A Voter’s Guide: Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision by Randy Woodley (pp.14-16)

Last updated on: October 23, 2012 at 9:10 pm by randywoodley

A Voter’s Guide: Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision by Randy Woodley (pp.14-16) 2012-10-23T21:10:42-05:00 randywoodley

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Shalom is meant to be both personal (emphasizing our relationships with others) and structural (replacing systems where shalom has been broken or which produce broken shalom, such as war or greed-driven economic systems). In shalom, the old structures and systems are replaced with new structures and new systems. The universal expectation for all humanity to live out shalom has been given. Shalom has been decreed. God expects us to make the old way of living new. The Creator requires us to re-shape the world we know into the world God has intended.

The task of creating communities where shalom is lived out may not be easy, but we can know whether or not we are successful in our efforts. How can a community tell if it is practicing shalom? Fortunately, a consistent standard is given throughout the sacred Scriptures. Shalom is always tested on the margins of a society and revealed by how the poor, oppressed, disempowered, and needy are treated. A huge gap between the wealthy and the poor may be a good indicator of the lack of shalom. Large discrepancies between wealth and poverty tend to lead to social oppression through injustice, which leads to other social ills like false imprisonment and disproportionate imprisoned populations of the marginalized (like minorities), unemployment, disproportionate military service by the poor and marginalized groups, high taxes (to support imperialism and the military), the opulence of the wealthy (and corporate tax welfare), children growing up without one or both parents, homelessness, prostitution, hunger, etcetera. These same social dynamics have remained unchanged in societies for thousands of years. As Jeremiah 5:28 notes in his day, “They have grown fat and sleek. They know no limits in deeds of wickedness; they do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy.”

A society concerned with shalom will care for the most marginalized among them. God has a special concern for the poor and needy, because how we treat them reveals our hearts, regardless of the rhetoric we employ to make ourselves sound just. Jeremiah 22:16 (NLT) equates the social task of caring to revealing a genuine relationship with God: “[King Josiah] gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. ‘Isn’t that what it means to know me?’ says the Lord.”

Even a society with the abuse of wealth can find ways to meet the needs of the most needy among them. If not, the problem becomes systemic and eventually everyone, even the non-wealthy, are considered by God to be culpable. If injustice is left unchecked, “Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice,” accord- ing to Ezekiel 22:29 (NLT). Amos 5:12 describes systemic oppression of the poor like this: “For I know the vast number of your sins and the depth of your rebellions. You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.” And again in Amos 8:4-5 (NLT): “Listen to this, you who rob the poor and trample down the needy! You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless. You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales.” Injustice against the poor reveals our own state of shalom and the posture God takes for us or against us.

Widows, orphans, and foreigners/strangers/resident aliens (depending on translation) appear as a triad throughout the Hebrew Testament representing the concerns of the poor, needy, downtrodden, oppressed, and disempowered. Why? In a patriarchal society the needs of these three are more apparent than others. A woman who has lost her husband has also lost all her legal and social standing. She is at the mercy of society. An orphan, having suffered a traumatic loss, is without an inheritance because he/she has no father and therefore no future. A foreigner, perhaps homeless from war or tragedy, is considered an outsider with no family ties and therefore no means of inheritance. A stranger does not know the ways of the people and is not easily trusted, so God commands immediate hospitality and eventual full acceptance for such people. The disempowered triad of widows, orphans, and strangers best represent God’s concern for those who have few material goods (food, clothing, shelter) and who are most easily oppressed (justice). Shalom addresses God’s concern for the socially marginalized.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

October 21, 2012

The City of God

Next Post

October 26, 2012 In the end, it's all about love... nothing else.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Atheism Authority Bible Cartoons Christian Year Christmas church church planting Civil Rights Community Contemplative Spirituality Culture emerging church Empire Eschatology Evangelism Events Gender Healing Humanism Islam Justice Kingdom Lent Movement Building Multi-Faith Music mysticism New Wave Emergence origins Personal Poetry politics Prayer Preaching Privilege Racism Religious naturalism Resurrection salvation SKEPTIMERGENT Theology Trauma Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many days did God take to create the world?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ten Seven Two Six