as Paul reminds us elsewhere (2 Corinthians 10) has the “divine power to demolish strongholds.”
Having said that, we do not stop with prayer because Jesus will quite often send us to be the answer to our own prayers. As we pray for his Kingdom to come and his will be done on earth as in heaven, he reminds us that we are ambassadors of the Kingdom for which are praying, sent in the name of its King and equipped with his resources to do his work in the world. In moments like these and in a democracy like ours the work of Kingdom citizens in opposition to unjust laws (or the unjust enforcement of laws) can take a variety of forms: practicing and protecting peaceful protest and non-violent resistance, lobbying our elected representatives, and utilizing the media available to us to share not our own voice and vision but those of our King and his Kingdom. However, I feel that I must reiterate, even when engaging in these forms of “resistance” for the sake of our King and Kingdom, we are still subject to his laws and must behave, even in resistance, in a way that represents him well. Humility, respect, compassion, peace, empathy, hope. This is how our King resisted injustice and how we must, if we are his.
“Champion the cause of the needy”
One of the most significant places for us to practice resistance to unjust laws in the name of our King is in the area of immigration policies. I think people from all sides of the political spectrum would heartily agree that our immigration laws are in need of an overhaul, though they would vehemently disagree over what those changes should be. That’s why I believe Christians can and must bring a unique, biblical, Christ-like voice to the conversations, in order to be salt and light in an otherwise intractable immigration debate. Now, I want to be upfront and tell you that, in this conversation, I will quickly be out of my depth. As I’ve already mentioned, I am neither a politician nor am I especially adept in political conversations of any kind. In fact, I intentionally try to limit my intake of political news as part of my discipleship to Jesus (another conversation for another day). The practical consequence of this, however, is that I am not qualified to make statements regarding what currently is or is not nor what should or should not be the immigration laws of our country. That said, I do have a biblical perspective on God’s heart for the poor and needy which I believe must impact the way we, as Kingdom citizens, think about and engage in this current moment.
Throughout the Old Testament, God displays a unique preference and care for the poor and needy, and almost always, he includes foreigners and immigrants among those under his specific protection. And furthermore, he expects his people to do the same.
“The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:34).
This was as remarkable and radical then as would be today, perhaps more so. In the culture of the Ancient Near East, tribalism was as a virtue and xenophobia was often seen as common sense. Outsiders were viewed as dangerous and treated, by default, with suspicion and hostility. However, in a radical departure from the cultural norm, Yahweh commanded his people, time and again: "Not so among you." For him and his people, care for immigrants and foreigners was not simply kindness but was a justice issue as core to the heart of God as almost anything in Scripture. In fact, if you read Old Testament Law and Prophets carefully, you will see that there are only two offenses for which God threatens to abandon his people, idolatry and injustice, injustice being defined as a failure to protect the poor and needy, which again almost always included foreigners and immigrants. On the other hand, the people who God most glowingly commended were often those who fought on behalf of those who could not fight for themselves.
“He (Josiah) defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 22:16)
“Is this not what it means to know me?” What a stunning statement! God says the people that understand him best, that truly get who he is and what he’s about are those, like Josiah, who go out of their way to care for the needy and downtrodden.
When Jesus of Nazareth appeared on the scene, that is to say, when God “became flesh and moved into the neighborhood,” in the words of Eugene Peterson, he took this idea even farther. In telling his famous parable of the “Good Samaritan,” Jesus applied the biblical command to “love your neighbor as yourself” in the broadest way possible. In this story, he described an act of radical, self-sacrificial love given to a stranger by the last person on earth you’d expect to treat him this way as the fulfillment of the biblical law of love of neighbor. In other words, he expanded the definition of neighbor exponentially so that it included even the farthest person from us. In the eyes of Jesus, every person is our neighbor and worthy of our love.
And it is this perspective that must inform our engagement, as Kingdom representatives, in the immigration politics of our nation. Our views on immigration reform must not be informed by what seems most expedient or beneficial for us but should be built on biblical compassion for the outsider and Jesus’ definition of neighbor. Remember, we are a Kingdom of immigrants. We all arrive at the foot of Jesus foreigners and outsiders, but in grace and compassion, he adopts us as his own and makes us citizens of his Kingdom. This reality should color, indeed transform, every view we hold on immigration reform.
Now, as I have already confessed at least twice, I am no expert in the outworking of these convictions into actual policy, but I want humbly to offer three potential points of advocacy. First, I do believe that a sovereign nation has a right and responsibility to secure its borders and to enforce immigration law; however, we must do so in the most humane and compassionate way possible. Where violations of our border must be addressed, it should be addressed in such a way that dignifies the humanity of the other, cares for their well-being, and promotes shalom (peace/wholeness) in society as whole. Second, I believe that Kingdom citizens should advocate immigration reform that provides not only border security but also opportunities for citizenship to the people who most need it. In fact, creating paths for legal immigration may be one of the most potent ways to secure our border against illegal immigration. Finally, we need to recognize that there are currently millions of undocumented immigrants living in this country, the vast majority of whom have been here for years, if not generations, living peaceably as law-abiding, even tax-paying members of our society. It is simply wrong, both morally and politically, to advocate any policy that would “deport all of them.” Doing so would cause significant damage not only to people, made in the image of God, and families, but also to our whole society. We are not only a spiritual Kingdom of immigrations but also citizens of a nation of immigrants whose diversity is one of its greatest strengths. Instead of championing mass deportations, the people of God should pursue immigration policies that provide a reasonable path to citizenship for law-abiding undocumented immigrants.
Again, one last time, I’m not a politician, but I strongly believe these to be some of the potential outworking of a biblical, Jesus-centered approach to foreigners and immigrants.
“Everyone should see me in you”
We return to where we started: we who are called by the name of Jesus should look like Jesus in everything we do. I can’t help but think of Peter and John standing in front of the Sanhedrin in the book of Acts.
“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
These were two ordinary men who had spent three and a half years apprenticed to Jesus of Nazareth, who had eaten with him, walked with him, watched him, listened to him, learned from him, attempted to emulate him, who had been filled with his Spirit to do his work in the world. They were so deeply Jesus’ men that people saw him when they looked at them. This is our aspiration as well. Anyone interacting with a Christian on any level during these protests in Los Angeles should walk away feeling as if they have just been with Jesus. If they were to pick up a Gospel and read a story about Jesus talking with and caring for someone on the fringe of society, they should think to themselves, “You know, that reminds me of an interaction I had with someone up in Paramount. Or that reminds me of a conversation I had with a Christian at my gym. Or that reminds me of a post one of my church-going friends put on Instagram.” We should be singing off the same song sheet as Jesus of Nazareth. We should remind people of him. In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul puts it like this, “…we are to God the aroma of Christ.” We should smell like Jesus.
And, in this moment, as in all things, that means our interactions, our engagement, our behavior, our speech, our posts, our very lives, should be defined by the same radical, sacrificial, generous love with which Jesus changed the world. We are Christians. We are Jesus people. Even in our engagement with immigration policies and politics, we should look like him.
