I’m still cleansing myself, if you will, and lamenting from what I heard at Liberty University, including the applause. This is something which is tragically and sadly, symbolically representative of the beliefs of many of my evangelical brothers and sisters.
I’m reading scripture, going through an Advent devotional, reading a book on Merton’s life, praying, and more.
I just couldn’t attend a typical evangelical church this morning (although I’m looking forward to podcasts later in the week of pastors that I know are sensitive to what has been said at Liberty).
Instead I tuned into Duke Chapel to listen to Luke Powery, hoping and praying that he’d deliver a much needed Advent message and he did. While dealing with this violent rhetoric and hate, below is some of the text from his message which helps me refocus and leads me toward joy and longing in Christ in the midst of this Advent season.
“I do wonder if imprisoned Christians are not the ones in jail, literal jails, but the ones who lack gratitude or a life of prayer or joy without the purpose of praising God. I wonder if Paul imprisoned is actually freer than some of us whose spirits are enslaved by terror and fear. Because joy is liberating in its own way and can find expression in any situation of life and because it is so free it seeks to spread its spiritual fruit to others, which is why Paul constantly stresses ‘all of you,” showing how joy aims to be inclusive to others and never selfish, but always desiring to be shared, always spilling over in excess.
All of you! And joy is also hopeful as it anticipates the day of Christ. It operates with Advent in mind as it recognizes that today is not the only day there is. There is the day of Christ and we live under the horizon of hope and we can experiences a foretaste of joy divine…
When Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Lutheran Pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident, was arrested in April 1943, … he wrote letters that were smuggled out of prison. Surprisingly, Bonhoeffer wrote a wedding sermon for his niece and her fiancé from his prison cell in which he says, ‘it is not your love that sustains your marriage, but from now on the marriage that sustains your love.
In the context of war, and one of the worst human tragedies of history, while in jail, there is this wedding sermon born of wisdom and hope for the future of his loved ones. …
Bonhoeffer realized that he could express life even in the midst of death. He could still be human in dehumanizing situations. A jail cell could not imprison his joy.”
As an evangelical, I pray that American evangelicalism embraces this hope and joy. I pray that we embrace Jesus. The true Jesus! Not this faux, violent, and diabolical god of scapegoating, fear, and violence toward Muslims. That talk from Falwell was NOT of God. Instead, that was Mars, the god of war, and unbelievably, that repugnant and odorous filth was preached from that pulpit at Liberty! 😦
May we repent, and seek out not only forgiveness, but may we seek out You, the one and only authentic Christ during this time of Advent. You are the prince of peace! Come Lord Jesus! We long for you! We need you! Transform us! Our heart cries out oh God! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
N E V E R I N S I D E 