Jesus and Justice (Part I)

INTERVIEW

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

1 John 1:1-2 (emphasis author's)

In proclaiming Christ, the Apostle John was pointing to the life and person of Jesus who walked the earth, the actual Person to whom the Gospel refers. Boice notes that John is bringing to our consciousness an historical faith founded in the historical Christ – a Person who lived and breathed within the strands of time and not in the figment of our imaginations.

Boice points out that:

“… while it is true that it is impossible to proclaim Christ without doctrine … nevertheless it is also true that it is Jesus and not a system of thought which is the essential core of the Christian proclamation.”

Malaysian Bible scholar and teacher Rev Dr Lim Kar Yong has released Jesus the Storyteller: Hearing the Parables Afresh Today, a book built by over 10 years of teaching the parables in bible schools. The parables reveal the Person of Jesus – His concerns and His position on the issues and events of His day in light of God's Kingdom. It would not at all be far-fetched to say that Jesus had a rich understanding of the current events of the day and spoke directly to individual, community and society at large. Kar Yong shares his thoughts with us in this email interview.

The following is an interview with Rev Dr Lim Kar Yong about his new book. Kar Yong teaches New Testament Studies in seminaries in Malaysia and the region, and regularly preaches and conducts seminars in churches.

ON THE BOOK

tcvx: What were the themes emerging from the materials that surprised you in the course of writing this book, especially about Jesus?

Kar Yong: When I first started preparing for an elective course on the Parables of Jesus some years ago, it struck me that many of the parables Jesus told dealt with issues and daily affairs confronting the people living in his days, particularly issues related to justice and reconciliation.

To me, parables are not merely “earthly stories with heavenly meaning” or nice stories containing some moral or ethical teaching. They are tools Jesus used to explain the coming of the Kingdom of God. They are stories told with the purpose to move the hearers into actions, and to challenge the prevailing attitudes or worldviews of the people at that time.

Parables are stories that hit home really hard, and the hearers cannot walk away without responding to the stories. If we read the parables carefully, more often than not, they are open ended, in the sense that the hearers are forced to make a decision on what they should do. And as hearers today, we too are confronted with similar decisions if we see ourselves in the role of the characters in the stories.

The more I read the parables of Jesus, the more I realize that perhaps we might have missed the message of Jesus if we “spiritualise” or “allegorise” them. For example, how many times have we heard from the pulpit that Jesus cares for the poor and marginalised, involves himself in ethnic reconciliation, and speaks out against the injustices of his days through the parables?

tcvx: In your concluding remarks you talk about how Jesus’ parables present themes that run parallel to the God of the Old Testament: His concern for the poor and marginalized, His interest in how we live our lives on earth, His desire to see reconciliation among people and God as example. How did Jesus exemplify these attributes of God in human form? What are the implications for us in becoming “imitators of God” and being Christlike?

Kar Yong: Jesus exemplifies the attributes of God through his teachings and actions. Jesus is certainly not “an armchair critic” or “a keyboard warrior”! He demonstrates all these through his actions. Think of how he touches the untouchables during his day. Think about how he overthrows the traders in the temple courts. Think about his fellowship with the tax collectors and sinners. In other words, being imitators of God or being Christlike is not something that should be demonstrated within the four walls of the church. We should demonstrate that in the public square, in the marketplace and even in the most hostile environment.

ON JESUS AND JUSTICE

tcvx: “Justice” is a big word. Can you help us define justice to give us a basic understanding of that term?

Kar Yong: Simply put it, justice means looking at what’s wrong, and putting things right again through our actions and involvement. It is fixing, repairing, and restoring broken relationships between humanity and humanity, and between humanity and God. It is about making our community, our nation, and our world whole again.

tcvx: If you were to pick 3 key parables which expresses the nature of God as a God of justice, which ones would it be?

Kar Yong: I would pick the Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:12-24), the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), and the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8). All these three parables speak about God as One who cares for the poor, the marginalised and the margins of the society. Interestingly all these parables appear in the Gospel of Luke, which has at its heart, a gospel for the poor and the marginalised.

The remainder of the interview will be published in Jesus and Justice: Part 2. The author believes that the work of Christian social concern must be informed by the Gospel and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

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