Easter Devotional - Day 29
"My work is to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher. That's why I am suffering now. But I am not ashamed! I know the one I have faith in, and I am sure that he can guard until the last day what he has trusted me with." 2 Timothy 1:11-12
Would that Paul's words were an aberration from a norm of life in ministry! It would be nice to believe the reality with which Paul dealt had been overcome in the centuries of witness to Christ Jesus and the gracious love of God presented in the ministry and resurrection of Christ. Jesus should have been the only one to suffer on behalf of the gospel, as its message is one of redemption for millions who have come to Jesus from the throes of oppression, injustice, and persecution. If we open our eyes to the realities of church history, we know better that to believe that pipe dream.
There have been prophets faithful to God across the centuries of Christian witness. Almost without reservation their lives have been plagued by the realities to which Paul spoke. Martin Luther spoke against the excesses of the Catholic Church in his day and was greeted with the threat of death. In England, the Puritans were oppressed for their opposition to the papacy and the political control of one's expression of worship by the Church of England. Baptists fled persecution in England for daring to preach and baptize without authorization by the power brokers of the day. In America they were jailed at times for the same insults to officials in the colony governments.
We led part of the fight for religious freedom and separation between church and state. We wanted freedom for all parties, as we had understood the problems of state-sponsored religion from the inside of the Culpepper jail. The Bill of Rights was a victory in the struggle for freedom to speak from the dictates of conscience before God. It protected the voices of Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, and many others who chose to distance themselves from the confines and dictates of a state church. The Bill of Rights in the Constitution was a victory for the freedom of the pulpit and religious speech. It did not end the problem of persecution, suffering, and animosity towards those whose calling had them speak the message of God to a broken world, however.
Martin Luther of Germany dared to translate the Bible into a German the common people could read. Martin Luther King, Jr. dared take the words of the gospel to heart that in Christ there was no distinction between on man and another, regardless of race, gender, or station in life. They both suffered for daring to speak the word of God to a social and religious order wishing to keep the message at bay. Martin Luther was protected by a prince with political interests in breaking the political hold of the Catholic Church. Martin Luther King, Jr. had no such earthly protector.
Struggles for power have threatened the fabric of many denominations in recent years. Ministers, professors, churches, and institutions alike have suffered under the abuse of power by those threatened by others speaking from conscience their witness to the message of God. Where that message has not supported the structures of power, voices have been and continue to be threatened, muzzled, or silenced. Too often, it has been those outside the church whom have responded in love while those within resorted to violence and vitriol—the establishment in opposition of grace and love.
Assess your own attitudes toward those who speak a different voice, for love rather than anger.
"Lord, grant me love for those who differ and clarity to hear your voice over power's concerns."
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
Would that Paul's words were an aberration from a norm of life in ministry! It would be nice to believe the reality with which Paul dealt had been overcome in the centuries of witness to Christ Jesus and the gracious love of God presented in the ministry and resurrection of Christ. Jesus should have been the only one to suffer on behalf of the gospel, as its message is one of redemption for millions who have come to Jesus from the throes of oppression, injustice, and persecution. If we open our eyes to the realities of church history, we know better that to believe that pipe dream.
There have been prophets faithful to God across the centuries of Christian witness. Almost without reservation their lives have been plagued by the realities to which Paul spoke. Martin Luther spoke against the excesses of the Catholic Church in his day and was greeted with the threat of death. In England, the Puritans were oppressed for their opposition to the papacy and the political control of one's expression of worship by the Church of England. Baptists fled persecution in England for daring to preach and baptize without authorization by the power brokers of the day. In America they were jailed at times for the same insults to officials in the colony governments.
We led part of the fight for religious freedom and separation between church and state. We wanted freedom for all parties, as we had understood the problems of state-sponsored religion from the inside of the Culpepper jail. The Bill of Rights was a victory in the struggle for freedom to speak from the dictates of conscience before God. It protected the voices of Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, and many others who chose to distance themselves from the confines and dictates of a state church. The Bill of Rights in the Constitution was a victory for the freedom of the pulpit and religious speech. It did not end the problem of persecution, suffering, and animosity towards those whose calling had them speak the message of God to a broken world, however.
Martin Luther of Germany dared to translate the Bible into a German the common people could read. Martin Luther King, Jr. dared take the words of the gospel to heart that in Christ there was no distinction between on man and another, regardless of race, gender, or station in life. They both suffered for daring to speak the word of God to a social and religious order wishing to keep the message at bay. Martin Luther was protected by a prince with political interests in breaking the political hold of the Catholic Church. Martin Luther King, Jr. had no such earthly protector.
Struggles for power have threatened the fabric of many denominations in recent years. Ministers, professors, churches, and institutions alike have suffered under the abuse of power by those threatened by others speaking from conscience their witness to the message of God. Where that message has not supported the structures of power, voices have been and continue to be threatened, muzzled, or silenced. Too often, it has been those outside the church whom have responded in love while those within resorted to violence and vitriol—the establishment in opposition of grace and love.
Assess your own attitudes toward those who speak a different voice, for love rather than anger.
"Lord, grant me love for those who differ and clarity to hear your voice over power's concerns."
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin
http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
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