Exploring the Christian commitment to disobedience

Among early followers of Jesus from Nazareth, their first and most profound confession was “Christ is Lord!” They all understood the significance of that confession.

When they faced the challenge of bowing down to Caesar and obeying the Roman government or living by the teachings of Jesus, their minds were quite clear. They followed the teachings of Jesus. They became a persecuted people and many lost their lives because of their commitment to their Christ.

This defiance of rulers and governments has been repeated in every generation. Here in the United States, the latest challenge to Christian morality is taking place in Arizona. The state of Arizona has passed a very harsh law that it hopes will bring under control the flood of illegal Mexican immigrants that continue to cross over the Mexico-Arizona border. The Arizona law can be criticized for fostering racial profiling and illegal searches. Those concerns are real, but they are not the issue that prompts this column.

Churches in Arizona of every kind — Roman Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Pentecostal, liberal and conservative — offer services to people in need. Churches seldom ask about immigration status. Typically, they provide services with a full knowledge that some recipients are in the United States illegally. On this subject, I suspect I represent not a few Christians. We help people who have needs. We are not and can never be an arm of the law. In offering help to people, I would never ask about a person’s legal status in the United States. Further, if a government agency asked me to report people who are undocumented, I would deny the request.

Christian ministry to the newly arrived in Arizona is huge and involves thousands of helper/Christian people. Aiding and abetting law-breakers easily becomes a part of our Christian responsibility. Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine, asks a serious and well-informed question: “Is Christian ministry illegal in Arizona?”

Offering shelter and meeting the needs of the sojourners of the world is a fundamental part of Bible teaching. People with minimal Bible knowledge know about the cities of refuge established in Israel and the safety offered by them to outlaws on the run. Many American churches regularly offer their buildings as safe havens for people being pursued by law enforcement officials. When we Christians offer services and shelter to undocumented immigrants, we are acting out our best selves.

Over the years I have accumulated models for my life practices as a Christian pastor. One of those models I met in seminary is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the young German theologian of the World War II era. He had opportunity to remain in the United States, where he had been a guest professor at an American seminary. He chose to return to Germany, where he became a part of the resistance to Hitler. He organized and operated an underground theological seminary. Eventually, he became a party to an unsuccessful plot to kill Adolph Hitler. He was hanged for his participation..

I actually met him through his classic book “The Cost of Discipleship.” It remains a staple in my library and a prod every time I think that my commitment to Jesus can be compromised.

My American model is Martin Luther King Jr.

He was a law breaker. He was a persistent law breaker. Because he broke American laws, he spent significant time in prison. Each January in celebration of King’s birthday, I reread his profound “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In that letter he set a standard for all American Christians and for Christian ministers in particular. He said, “An unjust law is no law at all!” After being released from jail, he kept on breaking unjust laws. It was his Christian duty.

My understanding of Jesus is that he was a practitioner of civil disobedience. The stories that he told and the sayings that he left with us guide our discussions of the meaning of this life on earth. They also inform us of just how radical his social and religious beliefs were. The reports of his activities reinforce what he taught. They are tangible indicators of his deeply held convictions. His so-called triumphal entry into Jerusalem was a carefully crafted protest that mocked and ridiculed the ruling powers. The mayhem that he created at the Jerusalem temple was a display of how adamant he was in resisting the religious leaders of his day.

It is worth noting that my great heroes all suffered untimely deaths. The pursuit of truth and justice ranked very high with them.

The unjust law enacted in Arizona is our own critical political issue. The constitutionality of the law will soon be tested in our courts. The folly of the Arizona law will probably bring pressure on the U.S. Congress to revise/reform the national immigration laws. But more is needed.

As I understand the dynamics that are developing in Arizona, more and more Christians of every variety are bringing the Jesus command to make room for strangers to the discussion table. Would it not be thrilling if Christians acted like followers of Jesus?

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.