Tag Archives: Citizenship

Citizenship

Living in the Spirit
September 24, 2018

Scripture Reading: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10, 9:20-22

So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, ‘What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.’ Then Queen Esther answered, ‘If I have won your favor, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me—that is my petition—and the lives of my people—that is my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.’ Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, ‘Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?’ Esther said, ‘A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!’ Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. –Esther 7:1-6

‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you’. –Matthew 7:7

I just listened to Elizabeth Warren delivering a speech on Education that had been recorded earlier and was posted on social media. While she spoke the little messages that appeared were nasty stereotypical personal comments unrelated to anything she was saying interspersed with more positive comments that were related to what she was saying. We live in the age of distraction politics and character assassination supported or not supported by facts. The results are that for several years we have had extremely low voter turnout. Now we even must wonder if those little nasty comments are being added from Russia.

Esther was facing a dire situation which required her putting her life on the line asking for the king to save both her and her people. We may not be at that point yet, but our future and the future of our country is at stake when we do not take full advantage of our rights and our responsibilities of being citizens of a country that was founded on the principle of government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  We must take the time to understand the issues and the character of the people we support.

Prayer: Lord, guide us as we seek to create a government that tries to find common ground for the Common Good. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Persecute or Privileged

Eastertide
May 25, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. –1 Peter 4:12-14

We USA citizens of the first quarter of the 21st century can hardly compare our lives to those who lived in Rome during the last quarter of the 1st century. Christians were a minority in Rome when 1 Peter was written. In the 1st century, dictatorial emperors ruled Rome and fostered the Pax of Rome’s peace through victory, victory through violence. Except for Nero’s tyranny in 64 CE when Rome burned, the widespread persecution of Christians by Rome came later in history. 1 Peter is speaking to persecution related to being a minority and being a minority group who described its leader using the same descriptors demanded by the Emperor: Lord, Son of God, etc. Peter and Paul were both most likely executed in Rome under Nero’s reign. Even though the worst was yet to come, the Christians of  1st Century Rome faced great peril. It seems to me what we call persecution today is more akin to angst because we do not always get our way. We have become the privileged.

While we in the USA live in a representative democracy, not an empire, we are now in the role of being citizens of one of the most powerful nations on earth, if not the most powerful nation.  This role reversal demands consideration as we try to make sense of our roles as witnesses to the love of God through Jesus Christ. How do we mesh our faith with our responsibilities as citizens in a democracy? Do we force our beliefs on our fellow citizens by incorporating them into civil law? Do we demand exceptions, resulting from our beliefs, be made by the government from requirements everyone else must obey? Most difficult of all, whose “Christian” beliefs are the “Christian” beliefs when Christians are seriously divided on what is justice?

Do we practice the art of discernment among our diverse peoples? Do we dust off the act of negotiation and give it a try? Do we place our challenges before God and seek clarity regarding what it means to be the Body of Christ in the 21st Century?

Prayer: Lord, you have brought us to this place and this time to carry out your work, give us the tools and talents we need and the power of your Spirit to guide us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Law and Culture

Eastertide
May 8, 2017

Scripture Reading: Acts 7:54-60

When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. –Acts 7:54-57

I am currently reading Will Willimon’s book Who Lynched Willie Earle? In general, it delves into how the church deals with racism in our world today. It specifically develops the story of a local minister in 1947 preaching about the killing of a black man by a mob. Willie Earle was in jail accused of robbery and murder. Before any trial, he was dragged from his cell and killed. All accused of participating in his murder were acquitted.

Reading this book might have impacted the way I reacted to reading the lectionary scripture from Acts this week. It does not include the whole story. If you need a refresher course on the stoning of Stephen, you will want to read all of Acts 7. Most of the chapter is essentially a sermon Stephen preached to his faith brothers and sisters, which they deemed to be blasphemy.

Sometimes it is helpful to look back in history to gives us the fortitude to look at our present and determine what we want to do about it regarding the future. Hindsight is often clearer than what we see right in front of us or perhaps what we do not choose to see. We could critique Stephen’s style. He might have lived a little longer had he not been so in their faces, but would they have even listened to him at all? I could write about his outraged neighbors who so quickly rendered justice through what was legal behavior at the time. The murder of Willie Earle was illegal according to the law books but that did not matter. Culture is often stronger than statute. Therein, lies the problem.

