22:25 But when they
stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by,
“Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When
the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What
are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The commander came and said to
him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The commander answered,
“I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I
was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to examine him
immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out
that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains.
A two tier system. Justice for some but not for all. To be
Roman was to be respected and given the benefit of the doubt. It was a citizenship
that was highly sought after. The commander admitted it cost him a lot of money
(likely bribe money) to acquire his. Paul was born a Roman citizen.
Basically a Roman citizen had all the rights we enjoy in the
west with some variations. Notably a Roman who committed a crime worthy of
death could choose exile instead. A Roman citizen who chose death could not be
killed on a cross. A Roman citizen could not be beaten or whipped. They had the
right to a fair trial and the right to appeal the outcome in a higher court if
they so chose.
So elevated was the status of a Roman citizen compared to
everyone else that the commander was actually afraid when he discovered he had
assumed he was not Roman and had been treating him like a 2nd class citizen.
There has been a lot of talk lately about white privilege.
The phenomenon is real but not codified. I was recently in Nevada and noticed
it was more pronounced there. I took a city bus and as a well-dressed white man
as soon as I got on a person who was not white jumped up and offered me their
seat, calling me sir. I was raised that a woman gets a seat before a man so I
politely declined. The seat remained empty and we both stood. On the wall of
the bus was the full law change which put an end to segregation on city buses
in the south way back in 1956. Under the law was information on what to do if
you experienced discrimination. 60 years later the desegregation laws are still
plastered on the walls of public transit. For me that is just bizarre. That was
by far not the only time I experienced preferential treatment from strangers
simply for being a white man.
The major difference between white privilege in America and
Roman citizenship in Paul's day is that it is not codified by law. Technically
all are equal. I can tell you as a Canadian the balance is more real in Canada
although we are certainly not free of prejudice either.
The second paragraph of the United States Declaration of
Independence starts as follows: "We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."
As it turned out some men were just created more equal than
others... :(
Our incident with Paul being suddenly treated much
differently and much better underscores an age old problem. Men are not equal.
In Paul's case it was not colour. In my growing up years it was language that
divided people. Colour, language, citizenship, religion, gender, sexual
orientation, the ways we divide ourselves and class some above others seems to
know no limits.
What is most disturbing to me in our time is that we were
making forward progress but now seem to be going backwards again. Intolerance
of all kinds is on the rise and most disturbing is that it's being modeled from
some of the highest positions of leadership. How can the leader of a nation
that declares all men are created equal be proposing laws and changes that
would create a society where equality would take major steps backwards?
The Bible is a book about real people living real lives in
the real world. Their issues shed light on our issues. Prejudice and the
struggle to coexist are not new struggles. Rome was a Republic. It became an
empire. It was ruled in the beginning by the people. In the end it was ruled by
the Caesars. The evidence is mounting that America is trending in the same
direction. The melting pot is becoming a boiling pot. Do we really want a two
or three or four tiered society? Should the nation built on Christian
principles be foremost in pushing it's own society backwards?
If you don't want to be hated, don't hate. If you want your
political views to be respected, respect the views of others. If you want to
effect change do it peacefully and respectfully. If you want to be loved and
treated as an equal, love your enemies and treat them better than they deserve.
Paul was able to pull his citizenship card and evade a
beating. Jesus created every citizen on this planet yet received no such
preferential treatment. There was no "white privilege" for Jesus.
How did He react to the abuse? "Father forgive them for
they know not what they do."
Please consider the last part of Jesus' prayer. He
acknowledged their lack of knowledge. He recognized their behaviour was rooted
in a lack of understanding on their part. He was not angry at them because He
knew their behaviour was rooted in brokenness. We wouldn't be angry if a man
with no legs did not come running to our rescue. Some people are amputated on
the inside. Getting angry at them won't help.
If we are serious about wanting a better world, we are going
to have to love our enemies. There is no other way.
Love Wins. Hate kills.
No comments:
Post a Comment