QUESTIONS
- Why does the author believe that Jesus can have a political influence?
- What definition does this article give for legal justice? Do you agree?
- What definition does this article give for social justice? Do you agree?
- Why does the author state the individual politics of Jesus are 'interesting, but irrelevant?'
- Why do you think people use scripture to justify their political agenda?
ACTIVITIES
Jigsaw Commandments: The article states that ‘Scripture and mission were not created to justify our politics, they are there to guide the choices we make and the actions we take.’ Let’s take a closer look at the commandments Jesus gives us and how they can guide the actions we take.
Divide into two teams and give each team a large piece of paper. The first team writes Matthew 22:37 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ on their paper. The second team writes Matthew 22:39 ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ on their paper.Cut out the commandments from Exodus 20:3-17 on strips of paper. Have the students discuss and decide whether each commandment fits under the new commandment given by Jesus.
When both teams have finished compare their chosen commandment. Were any commandments left out? Were there any double-ups of commandments chosen across both pieces of paper? Why or why not?
Action in the Church: There are many different religious orders, associations of the faithful, Catholic lay charities etc. that act to empower the marginalised. Choose a few religious communities in your archdiocese to research the kind of action that is being taken to empower the marginalised in your area. Write a response in consideration of the questions: ‘In what ways do these orders enact justice? Does this action focus on enacting legal justice or social justice? What impact does this action have in your community?’
Imagine & create: Taking inspiration from the author’s suggestion that the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 could be a testimony to the creation of personal wealth or entrepreneurship, imagine that Jesus came to inspire a specifically liberal or specifically conservative political movement. Pick a story from the Gospels and re-write that story as a news article, media release or debate speech with a bias that leans either toward a liberal or conservative perspective. Consider the following questions: What elements did you have to change in the story? What elements did you accentuate or diminish? Does the story change significantly when you write from both of these perspectives?
Catholic Think Tank: A think tank is a group of people with similar views who come together to discuss and develop proposals for tackling issues that they think are important in society. As individuals or in groups, develop a proposal for a 'Catholic Think Tank'. Consider:
a) What is the overarching mission statement for your group (it might be a line from Jesus in the Bible, something from the Pope, or something that you think encapsulates Catholic views).
b) What are the social issues your group would be most concerned with?
c) How would your group go about developing responses to those issues - ie. Whose viewpoints will you consider? Which groups in society will you be trying to engage with and mobilise? How will you go about creating change (you might want to read up what a 'theory of change' is and look at some examples)? Why do you think your approach will be effective?
FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS
Give each student a piece of paper with Matthew 22:37 and/or 22:39 in the middle of the page. Explain to the students that these are commandments given by Jesus. Explain that these commandments can help guide us to do good for the people around us. Ask the students to think about different ways we can act out of and live by these commandments in our families, our friendships and our communities. What can we do to inspire our families, friends and communities live these commandments? Give students old magazines to cut up or time to find/print out pictures online that demonstrate their thoughts. Students can use these images to build a collage on their pieces of paper.