Politics and Religion
The Jewish people are natural-born social activists. Since the day that Moses "spoke truth to power" in Pharaoh's court, Jews have been deeply interested in the political forces that have shaped the world. Vulnerable for centuries to the powerful, it is not surprising that the Jewish people found freedom in the New World attractive. For the first time, we found a society where it is your vote that counts. No wonder the Jewish community regards the constitutionally-held principle separating Church and State as most precious.
Many Jewish people think that religion and politics should operate in separate spheres; it is safer that way. But a closer examination of this issue shows that the spheres are not separate, nor have they ever been - especially in Jewish thought. The message of Israel's prophets, so often cited in our founding documents and, more recently, in the civil rights movement, is that the righteousness of God as revealed in the Scriptures should impact the way we live as a nation. Our collective conscience is stirred when we are reminded that justice is a transcendent quality that originates in the reality of God - not something malleable that we fashion according to the need of the moment.
The embodiment of Justice is the Messiah who God sends to make right a world that is filled with oppression. His mission is well-described in what is known as the Song of Miriam, his mother:
"For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever" (Luke 1:49-55).
Yeshua the Messiah taught his followers that blessing would come to the poor, the meek, the persecuted, the merciful, and those who hunger after righteousness. In doing so, He pronounced judgment upon a world that is rife with greed, corruption and cruelty. The message of the Messiah is the message of the prophets - fulfilled and spoken forth in a voice laden with unprecedented authority.
