Monday, April 6, 2020
“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.” God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says, “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons. “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.” Isaiah 42:1-9
If you
consider carefully this passage you see everything for which the human spirit
longs; chief among those longings is justice for all. Novels, movies, news
reports, freedom marches, wars, civil strife, and even the backyard brawl between two preschool
boys, all center around justice. The
story or cause may be about the violence done by some to others, but the
backstory is our longing to have things set right. And that never happens in
isolation!
Christ-followers
of every generation since the first century have had a deep sense of this need
for church, the koinonia fellowship of caring.
Tied to this is Christ’s call to go everywhere in His name, doing the same
as He did…driving out the demonic influences that are a violence to holiness,
feeding the hungry, visiting the lonely and poor, freeing the slaves. Without this sense of mission there can be no
holiness. Founder of Methodism, John
Wesley spoke eloquently to the fallacy of solitary religion, the
singular, hermit-like brand of Christianity, desiring salvation and justice
received, but isolated, unwilling to give oneself to Christ’s body:
Solitary religion is not to be
found there. “Holy solitaries” is a phrase no more consistent with the
gospel than holy adulterers. The gospel
of Christ knows no religion, but social; no holiness but social holiness.”[1]
We are
currently bound in isolation due to the Coronavirus. On this 5th week of not meeting
together in our church buildings I am decidedly experiencing withdrawal. It’s not withdrawal from sermons, readings, hymns,
and the demand of completing all the liturgy in the bulletin within the hour
time frame. Rather, it is the people; it
is the fleshly embodiment of the Spirit’s presence, where I am more than
Russell could possibly be. This forced abandonment
is a scarcity of communing with, to, and from Christ’s body. It is an absence of the joy of the common desire
of our mission to bring Christ’s Kingdom of justice for
all, to all!
When I was a
little boy refusing to eat broccoli, my Mom would say, there are children
starving in Africa who would love to have what’s on your plate. As an immature child I wanted to hand
the plate to Mom and say, mail it to ‘em. (But I was never that brave or foolish). Having gotten a lot older, and a little
wiser, I now have trouble finishing my plate without thinking of those bellies
that are rumbling with emptiness.
For You Today
You chew on
that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
