Matthew 25 As Public Policy

[Note: Today’s guest blogger is Marcy DeJesus-Rueff. Marcy is a retired educator and has been a member of Spiritus Christi Church for over twenty-seven years.  She is also the founder of Spiritus’ Buddy Readers ministry and is one of the leaders of the Spiritus Indigenous Solidarity Group. Thank you Marcy!]

I want to have a more Christian form of government. Now before you get too alarmed, hear me out…I am not an evangelical Christian, nor a proponent of Project 2025. I do not want churches running our government or lining the halls of Congress looking for converts.

So what do I mean then when I say “a more Christian form of government”?

As the theologian Walter Brueggemann reminds us, “The cross is a contradiction to the world and pertains to public policy just as it pertains to personal wellbeing.”  What I long for is a government supported by the foundation of today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 25 (one of the most famous gospel passages).

I want to belong to a nation of people who individually and collectively take seriously the words of Mattew 25 and provide sustenance to those who are hungry and thirsty, welcome strangers, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and care for those in prison. Jesus states: ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

When I think deeply about what Jesus is saying, I believe he is laying out a new way for our country to move forward as well. The precepts of Matthew 25 are found in all major religions, which is why it is confounding to me that they do not play a more prominent role as we select our congressional representatives every 2 years, our senators every 6 years, and our president every 4 years.

I keep finding myself asking questions like: Does our government exist only for the betterment of giant corporations and individual greed? Is there some way we could bring people of all faiths together to help our country embody Matthew 25? How would it work within our governmental structures?

What might governance based on these principles even look like?

Well before any so-called Christians set foot on this continent, there were people living in a democracy centered on the principles of Matthew 25. The Haudenosaunee (pronounced Hoh-Dee-No-Shoh-nee) Confederacy, sometimes known as the Iroquois Confederacy, is the oldest continuous democracy in the world, and their governannce practices emododied so much of what we find in our own scriptures.

Somewhere in the 12th-14th centuries, a figure known as The Great Peacemaker came to what is now upstate New York bearing a message of peace and reconciliation to the many groups of Indigenous people who were living here. The Great Peacemaker reminded them of their Original Instructions given by the Creator. These teachings helped the various tribes unite and formed the basis for the Houdenosaunee’s democratic structures as well as their ethical framework for living.

As individuals, clans, and a whole culture, the Haudenosaunee share their wealth by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and welcoming the stranger. Rich people, for them, are those who share the most with others. Anyone who hoards goods and money for themselves is poor. Additionally, the Haudenosaunee seek peaceful solutions to conflict, honor treaties, and use their time, talents, and discipline to care for the entire natural world.

At the same time that I was learning more about the Haudenosaunee Original
Instructions, I found myself reflecting frequently on Matthew 25. An insight came to me in a flash: This is what I want my government – and the taxes I pay that support my government – to address. I hope for and will work toward a reciprocal government that includes individual rights and also feeds the poor, clothes the naked, welcomes the stranger, heals the sick, and visits those in prison.

The Haudenosaunee Confederacy has been in existence two to three times as long as the government of our United States of America. Our own governmental structures, especially those with a division of and balance of powers, were based upon the Haudenosaunee model. What we missed, however, is an underlying, unifying belief system that goes beyond individual rights – such as that of Original Instructions about how, as a nation, we have a responsibility to care for each other. And because of this absence, we are now paying a terrible price.

There is something special about following Jesus’ words and actions. I believe that
when we do that, when we bring the forces of good from all religions together, God’s Grace will become a strong wind pushing us forward. The universe will literally “have our back.” The presence of goodness, truth, and love found in all religions and throughout our universe will stand with us, because we are never alone when we follow Jesus.

May we all use these days of Lent to listen for God’s voice and to find the courage we need to move forward toward more caring local and national communities. My words right now are simply theoretical. What will happen as we at Spiritus continue to move beyond our own church walls, put the work of Jesus into even more actions out in the world? I don’t know, but let us see where Lent, Jesus, and God’s grace will take us. Let us move forward in making our government responsive to the needs of people throughout our country and our world. Let us make a more Christian, Indigenous, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist country. And let us begin today!