I Will Make of You a Great Nation
Everyone needs to belong to some group. In fact, it is really impossible not to belong. We are born into a family, a cultural group, a nation. No one is a true island. Our entire identity is determined by our natural ties with others and the social ties that we fashion throughout our lives.
The bonds that indicate who we are and to whom we belong also identify those who belong to us; they determine who is inside our group and who is outside of it. While such determination is quite natural, it too frequently contributes to forms of prejudice and discrimination. Preference for our own group is often joined by disdain for other groups. Instinctive loyalty to our companions is coupled with rivalry with others. The conviction that we are superior to others can imperceptibly develop into xenophobia, an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers. In such situations, as insiders, we do whatever we can to keep outsiders out.
A people sacred to the LORD (Deut 7:6)
One of the most prominent themes found in the Bible is election of one people by God. Israel believed that it was selected by God from among all the peoples of the earth to be God’s chosen people. An examination of the early literature of other nations shows that this concept was not unique to Israel. Most ancient people believed that they had a patron god or gods who cared for them in a special way. This reinforced their cultural and religious identity, and it gave the people a sense of security. Their god would protect them and care for them. Despite the strength and importance of this theme in the thinking of ancient Israel, we find a dimension of this religious conviction that indicates an openness to others in the very first story of Israel’s earliest ancestor:
I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the nations of the earth shall find blessing in you.
(Gen 12:2-3)
Israel may have been chosen by God, but this election was to be a source of blessing for others as well. In this light, the lines between insider and outsider were beginning to fade. While it is true that in many instances in the Bible Israel is told to destroy its enemies, usually in these situations survival is at stake. This is not to excuse Israel’s hatred of and aggression toward other people. Rather, it is to understand better the violent world of which it was a part.
Ideally, Israel was “chosen” to proclaim to the entire world the goodness of its God. In fact: “It was not because you were the greatest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you and because of fidelity of the oath sworn to your fathers.” (Deut 7:7-8) A new idea begins to take shape here: God chooses those who appear to have little value.
All the nations shall stream toward … the Lord’s mountain” (Isa 2:2-3; Mic 4:1-2)
A passage found in the writings of both Isaiah and Micah paints a picture of the future. Both prophets open their oracle with the words: “In days to come.” As fiercely as Israel may have cherished its own uniqueness as God’s chosen people, the nation envisioned a time when all people would be embraced by that privilege; all people would come to the mountain of the Lord and worship together. In the days to come, the promise made to Abram would be fulfilled; God’s people would be a source of blessing for all.
According to this vision, when these diverse people come together, natural distinctions will undoubtedly remain. They will continue to be Parthians, Medes, Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the districts of Libya near Cyrene, travelers from Rome, Cretans, and Arabs (cf. Acts 2:9-11). These distinctions, however, will not determine privilege; they will not separate people into insiders and outsiders. Those who were formerly on the margin will be brought into the center and the original group will be enlarged.
There will be one flock and one shepherd (Jn 10:16)
With the ministry of Jesus, the time envisioned by the prophets dawned; the fulfillment promised by God began to unfold. It was not by accident that Jesus attracted those who had been pushed to the margins of society, those who appeared to have little value. The people who felt secure in their privileged position as “chosen people” of God and observant of the law had nothing to do with the poor and those who had been defiled in any way. They kept themselves away from the undesirable members of society.
Jesus preached that God’s love was for all people. To do so, he used the very familiar image of the shepherd. Hundreds of years earlier, the prophet Ezekiel had characterized God as the shepherd of the flock of Israel. (Ezek 34:11) Jesus appropriated this image to himself, declaring: “I am the good shepherd.” (Jn 10:11). As good shepherd, Jesus went out to those who were somehow separated from the flock. As if this were not shocking enough, he went on to say: “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold” (v. 16). Unlike the early vision from Isaiah and Micah, Jesus does not wait until they come to him. He reaches out to them; he goes in search of them; he calls them. They hear his voice, and they recognize him as their shepherd. When they have been gathered in, “there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
Make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19)
According to Matthew’s Gospel, the public ministry of Jesus was preceded by the preaching of John the Baptist. The essence of John’s message was: “Repent, for the reign of heaven is at hand.” (Mt 3:2). This reign of God was the time of fulfillment spoken of by the prophets. Throughout his ministry, Jesus established this reign of God and he invited all people into it. The Gospels tell us that those on the margins of society flocked to hear his message and to benefit from his mighty works. In the same Gospel, we read that before he ascended into heaven, Jesus commissioned the eleven disciples to continue the work that he himself had begun. They were to make disciples of all nations. (28:19) They were to fulfill this commission by baptizing others and teaching them what the disciples themselves had learned from Jesus. The basic message of that teaching is that God’s love is for all. There can no longer be outsiders; everyone is invited to be an insider.
Paul captures this notion of universal inclusion quite graphically when he says: “There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free person; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28) In no way is Paul denying obvious distinctions. Of course there are cultural differences between Jew and Greek; of course there are gender differences between male and female; and there are always social differences among people. What Paul is saying here is that these clear differences are no longer distinctions of privilege. The Greek is as much a part of the body of Christ as the Jew; in this body, the woman has the same rights as the man; and there is no hierarchy of status because of social position. In other words, the biased categories of the world no longer determine who is an insider and who is an outsider. It is faith in Jesus that makes that determination, and the disciples of Jesus (the insiders) have been commissioned to invite everyone in.
We live at a time of significant interfaith responsibility. Without minimizing the importance of conversion and baptism, we are also called to respect and value the faith traditions of the other major religions of the world, religions that do not esteem Christ as Christians do. While this is particularly true of the religions of Israel and Islam, it is also true of other lesser known-faiths. If we are to be true to our Christian calling, we can no longer distance ourselves from, let alone disdain, people committed to God in ways other than our own. They may be sheep that belong to another fold, but they are still God’s sheep and so they are not really outsiders.
Sister Dianne Bergant always offers a unique perspective bridging contemporary issues and Biblical insights. A version of this essay appeared in this magazine several years ago. We felt that her insights on the unchanging spiritual dimensions of belonging to the universal family of God are a helpful framework of reference in understand what it means to be citizens of one nation at the same time that we are citizens of a global community. — The Editors
