“The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” (Luke 4:5-8)
After signaling his entrance into public ministry, Jesus was baptized. He then spent 40 days in the wilderness. Satan, the deceiver, came to him and tempted him. Jesus was tempted to bypass the struggle he was bound to engage in. Instead of doing so, he turned down this opportunity to gain the authority and splendor of the kingdoms of this world.
He did so again when questioned by Pilate before the Crucifixion. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
For centuries, Christians have struggled with the temptation to cling to power, especially a self-interested power. Power is the ability to get others to do what you want despite their resistance. While power can be used and applied toward a common good (think about the Civil Rights movement and expanding access to the vote), many Christians are intent on gaining and defending access to power that only serves “us,” the in-group of “right” Christians.
Christians in the U.S. need to reimagine whether clinging to earthly, self-interested power — the type of power Jesus rejected — is truly the path of following Jesus.
Shortly before the U.S. presidential election, an Italian craftsman of nativity scenes finishes figures of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in his shop in Naples, Italy. (Antonio Balasco/Imago/Alamy)
American preacher and theologian Howard Thurman wrote, “Too often the price exacted by society for security and respectability is that the Christian movement in its formal expression must be on the side of the strong against the weak. This is a matter of tremendous significance, for it reveals to what extent a religion that was born of a people acquainted with persecution and suffering has become the cornerstone of a civilization and of nations whose very position in modern life too often has been secured by a ruthless use of power applied to defenseless people.”
Power and supremacy over others to enact our vision against the wishes and input of our neighbors is not the way of Jesus. The Christian religion began far from the seats of earthly power. This perspective saturates the writings of the New Testament and the witness of the early church. It is important to read it through this lens.
Just like Jesus, we must reject the promise of earthly power focused on only serving “us” at the expense of others. The Kingdom of God operates according to a different principle where we leverage what we have for the benefit of others.
In this Advent season, let us consider how we might lay aside self-interested, earthly power, and follow the example of Christ our Lord who humbled himself, becoming one of us — Emmanuel, God with us.
Andrew Whitehead is professor of sociology and executive director of the Association of Religion Data Archives at the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture at Indiana University Indianapolis. He is also author of the book American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church.
NOTE: This is part of our Unsettling Advent devotionals running Dec. 1-Dec. 24. You can subscribe for free to receive them each morning in your inbox.
