Generation after generation reject God’s agenda for love and justice. And generation after generation continue to construct political economies that enrich a powerful minority at the expense of the majority of the population.

Till, one day, God steps onto the stage of human history, in the person of Jesus Christ, to show us the way that we can live with love for justice once again. Jesus not only tells us about “the Way”; Jesus is “the Way” himself.

When the people try to make Jesus their king – he refuses, saying, he has not come “to be served”, but “to serve”, and to give his life as “a ransom” -the price he is willing to pay – to set the people free. He says that, while pagans may “lord it over” one another, it should “never be so among you”.
Mat23:8“You are not to be called `Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers and sisters. 9And do not call anyone on earth `father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called `teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Matt20:20Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21″What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” 22″You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 23Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” 24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

There are two ways of understanding power. Traditionally our dominant notion of power has been defined as the ability to control other people. The dominant notion of power emphasises the possibility of bringing about change through coercion – an approach that tries to make others change according to our agendas. While the traditional dominant notion of power means taking control of our lives by taking control of others, Jesus advocated a radical alternative to the dominant notion of power – taking control of our lives, not by taking control of others, but by taking control of ourselves. This alternative emphasises bringing change by conversion – an approach that does not try to make others change, but tries to change ourselves, individually and collectively, in the light of a glorious agenda for justice. It breaks the control that others have over us and liberates us from our desire to control others.

The dominant notion of power is popular because it often brings quick, dramatic results. But the dominant approach to power is characterised by short-term gains for some, and long-term losses for everyone else. Every violent revolution there has ever been, has – sooner or later – betrayed the people in whose name it fought its bloody war of liberation. The alternative notion of power is unpopular because it is usually a slow, unspectacular process. But the alternative approach to power is the only way for groups to transcend their selfishness, resolve their conflicts, and manage their affairs in a way that does justice to everyone.

The essential problem in any situation of injustice is – that one human being is exercising control over another and exploiting the relationship of dominance. The solution to the problem is not simply to reverse roles, in the hope that once the roles have been reversed, the manipulation will discontinue. The solution is for people to stop trying to control each other. All of us, to one degree or another, exploit the opportunity if we have control over another person’s life. Common sense therefore dictates that the solution to the problem of exploitation cannot be through the dominant approach to power – with its emphasis on controlling others. The solution is in the alternative – the strong but gentle approach – which emphasises controlling our-selves, individually and collectively, through self managed processes and structures.

Some of us sincerely believe that if we are to help people, particularly the oppressed, we need to manage their affairs for them. But it doesn’t matter how we try to rationalise it, controlling others always empowers us and disempowers those we seek to help The only way people can be helped, particularly the oppressed, is for them to be empowered to take control over their own lives. This is why Christ explicitly forbade his followers taking control over others, no matter how dire the circumstances. Their job was not to seek control, but to enable others to take control over their own lives. (Matthew 20:25–28)

It is a pity that many of us who claim to follow Christ have not followed his advice and disobeyed ecclesial and civil authorities who have asked us to do otherwise. We could have been saved the crusades and the inquisition.