😇 Advent 3

Readings: Isaiah 35 :1-10; Psalm 145 (146) 5-10; James 5 :7-10; Matthew 11 2-11

Central Thesis/Theme: John the Baptist's doubt from prison reveals a fundamental debate about confronting systemic oppression. John sees Rome as the primary enemy requiring direct anti-imperial resistance, while Jesus targets something deeper—the ideology of entitlement that creates in-group/out-group categories. Jesus refuses to alienate those trapped in corrupt systems (like military families) even while condemning the systems themselves, modeling a "sharper razor" that separates the bathwater of oppression from the baby of human dignity.

Key Textual/Historical Insights: The Greek word hodos (The Way/path) connects Isaiah's prophecy to John's preparation ministry. "Born of women" is Hebrew idiom for "all humanity"—Jesus declares nobody in all human history greater than John while still moving beyond his approach. First-century Galilee had brown-skinned Herodian troops, not Roman legionnaires; the "centurion of great faith" would have been a local auxiliary soldier, not a white Roman. Luke's placement of this episode immediately after the centurion's healing highlights the tension, while Matthew's different timeline may reflect anti-military concerns. Jesus uses basileus (kingdom) language because Antipas rules Galilee as a client king, but the Greek concept of politea (republic) better captures Jesus's power-distribution model versus pyramid hierarchy.

Theological Argument: Jesus rejects hoarding divine authority at the top of a hierarchy, instead "digging down deeper" to distribute God's power among ordinary people. This isn't soft compromise—it's recognizing that the root problem isn't the emperor but entitlement itself: "the idea that we have the right thing and those on the outside have the wrong thing." Jesus warns against being "scandalized" by his healing of an imperial collaborator's child, arguing we must condemn corrupt systems without alienating vulnerable people trapped within them who need "backdoor handouts" from the charity industrial complex or military industrial complex for survival.

Contemporary Application: Modern movements for justice face the same tension: How do we resist oppression without alienating those who joined corrupt systems for survival—money, social stability, lack of options? Logan draws on his own military experience to argue Jesus models separating the bath water (illegitimate autocratic systems) from the baby (salvation for people at the dirt level). The challenge is going "even deeper" than surface anti-imperialism to address root ideologies while maintaining compassion for those the systems exploit.

Questions Raised:

• How do we differentiate legitimate resistance to oppression from alienating the very people who need liberation most?
• What does distributing divine power rather than hoarding it look like in practice?
• Can we condemn corrupt systems while extending grace to individuals surviving within them?
• What is the difference between opposing an empire and opposing the ideology of entitlement that enables all empires?
• How do we avoid recreating in-group/out-group categories even while pursuing justice?