Although globalization – the world coming together culturally and economically – involves substantial and large-scale risks, there
is every reason for followers of Jesus to take heart. Scripture, in fact, is all about
globalization. It’s all about Jesus who
came to save the world (John 3:17),
who is acclaimed as the light of the world over and over, in whom God
reconciles the world to himself (2
Corinthians 5:19). It’s all about
Jesus when he is truly lifted up from the earth drawing all people to himself (John 12:31).
It’s what the great Hebrew prophets foretold – that one day the
earth would be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9). It takes us back to the original meaning of
“salvation” in Scripture, the Hebrew yeshu’a, to save from danger, from
harm, from disease, from evil intent or violence. Yes, salvation is about a glorious life after
death, but first it’s very much a hands-on, this-world, here-and-how, real-life
salvation. In the words of the Lord’s Prayer,
it’s “on earth as it is in heaven” salvation.
It’s about people everywhere being freed to realize their full
potential.
Jesus, you see, is about a whole lot more than saving souls
after death. He’s about saving the
world, the flow of history, the majesty of creation, the wonder of the
universe, the whole thing, the whole process from beginning to end, the
unfolding of the story from beginning to end.
He’s about the redemption of the cosmos, the stars in their galaxies,
the plants and animals, the rivers and seas, the forests and fields, people in
all their amazingly colorful diversity.
He’s about saving the planet from greed, from fear, from desires run
amuck, from people looking out only for their own interests.
It was this that Paul anticipates in that glorious beginning
of his Ephesian letter, Ephesians 1:3-14.
He writes it (and this makes it all the more remarkable) while under
arrest in Rome
expecting to appear before of all people Nero.
In a breathless run-on sentence (Ephesians 1:3-14), Paul hardly comes up
for air. These are his primal
beliefs. This is what he is most excited
about, and most sure of. Long before
Jesus was co-opted for sectarian purposes, before the Christian church turned
dark and fearful, Paul sees the world in a different, new, glorious light. He praises God over and over. He talks of redemption. He talks of God’s grace lavished on us. And he declares that this is our destiny – to
bring all things in heaven and on earth together under Christ. He could say this because he knew that Jesus
was the most inclusive person he’d ever known.
Jesus truly was, is and always will be, for everyone.
As Paul goes on in the Ephesian letter, he over and over
marks our calling as global, as cosmic.
It’s to bring peace, proclaim peace, to those both far way and near (2:17). It’s to destroy dividing walls of hostility (2:14). It’s grasping how wide and long and high and
deep is the love of Christ (3:18). It’s to bring all things in heaven and on
earth together. But for globalization to
work best, it is best founded in an understanding of how wide and long and high
and deep is the love of Christ.
Globalization is for Christians.
It always has been. With Christ,
the call to “love your neighbor as yourself” turns global. It calls for our becoming knowledgeable,
conscious, aware, seeing the people who have fallen among thieves and are now
being passed by, challenging patterns of exploitation, working toward solutions
that are just, sustainable and compassionate.
For all people. Everywhere.
But then of course
you would have to find some people with whom to do this.
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