This weeks CYOA is Luke 24, but my head is not totally in it. I have spend the last number of days working on graduate applications in order to go back to school next year. I am also not fully finished thinking about the occupy movements (even though I did not post much). In that strain of thought I just finished watching some of the horrendous scenes of violence and brutality coming out of Oakland. As a result I am in a place of stress and grieving for the world. All of this comes on the heels of Danielle's last post, where she focused on validity of suffering. So as I scrambled tonight to think about Luke 24 I did what all Bible College grad can do, that is go back to what I have previously written about Luke 24 to see if there is something valid to share. I was pleasantly surprised.
I have chosen to share an excerpt from a paper I wrote last year. In the paper I argue the narrative of Luke-Acts contains a clash of worldview, that of Empire vs Kingdom. This segment is a look at the theme of suffering within the text,specifically how suffering can be better understood when viewed through a lens of Empire vs Kingdom. Luke 24 is vital for understanding the shift that occurs in the person of Jesus. Suffering enables a different world to take hold, a world of forgiveness.
"Another theme that assists in understanding the dialectic of Empire vs. Kingdom is that of suffering. Suffering is endured by those in the Kingdom at the hands of those in Empire. Jesus articulated this stating that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, and chief priests, and scribes (Luke 9:22). In other words, Kingdom suffers at the hands of those conspiring with the Empire. Suffering is not in correlation with the sinfulness of the person (Luke 13:2). Rather, suffering is something that needs to take place to those within the Kingdom (Luke 17:25, Acts 3:18, 17:3), as it is inevitable for those who choose to live like Jesus, which Paul depicts through his followership. It is through this life of suffering that one comes to be glorified (Luke 24:26), and once those in the Kingdom follow in suffering they are enabled to usher in the economics of forgiveness (Luke 24:46-47). The way through this suffering is in intimacy and relationship as both are present before suffering (Luke 22:15) and there is the hope of being presented alive after suffering (Acts 1:3). The Apostles rejoice as they join in suffering dishonour for the Name (Acts 5:41). A key attribute of the Kingdom is to suffer rather than be the oppressor like the Empire. Paul was chosen to suffer (9:16) and did so in prisons, shipwrecks, etc. because he, like Jesus, suffered to proclaim the Kingdom to both to Jews and Gentiles (Acts 26:23), and in so doing ensured the Kingdom remained centrifugal. Luke-Acts seems to depict that the hands of another human always cause the suffering experienced, as suffering is not in reference to normal pains like the bite of a snake (Acts 28:5). This understanding of suffering shows that the Kingdom takes a different method to reach out than Empire does, as Empire expands by causing suffering, while the Kingdom expands by persevering through suffering."
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