“On Being
the Message”
by Bruce J. Johnson
Scripture: Acts 17: 1-10
1
Thessalonians
1: 1-10
The
headline was bold and the controversy it began has been both testy and heated.
In his support of his nominee for the position of Associate Justice on the Supreme
Court, President Bush declared that “Character Counts”[1]
and went on to say that Harriet Miers’ character has been shaped by her
Christian faith. Others took it from there, suggesting that one need only to
look at where she worships and what she believes, the theological emphases at
the church and the nature of their outreach activities to get a sense where she
would stand on issues that might be before the court.
Although
the White House is saying that her faith is a ‘side’ issue, I would again raise
a voice in support of it being a ‘main’ issue—worthy of considerable
attention—or at least I hope that it would be so. I would welcome someone standing and saying
that their faith is always one of the primary influences on what we believe and
how we behave and for that matter, the decisions we make. It may not be
politically smart but it is right.
Unfortunately,
it seems so often the case that faith always gets lined up in the cross hairs
of an increasingly suspicious and secularized society.
Wasn’t that
quite a story that was reported in the Hartford Courant yesterday about the
English teacher at Kolbe Cathedral High School in Bridgeport, Stephen Kobasa,
who got fired for not allowing an American Flag in his room while he taught---
not because he was un-American (he had tried to work out a compromise with the
administration to have the flag present for the Pledge of Allegiance) but
because of his deep-seated religious belief---using his own words—“The crucifix
cancels all flags—Christ speaks of compassion without boundaries… flags are
about separation, assertions of superiority and aggression…”[2]
Interestingly,
by the end of his last day, the students were chanting his name in the hallways
and putting up posters of support all around the school!
Now, I
think that we all can make our own decision about whether we agree or disagree
with his position or the actions taken by the administration in response to his
‘breaking of rules,’ but for me, I admire his intent—to make it clear that his
faith, what he believes about Christ and his message- is what shapes that
environment. He is the message--- word made flesh if you like.
And, that’s
really what is happening in Paul’s letter to his beloved community in
Times were
made tough as a result of the effectiveness of Paul and Silas’ preaching, so
much so, that they are accused of ‘turning the world upside down.” We are also
that ‘ruffians’ were brought in to rough them up and actually take into custody
a good young friend and sympathizer, Jason. He almost the price but in the end
he is released and the community survives and even thrives.
Paul,
however, after three Sabbaths of preaching, leaves under the cover of night but
he writes back to the Thessalonians telling them how much he appreciates their
light…
Here is his
introduction:
Paul, Silvanus and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God, our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly
mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work
of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1: 1-3)
Now there a
couple of things that we should notice. Notice first that Paul gives a double
address for the church, one is geographical, the other spiritual. The former is
Thessalonica; the latter is in God and in Jesus Christ. We know which is the
more important don’t we?
The second
thing to notice is that Paul is continually thankful in prayer for these
believers, for three things: their faith, their love and their hope.
And
specifically, it is not just their faith and hope and love but it is their “work
of faith, their labor of love and the endurance of their hope--- or in
other words—a faith that works, a love that labors and a hope that endures.
These are the precious and distinguishing marks of the Christian life.
Then he
goes on to praise them for embodying them so well—for being such great
examples and role models--- so much so
that among those in Macedonia and Achaia and wherever else their faith has been
known, they need not say anything more!
They put
Paul and Silas and Timothy out of business!
Wow—what a
commendation! However, what a challenge for all us.
Shouldn’t
we all be reflecting on how good an example or role model are each of us? How
visible and effective are our works of faith, or our labors of love or the
resiliency of our hope--- when tested or when challenged by outside hostilities
or inside doubts or when told to be silent or better yet, when threatened by
irrelevancy.
I mentioned
earlier that one of the phrases that I liked from the Acts passage was “not a
few of the leading women.” I thought again of that phrase while reading this
about Vivian Malone Jones, one of two black students whose effort to
enroll at the
I read that
in an interview a short while ago, Jones said that her Christian faith has
always been an essential factor in her life. