Today is like the Time of Jesus

Killing Jesus

What I suppose the typical Christian does not get in reading the Bible is the context for what is going on and the stories told.  The popularity of "Commentaries" over history suggests that this is true.

I am reading Killing Jesus by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard and I think that as much as anything, the authors give us a context for the gospels and the life of Christ. The Roman Republic has been replaced by the Roman Empire and god-kings have come to rule it. Taxes perpetually impoverish the Jews and money goes to build Roman cities and line the pockets of officials and wealthy citizens.  The Jews have their rebellious men who are tortured and killed--crucifixion is used at times. 

Society is in bad shape. The kind charitable practices of the people are put aside.  For many, life becomes an "everyone is on their own" kind if venture. Yet, hope is out there in the Jewish community. For some, they  see hope in faith--a hope that many believe they will see the Jewish state rebuilt to its former glory.  Christ of course tells his listeners that a more important kingdom awaits the faithful.

Today, we face much trouble in our own world.  I think a lot of it comes from isolation and people working against each other when they should have common goals.  I often think about the significance of people who should normally be aligned with each other are at odds.  I am not a big conspiracy theorist, well not really, but I do wonder about whether people at odds with each other are actually encouraged to be at odds with each other, or is there some who encourage it because it weakens alliances that could make for a more powerful constituencies.

Brown and White eBook

I wrote a book called the Brown and White about my time in  high school in Chicago.  It is a story about a white boy going to a Catholic School that stuck it out in the city. I think for the most part, it is a funny book.  And I tried not to pontificate and just told my story.

When I got older, I realized that people with similar political interests were polarized with their own point of view.  We grew up as John F. Kennedy kind of liberals from working class families in what I called two bedroom homes with large four bedroom families.  Our parents went to war and came back to spartan conditions (there were severe housing shortages) and they struggled to make a go of it.  One earner families would lose everything with a few months if a dad was out of work. My father was laid off one year on Christmas eve by an auto manufacturer.  He waited 7-years to get a job as a Chicago Policeman and added two more jobs as he battled financial insecurity.

In some cases, families who were once removed from immigration status looked at the families that have moved "up north" for jobs as people to be shunned rather than allies.  People who had moved from the south saw these struggling families as much better off than themselves.  Essentially, the two groups grew to become enemies rather than allies.  My book essentially tells a bit of my family's story during the time.  It was something I could do and there are stories out there in large number of struggling blacks--that were best sellers and masterpieces at the time.  These were assigned reading for high school students and written by black authors. 

I was also surprised to learn many years later that back in Ireland, where the Irish battled oppression, it was the American Civil Rights leaders who they mimicked in their struggles.  People like Rosa Parks were inspiring Irish in Ireland in their struggles, but here in the states, the Irish Americans saw Civil Rights leaders as trouble-makers.  Huge numbers of homes changed hands and ironically, the white people who moved were called cowards--white fright had taken place.  And yet, as I like to point out, the people often moving were service men who were part of the "greatest generation." Now, many of the changed neighborhoods have changed again and are becoming Hispanic.   How does that work?  I don't know.

The irony is all this happened to people who have shared political interests, but they were often led astray.  Someone is going to come along and unite them and it will be hard to stop them.  But the small differences need to be overcome.  

In a sense, there is much going on today that is like the time of Christ.  Many people are given benefits while others in low and middle income pay for them. Social services are used heavily by some and not by others.  Some cultures expect government benefits and bend the rules to get them.  Others avoid benefits when they need them.  Some people still believe in Yankee Ingenuity and self-reliance. Jobs and employee benefits keep society going.