Jesus was a political enigma

My Republican and my Democratic friends both claim that Jesus would be a member of their political party today.  How is this possible?  How can both claim him?  They can both claim Him, because he was a political enigma.  They can both claim Him, because he held views which are held by each party.  But, importantly, neither party can claim Him exclusively if they can claim Him at all.  What's more, Jesus did not become embroiled in the political goings-on of his day, so I don't think he would become embroiled in the American political mess that we find ourselves in.

The Jews rejected Christ as the Messiah for several reasons, but one of the most significant was that he did not provide a resolution to their political problems.   The Jews believed that the Messiah would deliver them from the political bondage of Rome.  So, when Christ did not do this, they deemed Him not to be the Messiah.  As my son Mathis said in Second Grade:  "The Jews were smug.  If Jesus had thrown the Romans out, the Jews would only have become more smug."  Mathis was right.  Jesus' main complaint against the religious people of his day was that they were self-righteous.  So, liberating Israel from Rome would have been a negative consequence towards the sanctification of the Jews.

This is the same today.  Both the Democrats and the Republicans believe that they hold the moral high ground, as advocated by Jesus.  The Democrats claim that, by upholding social programs, they are carrying out Jesus' admonition  to "feed the poor."  But, these programs don't seem to be delivering what they promise, and they are bankrupting America.  So, I don't think Jesus would be a Democratic social activist.  What's more, if Jesus were a Democrat, the Democrats would become more insufferable in their claim to the moral high ground.

But the same is true for the Republicans.  The Republicans want to claim Jesus as the moral authority for regulating the conduct of American citizens.  They want to claim that the churches should help the poor, and not the government.  Yet, there are valid social programs which should "help those who cannot help themselves."  I don't see the churches stepping up and fulfilling this role.  What's more, the middle class Republicans are "shooting themselves in the feet" by protecting more wealthy Republicans from paying higher taxes.  We all look back on the Clinton presidency and long for those days of financial strength.  Yet, most Republicans steadfastly refuse to go back to the tax structure which produced that prosperity and fiscal stability.  Oh, by the way, Jesus doesn't want us to have higher taxes--this is what so many  claim.  Yet, Jesus took the Roman coin and said "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's."

So, it's fair to say that Jesus would not be a Democrat nor a Republican.  As Americans, we need to stop claiming that only our political party holds the truth and moral high ground.  We need to shed our political smugness and treat others with respect in our political dialogue.  Then, and only then, can we lay claim to  Christ.