Tikkun Olam
In my last article on Hebraic context of Scripture, I delved a bit into the concept of the opposite of God being chaos - a lack of order. Building a bit on that, today I would like to touch on the subject of tikkun olam and the Kingdom of God.
The Repair of the World
In the beginning, when God created the world out of the chaos, tohu u’vohu, God’s creation existed in a state of peace, shalom, with its Creator. However, because man chose to sin - to choose chaos over creation - this state of peace was broken, and creation was no longer in a state of shalom with God. Thus, chaos and not creation reigned in the lives of men on earth.
This set the stage for the remainder of the story from Genesis 3 through Revelation - the story we find ourselves living in today.
In the Hebrew mind, the remainder of this story is one in which God seeks tikkun olam, which roughly translates “the repair of the world”. While this concept of tikkun olam has taken on additional meaning in the past 2000 years, I would like to examine it as it was viewed during Jesus’ day. In particular, it was an overriding theme within the teaching of the Rabbi Gamaliel, Paul’s teacher (Acts 22:3).
Father Abraham through Jesus
In Genesis 12, we read about the calling of Abram, where he was called out specifically to be blessed so that in turn he would be a blessing to others. Abram had done nothing to deserve this blessing - he was called out by God to leave the ways of his fathers and to follow God. As a result of His grace, God would bless Abram. In turn, Abram would then be a blessing to the rest of the world. It was the purpose of Abram’s existence (see Gen 22:16-18).
This concept of being blessed and passing on the blessing is carried out through Scripture, all the way up to Jesus. In Luke 2:29-32, upon Jesus’ dedication in the Temple, we read the words of Simeon:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Read literally, Simeon says that Jesus is light and that he will bring light to all of the people of the world - the Gentiles. In the opening of John’s gospel, we read in similar language that “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world”.
In these passages, and others, Jesus is a blessing that will bring blessing to the world.
And thus, Jesus passes this mission on to us in such teachings as the Sermon on the Mount:
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
So, as Christians, we, too, are to be blessed (to have light) and to then pass that blessing on to the world around us (to let the light shine).
Jesus Sacrifice and the Mitzvot
The Apostle Paul tells us that because we are ‘in Christ’, his righteousness is imputed to us. As such, we are no longer bound by our sins - we are no longer in darkness - and we are freed to be blessed and to pass that blessing on, so that the whole world will know that our God is the one true God of the universe.
Along with the ancient Hebrew concept of tikkun olam, the repair of the world, is the concept of mitzvot - good deeds and holy living under the guidance of God. According to the teaching of Gamaliel, the reason that God wanted to free us from the bondage of sin was so that we could then do mitzvot, good deeds, which would help bring about tikkun olam.
Over time, this teaching was distorted by Jewish and Dominionist teachers as a way of causing God to bring about the return of His Messiah, rather than it being a result of God’s Messiah coming to initiate this purpose through the coming of his Kingdom.
Paul, a student of Gamaliel, states it correctly, though:
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works (mitzvot), which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Now, what is the purpose of the mitzvot? To bring about tikkun olam, the repair of the world, one step at a time. WHO is the source of the mitzvot we do? God. These good works, many of which would be categorized under the derogatory title of “the social gospel”, are the way that we pass on the blessings that God has given to us. If we do not pass them along, we are like the rich farmer who chose to build bigger barns rather than to pass along his blessings. Additionally, we have been given the secret to eternal life through the gospel of Jesus. Thus, we are also called to pass along this blessing.
The Ephesians
As I noted above, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
He makes it clear that we are not saved by mitzvot, but that we are saved for the purpose to do mitzvot - and that God is the source of the mitzvot.
I find it interesting, myself, that this was in the letter to the Ephesians. You see, Ephesus was probably the city in Asia Minor most like modern America - highly liberated, greatly rich, the world center of commerce, and highly materialistic.
One aspect of Ephesus has come to mind, as well, in the past week. One of the prominent features of Ephesus was the Temple of Artemis (Diana) - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Because Artemis was the goddess of fertility, women from all over the Roman empire flocked to Ephesus both to receive her blessings in fertility and to be protected in childbirth (since one in three women were likely to die during childbirth). Additionally, she had an incredibly large number of temple prostitutes in her service. Some scholars estimate 250,000+ women per year came to Ephesus for the blessings of Artemis.
As a result of this belief in Artemis, there were thousands - if not tens of thousands - of unwanted babies born within the walls of Ephesus each year. History records that outside the east gate of Ephesus was a large trash heap upon which unwanted infants were laid to die of exposure each day. Galen of Pergamum and other famous physicians wrote books on how to pick out infants who were most likely to be healthy and who would make the best slaves. These were extensively used by slave traders outside the gates of Ephesus, giving the city the dubious distinction of being the center of slave trade in the Roman world, as well.
Between such horrid practices as this, the temple orgies and other unspeakable acts, I imagine that it should not have been too difficult to find mitzvot to perform in such a culture.
But then I wonder if the Christians of Ephesus were so immersed in their culture that they could not see such ‘obvious’ places in which to pass on the blessings they had received. Are we so similar to the Ephesians that, 2000 years from now, Christians will look back on us and wonder at how easy it should have been for us to recognize chaos in the world and to perform God’s mitzvot to bring about tikkun olam?
