Facing Ridicule and Persecution in Trust
It doesn't take a sophisticated analysis to help us see that for many people in America (and beyond) the church is no longer relevant--at least not to daily life. For them, this week will come and go with more emphasis upon basketball or clothing sales than anything else.
Another significant number will acknowledge that the church year offers some nice traditions. This explains the extreme increase of people gathering on Christmas and Easter. They return with predictable regularity for a variety of reasons. They will not ridicule the life of faith, but they do not really incorporate faith practices in their life. We give thanks, of course, for their presence, which is a kind of spiritual homecoming.
We know that this "us/them" pattern is something we are called to eradicate. To do so can seem futile, at times.
How do we serve as a countercultural movement these days? Truth be told, most of us will not be persecuted for our faith. But equally truthful, we will encounter endless opportunities where something is going on that is proclaiming the power and imperative of something other than faith.
We will face people and practices that discount or trivialize Holy Week and Easter as something historical, traditional, and (frankly) little more than a nice option if nothing better comes along. Our tolerance of un-holiness reflects a failure to trust the escalating power of God. Our lack of trust is expressed whenever we turn our faces away from the passion and promise of this week.
I have no happy answer to this reality. Facing Holy Week can be like heading directly into the wind or paddling upstream. Yet Jesus set out and walked first -- and he left a wake through time and space that we can trust.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be courageous in living my faith--and in defending it when I am called on to do so.
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