Yesterday and today I attended a workshop by John Dominic Crossan, a New Testament scholar and historian of early Christianity, on the “Power of Parables”. Our minds were filled with many thoughts about historical Jesus, parables and Jesus as the son or heir of God who shows how to build the Kingdom of God on earth. But the most meaningful thought I came away from the workshop is how the Way of Jesus, as he presented it in his life and message, was the way of nonviolence.

The nonviolence of Jesus was in sharp contrast to the prevailing way to peace in his time. The Augustan Peace of the Roman Empire was based on violence, victory and control. Now we would call it “peace thru strength.” Jesus’ way of nonviolence was peace by justice. The way to Peace for Jesus is not violence, that history teaches us only breeds more violence, but peace by doing justice. This was a radical, revolutionary view for Jesus’ time as it is now.

Jesus was crucified by Romans precisely because the Romans knew the danger to peace of Rome, Pax Roma. Jesus crime was displayed on the Cross by the initials INRI, “Jesus of Nazareth King of Jews”. The way of Jesus by doing justice was a threat to Roman peace by victory and control by war and violence. Jesus’ followers were not rounded up and killed because it was the practice by Jesus of his message that was the threat to Roman Empire.

I always thought of Jesus as the teacher of nonviolence but it was good to get more of a scriptural foundation for the nonviolent Jesus and nonviolent Kingdom of God. Also I was glad to learn more about parables, a metaphorical story, and how to look as parables, based on historical persons and events. The Bible, Old and New Testament, are full of parables that if we understand the “matrix”, context, time and place they were written in gives us a more complete understanding of the Gospel, good news, of Jesus.

Many more thoughts are wondering my mind but for now I must reflect and digest them and learn more of the Way of Jesus and the practice of nonviolence. The nonviolent Kingdom of God is here if we have “eyes to see it and ears to hear it”. Jesus shows us the way to the Nonviolent Kingdom of God.

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