We are God’s workmanship. We are saved by His grace and not by our mitzvot. He created us in order that we would go do those mitzvot as part of His plan to repair the world… So let us not be weary of doing them, and let our eyes be opened to where we may pass along ALL of His blessings.
Grace and Peace to you,
Chris
August 27th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Blessed to be a blessing…
Rescued to rescue…
Redeemed to redeem…
Forgiven to forgive…
…it’s not about me!
Amen, brother.
Loved this sentence:
Shalom
August 27th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Well put.
Chris, I think you could turn these series of posts you do in to really great small group studies.
August 27th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Good thoughts–some basic things that come to mind here in America that Christians take part in without a blink of an eye are materialism (as well as not spending money wisely, getting into debt, etc,), gluttony ;), as well as other forms of greed and selfishness . . . these are all good places to start changing in our own life to start reflecting Christ and not just the average American Christian.
August 27th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
. . . To continue, I would say YES, American Christians are extremely immersed in our culture to the point where if one was mingling in a large crowd of mixed Christians and non-Christians, one would not be able to tell them apart, as far as words, actions, attitudes, dress/outward appearance all go. The average American Christian tends to have the same American ideals that everyone else does . . . to survive and hopefully prosper. Sure, we put 10% in the offering plate once in awhile, but it’s hard to come across “ACs” (got tired of typing it out) who are willing to sacrifice for others, and willingly go out of their way to find people to sacrifice for. Our culture is all about Comfort Zones, and “ACs” seem to be just fine with that.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Hi Merry,
Let me push back a little, if you would. One of the things that I find to be somewhat bothersome today is the attitude that I seem to find in your comment. (I’m not saying it is your comment or that I am percieving it correctly). I seem to sense this idea that the American Christian church is just going to hell in a handbasket. I just don’t see that. I think that there are a lot of problems with the church, yes. I also think there are a lot of great things going on in the church too.
I think this should be a time of immense hope. Sure, we have our whackos at both ends of the spectrum but the fact of the matter is the American church is made up of people just like you and just like me. We’re flawed (heck, Rick cheers for a Slow CATHOLIC school). IMO, this comes down to showing the entire AC the same grace we show ourselves.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
It’s just part of our Puritan heritage, Joe. We’re suspicious of anyone who looks like he might be having a good time…
August 27th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Hi Joe,
That’s not what I was saying at all, ha ha. I was just talking about some things I’ve personally noticed in America compared to other countries. I see a lot of good, too.
Maybe it’s just because I’m a teenager and I maybe see different sides of things than an adult would, I don’t know. I see my Christian friends continuing to lower their standards to match the culture (as our culture’s standard gradually get lower and lower . . .) I think I was just trying to make the point that Christians need to follow Jesus’ example first and not the example of other Christians.
If my attitude about that is bothersome to you, then I don’t know how to help you, ha ha.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Well, let me ask a question. You said,
Do you also see friends who are standing strong? Do you also have friends that are not compromising?
August 27th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
^Sadly, no.
. . . I can think of 1. Which is a positive thought, but out of the 70 usual Christian peers I hang out with . . . maybe not so encouraging.
I’m far from being a perfect example, but I want to do what I can.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Fair enough
Night all
August 28th, 2008 at 1:10 am
. . . not sure what point you were trying to make, but that’s okay.
I guess we all have our different Christian circles and things probably vary a lot throughout different Christian groups across the country. You probably have a strong Christian church family and see more good than bad. My Christian family has struggled a lot and I’ve definately seen a lot of bad things going on in church throughout my lifetime.
Phil, if “having a good time” involves underage drinking, partying, things that shouldn’t be happening outside of marriage, course jokes and behavior, all being done by young Christian men and women, I’d rather be a suspicious Puritan (tee hee!) than go along with that. And I see plenty of Christian adults turning a blind eye and not doing anything to help fix the problems. After bringing all that up, things I mentioned before such as materialism and selfishness don’t even sound so bad anymore!
To get back to the point of the OP, I see plenty of “good works” that could be happening that aren’t. At least where I come from there are.
August 28th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Merry - as expected I agree with you. That oesn’t mean there are not believers like you, but the commitment level among professing young people AND adults is not where is should be.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I was spoiled by the young adult ministry I was part of from 2003 to 2007. Our pastor pulled no punches. The purity expectations for those of us in leadership were strident, yet tempered by grace and love. He empowered others to go and be the good news. He never tried to grow a big young adult ministry. Yet it was the largest in Chester County. The more we pressed into the heart of God, the more transparency and vulnerability we practiced, the higher we raised the bar, the more the ministry grew. We reluctantly moved to 2 services, ministering to 1,000 young adults on an average Sunday evening.
Two years ago, our pastor felt called to plant a church in West Chester, and now that is growing. I am blessed beyond words to have Phil Carnuccio as a pastor.
So my view of my generation (I’ll be 32 next month) is optimistic. I’ve seen the power of the gospel change lives first-hand. And I see brothers and sisters moved by the grace in their lives to go and spread that grace to hurting souls around them.
So as I said, maybe I’m spoiled.
Just a few thoughts.
Shalom
August 28th, 2008 at 10:09 am
I would change “spoiled” to “blessed” Nathaniel. May God use you greatly.
August 28th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Amen, brother.
And may He continue to use you.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:35 am
I do too, but I also see a lot of beautiful things happening that are good works too.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:36 am
at least where I live in G-Rap. (HI Ken)