Restoring Community

In Faith in the face of Empire: The Bible Through Palestinian Eyes, Mitri Raheb offers a rich reflection about how Jesus promoted community among his disciples. I quote hermano Raheb in full.

Jesus knew only too well that one policy every empire utilizes is to “divide and conquer.” He was referring to just such an imperial strategy when he said, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house” (Lk 11:17). The unity of his people [i.e., those in the Kingdom of God] was thus something that concerned him. The fact that he called twelve disciples—to resemble twelve tribes of Israel—was a clear indication that his mission was to restore the people and underline their unity. A look at the Twelve reveals them as a people of diverse ideologies: a zealot, Simon (Mt. 10:4), and a tax collector Matthew (Mt 9:9); people who otherwise would not necessarily be grouped together. Among the Twelve were people from different regions of Palestine: Galilee, Iscariot, and Judea. Restoring a sense of community across ideological differences and geographical barriers is crucial for any community living under occupation. Occupied people often start to fight among themselves concerning the best way to resist the empire and consequently end up fighting one another instead of fighting the empire. As well, when people are confined by empires within small geographical areas, they being to develop sub-identities, thus losing the sense of a communal identity. This is why Jesus invested his time in creating an inclusive community.

Like Moses before him, Jesus of Nazareth liberates and unites “a mixed multitude” of oppressed peoples (Ex 12:38).