There is an interesting and sad misconception that can be found all over the world. In fact it was a misconception that existed when Jesus walked the earth as well. It has permeated every generation of God-followers, and is often found in a misunderstanding of God himself. It is the half-truth that says "holiness" -- the set-apartness and special quality of the people of God -- is all about doing certain good things and not doing certain bad things.
The Pharisees and other religious groups of Jesus’ day fell into believing this very thing. They were so careful not to wander into any of the bad areas that they purposefully fenced off other areas that were not bad per se, but might let people get too close to the bad. Following these rules and living within the fenced-in areas was said to safely assure one’s holiness. This is what we commonly know as legalism.
When Jesus came to earth in the middle of this very legalistic religious society, He purposefully smashed down every fence he came upon. He ate with people who were on the other side of the fence; he talked with women; he touched sick people; he gave forgiveness and compassion instead of judgment and shame for those who broke the rules.
He not only taught by his actions that "fence-making" was not a true concept of holiness, but by his words as well. He preached that hate, lust, pride, and judgmentalism were the true barriers to holiness -- not just behaviors, but the desires of the heart. He said that knowledge of one’s need of God was the most important aspect of true holiness – realizing one’s own inability to produce holiness. He also painted for us a full picture of God and said that holiness is being like God. This included not only doing right things, but also having the love, compassion, forgiveness and grace of God as well. (Check out the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.)
This was not really a new sentiment. Jesus was just reiterating what had been said many years before, but had been neglected or unheard. Early in God’s relationship with Israel He told them to “be holy, as I am holy.” Holiness is being like God, who was revealed in fullest form as Jesus Christ. And so we say true holiness is Christ-likeness.
Therefore the picture of holiness as doing right behaviors and avoiding wrong ones is a sadly truncated version of the truth. Holiness is loving like Christ, showing compassion like Christ, offering grace and forgiveness like Christ, and bringing the outsiders in like Christ. A professed holiness that shuns, judges and brow-beats Is not holiness at all.
In light of this, the Church all over the world needs to find out what their response should be to the HIV and AIDs crisis. What is the response of people who are “holy as God is holy”? I think we can safely say that attitudes of judgmentalism and picketing with signs that say “HIV is God’s punishment on sinners” isn’t it. I think we can also count out the option of ignoring it and effectively shunning the ones who need the Church the most.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
What does the Bible say about HIV and AIDs? Part 1
This may seem like a very odd question, seeing as the virus and its resulting disease did not descend upon humanity until nearly two thousand years after the last books of the Bible were written. Yet it is a crucial question, and our dear friends here in Swaziland and all over the world are desperate for the answer. Closely related to this question is the one which asks what the church’s response is to this disease and the plethora of issues surrounding it. Yet it is difficult to know how to respond before we know what, if anything, the Bible has to say about it.
Let’s start with Jesus. (Always a good place to start.) What do his words and actions say about HIV? Well, at face value, nothing. But when we spend time digging deeper and looking closer, we realize that Jesus spoke and ministered to the most basic of human conditions that are found everywhere and throughout time: suffering, rejection, sinfulness, shame, and the desires for love, belonging, and redemption. All of these elements are familiar to anyone who has been affected by or infected with HIV/ AIDs.
When Jesus touched lepers, He provided more than physical healing. Lepers were the most ostracized group of people in Jesus’ time. They were literally shunned by their societies and families, and sent to live by themselves or with other lepers. “Clean” members of society could not touch, eat with, or be knowingly in the presence of someone who had leprosy. Part of this was a misunderstanding of the disease that led people to think that it could be spread by touching a leper. However, there was also a belief that a person who had contracted leprosy had done something wrong to deserve it. He or she had sinned against God, and this was their punishment. In the sacrificial system of the Jewish temple, however, they were not able to offer a sacrifice for atonement because they were “unclean” and could not enter the temple.
When Jesus interacted with, touched, and healed people with leprosy he was making a statement. He was bringing justice. He was giving emotional and social healing as well as physical healing. He was restoring the humanity that years of shame and rejection had taken away. He was bringing the outsiders into the inner circle of relationship, chosen-ness and blessing.
