And He opened His mouth and taught them saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

(Matthew 5:2-5)

How was power concentrated in Jesus’ time?

In Jesus’ time power was centralized and guarded jealously, often murderously, by those at the top. It emanated from the city of Rome across its empire and was held in trust by the government officials, tax collectors, and power-seekers living in the provinces and client kingdoms such as Galilee and Judea. The Roman system of governance was not a federal system, where representatives are elected locally and then congregate in a center of power to enact legislation. Instead, it was a system in which all provincial rulers and power brokers were selected from inside the center of power and were then tasked to enact legislation across their scattered domains over a population who did not elect them, with electoral oversight provided by lawyers selected by the ruling class based on their demonstrated loyalty (glad we don’t do all that anymore…). Even if that system were free from judicial corruption (it most certainly was not free from that), you can imagine that people across the empire did not inherently trust their Roman overlords, no matter how great their aqueducts and domed architecture looked.

Like all effective empires in history, Rome recognized the only way to maintain this unnatural system of governance would be to co-opt local elites into their structure of power to act as a buffer against the common man, who would be entirely left out of the decisions which affected their lives. Therefore, we see the tiny upper class in these provinces benefiting greatly from Roman rule, while the common man suffered. Some claim that Rome’s political problems stemmed from an unequal distribution of wealth. It may be more accurate to view the core problem as the unjust concentration of power, and the notable inequality of wealth was a feature of that system sustaining itself through semi-legal corruption and bribery (also glad we don’t do all that anymore).

What does Jesus say about the concentration of power?

In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount which outlines the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven, and that reality is as surprising to the oppressed citizenry of Galilee and Judea as it is threatening to those holding the reigns of power in the political outpost of Jerusalem. Over the succeeding two thousand years, this vision of Reality has shocked and disturbed successive generations of commoners and elites as it lists nine characteristics of the Kingdom. I view them in three parts:

1. The first three deal with those who live life at the bottom of worldly power structures either for reasons beyond their control or because they choose not to engage in that system of lies.

2. The next four speak to our calling to seek Christ’s goodness and love regardless of our standing.

3. The last two encourage us when we are attacked and slandered because we acknowledge the Reality of the Kingdom.

Let’s focus this week on Group 1: the “poor in spirit” will be the owners of this Kingdom of Heaven, “those who mourn” will be comforted in their mourning, and “the meek” who shall inherit the earth.

In Christ’s Kingdom- the Kingdom which we profess to seek- we are called to treat all people with dignity, respect, and a belief that they are entrusted by God to inherit this Kingdom. No one is despised, no one is deplored, no one disregarded because they do not have the right credentials, the right connections, or access to the halls of earthly power. The other kingdom- the Kingdom of this World- puts a premium on these things because it allows a practical control over the people they see as unable to run their own lives. New ideas are “too dangerous” and may bring down our trusted institutions (never mind that those institutions have proven untrustworthy), and new technology “too unreliable” and may introduce risks experts have not deemed acceptable (never mind that those experts regularly botch risk assessments). We can acknowledge and respectfully reject these claims, because nowhere in this sermon or across the Gospels does Jesus suggest asking permission to seek the Kingdom of God.

What can the Reformers do?

Jesus’ message was one which rejected the cultural mandates from society’s ruling elites. He did not call to tear down any institutions or erase any systems in place. Instead He calls us to acknowledge the reality of higher institutions and a higher system of morality which we are to serve. We do not need to break down any of the illusory systems around us, we simply need to build better alternatives. The digital tools which make up web3, the metaverse, the cryptocosm (call it what you want) present a new opportunity to accomplish this for anyone willing to be a part of this change.

The first three Beatitudes listed above tell us that all people have dignity, purpose, and an honored place in the Kingdom. There are 7.75 billion people in the world today. Many of them do not have access to a bank, and many more live in an economic system which robs them of their value and dignity. But a significant (and growing) number have access to the internet, and therefore have access to the systems which ensure digital privacy so they can transact without tyrannical oversight, and tools which can cryptographically enable digital scarcity and ownership so they guarantee private property rights and exit the corrupt systems which was forced on them.

An effective system requires tools, rules, and teams to operate. Developers and those who are tech-trained, you build the tools. Managers and those who can affect policies in a company or government, you help change the rules. Communities and builders, you establish networks and create teams of those who willing seek the Kingdom of God.

How might we create new systems of the world which reject the power structures that would deny every person their role as made in the image of God?

(cover image courtesy of aleteia.org)