Prayer: Spirit of the Living God, bind up our wounds and strengthen us to fulfill the call you have for each one of us. Amen.
When was the last time you did or said something that made it clear you are a Christian?
Tricky question, right? Because what exactly does “to be a Christian” mean these days?
Yesterday, several episcopal parishes gathered at All Saints Phoenix for a Candlelight vigil and lament. The Gospel for the vigil started: “If the world hates me, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.”
To follow Jesus and his radical message of love, often does not make us popular. The disciples of Jesus were constantly hated and attacked. In today’s first reading, we see that when Paul and Silas are proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, they upset those around them, in particular those in control of the dynamics of power.
In this particular story, the result of being a good Christian is physical violence against Paul and Silas, and then prison. It is not exactly how we would like to be treated when saying: 'Yes. I am Christian!'
Christianity through the centuries had it is ups and downs. At certain times it did serve people who are hurting, and at other times it lost its way and used its power to hurt the innocent.
In my experience, in those times when it lost its way, God sent out prophets and saints to remind us of what Jesus’ message is about.
People like Jonathan Daniels. Do you know who Jonathan Daniels is?
(Pause)
Jonathan Daniels was an Episcopal seminarian and civil rights activist. In 1965, he was murdered in Alabama, in the act of shielding a young black girl, Ruby Sales.
Like him, three other well-known People of Faith were killed on the road from Selma: the Baptist deacon: Jimmie Lee Jackson, the Unitarian lay leader: Viola Liuzzo, and the Rev. James Reeb.
And these are just some names from the recent past, where people of faith, gave their lives to make God’s kingdom come near.
God is constantly calling us, its followers to preach the gospel in a prophetic way. And that implies that sometimes we will be loved because of the light we are carrying, and sometimes the world will hate us.
In today’s first reading, we hear three stories of violence and confinement, and the story ends by bringing liberation to almost every one of those characters:
The girl was released from bondage to those who exploit her gifts of divination; the jailer, who was ready to end his life because of a job-related failure is spared dishonor and shame, the jailer washes their wounds; then Paul and Silas baptize him and are invited as guests into his home. The violence and confinement of the first part of the account are reversed, and instead, we find Freedom, Hospitality, and Faith.
All three stories are powerful stories of transformation. However, in a time when we question the dynamics of power in our society, I find the story of the slave girl the most interesting. She is not herself. As a child, she has no power over her body or life. Her gifts are manipulated by others, perhaps the evil spirit in her, perhaps her slave-owner.
She recognizes in Paul and Silas God’s face. And then the transformation begins.
I wonder if our nation is like that young girl. Chained by an evil that doesn’t allow her to live freely. And I do know the Gospel of Jesus Christ compels us, Christians, to live like Paul and Silas. So, by doing that the world will know that we are not part of the evil that destroys what is good, instead, the world will recognize the prophetic words of God in us. It comes with a cost. It requires us to leave our comfort zone and become less popular.
Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical season of Easter. For several weeks we have been listening to the stories of apparitions of Jesus after his resurrection from the tomb.
Except today’s Gospel falls between the Passover meal that Jesus had with his disciples, where he washed their feet and the beginning of the Passion narrative.
Since in John’s Gospel there is no institution of the Last Supper as in the other three Gospels, this chapter, which is known as the High Priestly Prayer serves the function of connecting Jesus’ life and ministry with death on the Cross. The sacrifice for the world.
It almost sounds like that Beetle song:
“I am he as you are he as you are me
And we are all together…”
Even though he plays with words, this passage shows us two things: He is anxious, and he prays for himself. He accepts his call to die for the world and all the suffering that will come with it.
And secondly, he prays for his followers, the disciples, and I believe, prays for us saying: “may they also be in us,”
We can only proclaim that we are followers of Christ when we really embrace in prayer and action the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and his ministry.
Jesus is very direct when he speaks about the need for good Christians in this broken world. The Church should pray but also should be prophetic. Today we gather with heavy hearts for all the lost lives by gun violence. We often think all we can do is pray. Prayer is the first step. We do need prayer and rituals of lament, so we can find the strength to exorcise the evil that is gripping our societies.
Another theologian, Nadia Bolz-weber says: “the last thing I want while grieving is someone coming to me and saying: that was God’s will.”
After Jesus’ resurrection, God’s will was to strengthen the disciples to go into the world to proclaim what liberation from evil means.
That put the followers of Jesus in difficult situations quite often, as we saw with Paul and Silas in today’s story. But also brought people back to life, as the story reveals about the jailer and the slave girl.
Be the change you want to see. And ask God to keep you on the right path of justice and peace. Because we have seen enough, and it is time to say goodbye to the evil that is controlling the world around us.
Credits:
Created with images by ThamKC - "Closeup of people holding candle vigil in dark seeking hope" • zatletic - "The fresco with the image of the life of St. Paul: Paul and Silas are Whipped in Philippi, basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy" • New Africa - "Freedom concept. Silhouettes of broken chain and birds flying in blue sky" • JavierArtPhotography - "Praying in the dark", and photo of Thurgood Marshall by © 2022 Adsum