The same is true for a number of other people groups with whom Jesus freely mingled. He ate with tax collectors, a despised group of people in the eyes of the first century’s “religious right.” He talked openly with women, even sinful women who were known to be prostitutes. In John 8 we even see Jesus defending a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, rescuing her from the punishment she deserved, and most importantly offering her free forgiveness. This is a Jesus who was fearless in breaking down the walls resurrected by judgment, shame, fear, stigma and sin.
In Swaziland and many places of the world, there is nothing more shameful, nothing that can bring more rejection, and no more ostracized group than those who receive a positive result on an HIV test. These people are placed firmly on the “outside” of society life, often times even in the church. There is a shockingly deep and penetrating stigma surrounding HIV. This is primarily fueled by fear and a lack of understanding, as most stigmas are. This fear leads to silence and denial, because not talking about it is better than being confronted with a shameful truth.
Yet what can we learn from the life of Jesus? What does the Bible say about HIV and AIDs? It says that Jesus is not afraid of it. He’s also not afraid of what causes it. Loud and clear, it says that Jesus’ compassion, love, forgiveness and grace is extended especially for those who are suffering on the “outside,” including those with HIV and AIDs. Knowing what we know about Jesus, I think it is safe to say that He would spend plenty of time with people who had been pushed to the outside by HIV/ AIDs. His whole mission was and is to bring outsiders in – into grace, into relationship, into forgiveness, and into the blessedness of being chosen by God. This is to be the church’s mission as well.
Let’s start with Jesus. (Always a good place to start.) What do his words and actions say about HIV? Well, at face value, nothing. But when we spend time digging deeper and looking closer, we realize that Jesus spoke and ministered to the most basic of human conditions that are found everywhere and throughout time: suffering, rejection, sinfulness, shame, and the desires for love, belonging, and redemption. All of these elements are familiar to anyone who has been affected by or infected with HIV/ AIDs.
When Jesus touched lepers, He provided more than physical healing. Lepers were the most ostracized group of people in Jesus’ time. They were literally shunned by their societies and families, and sent to live by themselves or with other lepers. “Clean” members of society could not touch, eat with, or be knowingly in the presence of someone who had leprosy. Part of this was a misunderstanding of the disease that led people to think that it could be spread by touching a leper. However, there was also a belief that a person who had contracted leprosy had done something wrong to deserve it. He or she had sinned against God, and this was their punishment. In the sacrificial system of the Jewish temple, however, they were not able to offer a sacrifice for atonement because they were “unclean” and could not enter the temple.
When Jesus interacted with, touched, and healed people with leprosy he was making a statement. He was bringing justice. He was giving emotional and social healing as well as physical healing. He was restoring the humanity that years of shame and rejection had taken away. He was bringing the outsiders into the inner circle of relationship, chosen-ness and blessing.
The same is true for a number of other people groups with whom Jesus freely mingled. He ate with tax collectors, a despised group of people in the eyes of the first century’s “religious right.” He talked openly with women, even sinful women who were known to be prostitutes. In John 8 we even see Jesus defending a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, rescuing her from the punishment she deserved, and most importantly offering her free forgiveness. This is a Jesus who was fearless in breaking down the walls resurrected by judgment, shame, fear, stigma and sin.
In Swaziland and many places of the world, there is nothing more shameful, nothing that can bring more rejection, and no more ostracized group than those who receive a positive result on an HIV test. These people are placed firmly on the “outside” of society life, often times even in the church. There is a shockingly deep and penetrating stigma surrounding HIV. This is primarily fueled by fear and a lack of understanding, as most stigmas are. This fear leads to silence and denial, because not talking about it is better than being confronted with a shameful truth.
Yet what can we learn from the life of Jesus? What does the Bible say about HIV and AIDs? It says that Jesus is not afraid of it. He’s also not afraid of what causes it. Loud and clear, it says that Jesus’ compassion, love, forgiveness and grace is extended especially for those who are suffering on the “outside,” including those with HIV and AIDs. Knowing what we know about Jesus, I think it is safe to say that He would spend plenty of time with people who had been pushed to the outside by HIV/ AIDs. His whole mission was and is to bring outsiders in – into grace, into relationship, into forgiveness, and into the blessedness of being chosen by God. This is to be the church’s mission as well.
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