Table Conversations On What The Bible Teaches About Just Living

Here are the texts for 45-minute discussions at the November 15 workshop on "Rebirth of Anabaptism: living Just, Joyful and Sustainable Living:

“(The prophet) Amos knew that…there is little value in placing our attention merely on a handful of bad actors. Culture and systems are what create large scale evils such as poverty, war, and ecological devastation. Religion must address collective evil.“      

- Richard Rohr, “The Tears of Things”

“From Genesis to Revelation, Citizens of God’s Empire Are Called To Practice Just Living”

Table Group 1 Just Living is Established and Embedded in the Torah (Genesis 1:20- 2:3, Exodus 20:8-11, Leviticus 23:15-22, Deuteronomy 15, Leviticus 25)

1. What part do God's creatures and the rest of creation play in the Torah vision of a world of shalom, in which “nothing is marred and nothing is missing"?

2. How might Torah Sabbath observances in the Torah affect how we experience shalom justice? 

    a) the 7-day sabbath: weekly respite for workers, alien residents, animals, etc.

    b) the 7-week sabbath: first fruits/Pentecost offerings

    c) the 7-year sabbath: cancellation of debts incurred during times of hardship, rest for the land             

    d) the 7x7 Jubilee sabbath: redistribution of land to original inhabitants

3. How is just living portrayed in the Torah as a shared obligation of all of God’s people, and not simply the obligation of individuals or individual households?

Table Group 2 Just Living is Celebrated and Affirmed in Wisdom Literature (Psalm 12, Psalm 24:1-6, Psalm 37:14-26, Psalm 112, Proverbs 3:27-29, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 22:7-9, Proverbs 28:27, Proverbs 30:7-9)

1. What are some clear contrasts between the behaviors and lifestyles of the ungodly and those who wisely choose to honor a just God?

2. How does the affirmation that “the (whole) earth is the Lord’s” affect how we use our time, gifts and money?

3. In what way is investing in those in need a form of “lending to the Lord” or investing in the Treasury of Heaven by giving to the poor (Luke 12:33)?

4. How is God portrayed as responding to people experiencing hardship, oppression and other forms of suffering, and what would it mean to have God’s people respond in the same way?

Table Group 3 Just Living is Reaffirmed Through the Voice of the Prophets

(Isaiah 1:15-20, Isaiah 35, Isaiah 58:6-14, Jeremiah 22:13-17, Ezekiel 16:48-54, Amos 4:1-3, 8:4-11, Micah 6:6–8, Zechariah 7:9-12(

1. Are the prophets’ words addressed primarily to individuals or to a whole people, and how does that matter? 

2. How might some hear the prophets’ words of judgment as good news and some as dreaded news?

3. How do we see our circumstances as similar to, or different from, those addressed by the Biblical prophets?

Table Groups 4&5 Just Living is Commanded and Demonstrated By Messiah Jesus 

(Group 4: Matthew 4:12-17, Matthew 6:19-34, Matthew 7:24-29, Matthew 16:24-28, Matthew 19:13-30, Mark 8:1-9)

1. In what ways does Jesus’s focus on a heaven-ruled empire in which God’s will is being done on earth as in heaven make us different from people governed by earth-bound, nationalistic economies and cultures?

2. How does our being free from worry and having a strong sense of worth radically change the way we spend money?

3. What is the significance of the gospel accounts of a rich young ruler always coming right after the story of Jesus blessing children? How should we become like children in willingly working and learning but not laying claim to personal wealth?

(Group 5: Luke 1:46-55, Luke 6:20-25, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 12:13-34, Luke 16:10-31, Luke 19:15-30.

1. Who are the rich and well fed on whom Jesus pronounces woes? 

2. As God’s children around one worldwide table, where do we find ourselves in the story of the rich man and Lazarus?

3. According to Jesus, is investing in ever more consumer wealth primarily an evil or is it simply foolish?

4. Is the main point of the Zacchaeus story that giving to the poor is an act of charity or is it about practicing justice? 

Table Group 6 Just Living is Exemplified and Taught by the Apostles

(Acts 2:37-47, Acts 4:32-37, II Corinthians 8:1-15, II Corinthians 9:6-15, Hebrews 13:1-6, James 5:1-6)

1. What Spirit-driven lifestyle changes resulted from Peter’s sermon on repentance (an about-face change of mind, heart and direction) on the day of Pentecost?

2. What are some of the reasons Paul gives for Christians giving generous help to people in need nearly 1000 miles away?

3. How are workers around the world affected by our feeling entitled to exotic food, clothing and technology from all over the globe?

Table Group 7 Just Living is Restored Forever In New Testament Prophecy

(Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 2:8-11, 3:14-22, 17:1-6 [with 18:1-20 and 19:1-3], 21-22:1-5)

1. What is the significance of whole nations of people, and not just individuals. being brought before God in the Final Judgement?

2. Do our churches today exhibit more of the wealth of Smyrna or of Laodicea?

3. When Babylon falls, a symbol of global economic exploitation, who celebrates and who weeps and mourns?

4. In what way does the description of God’s new heavens and earth, a restoration of the shalom of Eden, provide a vision for how we are to demonstrate just living today?