Spirit of Power
It is hard for us to fully understand the tensions that were faced by the early church…
A church comprised of and growing from a small minority of people who had experienced the teachings of Jesus, who had experienced the miracle of the risen Christ.
A church comprised of people who lived in places occupied by a government power that really wanted to herald its own leader as a divine power…who wanted to demand loyalty to Caesar over all else.
A church trying hang on in a society where the rich were very rich and the poor (who far outnumbered the rich) toiled to meet the needs of economic systems that seemed to offer the working class no relief, no hope and no security…
A church that offered witness that God was bigger than all of the day-to-day reality, even in the midst of hard things.
Both of our scriptures today are letters of counsel – counsel written into the hard circumstances of these early church communities.
Both are addressed to the larger community, even if the one to Timothy might seem more personal in nature.
Both are written to communities that are wading through the various competing messages that society is serving up, including false teachings about how God works, who Jesus was, and how people who want to follow Jesus needed to behave and what rules they must follow.
And both letters have an overarching message of encouragement:
Hold on. You can do this. It is hard. And God is with you.
You are called to swim upstream, to testify to Christ’s power in this world, in part by choosing and behaving like Jesus, by following the command to love God and neighbor. And that is counter cultural. That will be hard.
But you can do it. Even when it is hard, you are not alone. There is power that surrounds you.
Hold on. You can do this. Put on the armor of God and keep leaning in. God is with you.
The writer is encouraging the community to keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when it is hard, because God is with them each step of the way. Christ has defeated death…there is little to fear, and the power to resist evil is with you by the power of the Spirit within you.
As we continue to make the road by walking in this season, author Brian McLaren opens chapter 48 with an eye-opening claim in the first sentences:
“Sooner or later, everyone should be arrested and imprisoned for a good cause. Or if not arrested and imprisoned, put in a position of suffering and sacrifice. Or if not that, at least be criticized or inconvenienced a little. Because if we are co-conspirators with the Spirit of God to bring blessing to our world, sooner or later it’s going to cost us something and get us in trouble.” (240)
Now…I love to say things that cause people to pay attention.
But author Brian McLaren REALLY loves to say things that cause people to pay attention. I am pretty sure this sentence probably caused a few folks to open their ears differently.
If I look out across our journey together over the past two years, I think it is safe to say that the folks of Faith church like to be good people, good citizens, good church-goers and we like to keep the peace with one another and generally with the world around us.
We are rule followers.
We like to be liked.
We tend not to create waves.
We are polite.
I know that these are often my default settings.
How about you?
When I think about the scriptures we’ve heard today and how they might speak to us, I am aware that most of us gathered and listening at this time are NOT at risk of imprisonment or beheading or being fed to the lions like some leaders of the early church. Not in this particular place right now. (There are others in the world who really are at bodily risk each day for their profession of faith. I do not want to discount that reality. But it is not OUR reality today, for sure.)
But there are dangers that we face and that we feel…
Conflict with those we love.
Conflict with the values that society or other influence groups want to hold us to.
Conflict with our human desire for comfort – social, emotional and material comfort – and the call at times to do the hard but right thing.
There are other dangers that we face, too.
Being lukewarm.
Being so non-committal that we really stand for very little.
Standing for nothing.
It would seem we might need a dose of bravery, assurance, armor for these strange days.
And so what is here to encourage us in these scriptures?
Hold on. You can do this. It is hard. And God is with you.
You are called to swim upstream, to testify to Christ’s power in this world, in part by choosing and behaving like Jesus, by following the command to love God and neighbor. And that is counter cultural. That will be hard.
But you can do it. Even when it is hard, you are not alone. There is power that surrounds you.
Hold on. You can do this. Put on the armor of God and keep leaning in. God is with you.
We’ve talked a few times over these past weeks about checking in with our gut – checking our feelings in a situation. Listening to our body. When we feel a little defensive, or when we are afraid to speak our truth because it is hard, or when we encounter someone’s disagreement or challenge or even anger, I wonder if we might need to check our gut feeling. What is our body saying to us in those moments?
When we feel that little clench in our gut, when we feel a little overwhelmed or intimidated, how is that we might armor up to have hard conversations with the people we love about the things that really matter? Are we able to seize the comfort of knowing that God is with us in order to listen more deeply but also stand our ground?
This past year, leadership in the United Methodist denomination has called congregations and members into a place that some find very uncomfortable. We’ve been called to the work of becoming anti-racist. We have been called to affirm that Black lives do indeed matter.
I know that the moment some hear those words they are reaching to shut down the power on their listening devices. Because they are hearing the challenge that is coming from the church today as a personal criticism and they are hearing it as a political statement.
But I wonder…is there a way that as a community that is committed to walking with Christ we might hear the call to anti-racism and face our discomfort differently?
I have found myself challenged this past year to move past my comfort level again and again. It is hard to look a beloved family member in the eye and say “we don’t use that language to describe people in our house.”
It is hard to look one another in the eye and say, yes, all lives matter, but right now black lives are disproportionately impacted by hate and discrimination and brutality. Therefore, we continue to speak the truth that black lives do matter.
It has been hard to recognize disparities in health care access and commit to caring for those who don’t have the same access by giving up a little freedom and wearing a mask into public places even when it is not required by law.
It is hard to separate our personal comfort sometimes from the ways that we are called by Christ to love one another well.
McLaren closes this chapter this way:
As we walk this road together, we are being prepared and strengthened for struggle. We’re learning to cut the strings of “unholy spirits” that have been our puppet masters in the past. We’re learning to be filled, led and guided, not by a spirit of fear but by the Holy Spirit instead…a spirit of power, love and a sound mind to face with courage whatever crises may come.
The second letter to Timothy says, “And yet, we have been given a spirit of power and love and self-discipline.”
Have we received that gift? Can we? Will we?
And will we use it in places where we need to feel more brave?
I want to close today with words from John Lewis, recent words, words that he spoke into our current circumstances in 2018. Words that really echo the assurance Paul offers:
Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. (John Lewis, 2018 tweet)
And when I hear that, I hear the echo of scripture.
We have been given a spirit of power and love and self-discipline for such a time as these.
May it be so.
Amen.
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