As we in the USA struggle to be a representative democracy, we must own what our government is doing in our name. It is time we struggled with what kind of a people we want to be, what kind of a country we want to have, and engage in the process of making our representatives accountable for both their actions and their inactions. To accomplish that we must account for our own responsibility as citizens charged with providing for the Common Good.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we turn away from our responsibilities as citizens. Open our hearts and minds to seeing ways to define the Common Good and then to find the means of providing it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Citizenship Amongst Noisy Gongs

Do not have loveLiving in the Spirit
September 4, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 14:25-33

Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. –Luke 14:31-33

I worked as a planner in state government for some 20+ years. This experience taught that unforeseen realities often require changing courses, small distractions can be major deterrents to success, and perseverance toward attaining any vision and mission is critical. The first three verses of I Corinthians 13 were written for such a time as this:

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (I Corinthians 13:1-3)

The purpose of the Body of Christ is to love God and love like Jesus loves. The purpose of governments at all levels is to provide for the Common Good. These two purposes naturally complement each other unless other political realities intercede to throw either off course. In the United States, we the people, are ultimately responsible for our governance. If we do not like our country’s current status of gridlock supporting economic and social injustice, then we need to do something about it. It begins with electing officials who can work together to find the things on which they can agree, work on those, and use them as a springboard toward furthering the Common Good.

[National] Voter turnout in 2014 was the lowest since WWII – The Washington Post

[In Oklahoma in 2014] 40.7 percent of registered voters showed up, the lowest recorded rate since 1962. – Oklahoma Watch

We cannot get caught up in the noisy gongs and clanging cymbal. I we hear the same thing over and over again whether it is true or not it often sticks in our minds. While important, the Presidential race’s outcome will not matter, if Congress is dysfunctional. Commercial media’s vision and mission seem to relate to high ratings resulting in higher incomes or other self-interest. It may not be the best source of information nor is the wildly exaggerated or truncated stories shared on social media. God gifted each of us with some common sense if something is too good or too bad to be true, check it out.

Prayer: Lord, create in me a clean heart and a right spirit as I prepare for voting this fall. Focus my anger and frustrations with the system to playing my part in improving it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Responsible Citizenship

CitizenshipLiving in the Spirit
July 5, 2016

Scripture Reading: Amos 7:7-17

And Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.’  

Then Amos answered Amaziah, ‘I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
‘Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.–Amos 7:12-16a

Amaziah, the priest, works to run Amos out of town for challenging the King of Israel. Think of the clergy who blindly backed Hitler. What is it that each of us are called to do and be in our world today even though we may only be herdsmen or arborists, teachers or electricians, nurses or police officers?

I am writing this on the 4th of July when we citizens of the USA celebrate the founding of a country dedicated to the principles of a democracy ruled by elected representatives.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed* (Emphasis Added)

In 2014 in Oklahoma, Statewide, 40.7 percent of registered voters showed up, the lowest recorded rate since 1962. Oklahoma started tracking voter registration at the state level in 1960**. The estimated percent of the voting-eligible population that voted was 30%***. When we give up our right to consent to the type of government we want, we are turning our responsibility over to special interest groups and lobbyist.

If you are withdrawing from the messiness of democracy because you are already tired of the presidential race, let me remind you that much of the problems in our government lay at the feet of Congress and state legislatures. If we truly seek the Common Good for all, we need to elect representatives to these bodies who demonstrate a willingness to work together for the Common Good and not be led by the will of special interest or lobbyist.

As the fireworks end and we all head back to our daily walk, we need to take with us not only our dedication to a democracy that protects our freedom of religion but we also need to examine ourselves to see if we are holding up our end of the bargain.

Prayer: Lord, help me to carefully discern the candidates who are most committed to establishing the Common Good and to give them the support they need to make it a reality. Amen.

*From the Declaration of Independence see athttp://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

**Oklahoma Watch see at http://oklahomawatch.org/2014/11/04/oklahoma-sees-the-lowest-voter-turnout-for-governor-since-2002/

***United States Election Project see at http://www.electproject.org/2014g

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.