The core of the gospel has taken on an unprecedented form in our time.
Statistics show that many people feel appealed as soon as they can clearly help in an emergency situation. Within days, millions of Euros are pledged in support. Informal care is a regular phenomenon. In the Netherlands, a high percentage of the population does volunteer work. Many people are involved in unpaid relief work. Who wants to know details, should read the book by Rutger Bregman < De meeste mensen deugen>.
A small percentage of the do-gooders are churchgoers. This seems to be an indication that many people are naturally charitable. Jesus' message thus appealed to a natural disposition. That disposition can be repressed by a thirst for control. This desire can be found in domestic violence, street riots, politicians and church leaders. Christianity, after its scintillating beginnings, has succumbed to the pressure of this same desire, but now it seems to want to recover from it. By turning synods into charitable support structures for small groups of people who help each other and those in need, it is coming closer to the ideal that Jesus had in mind.
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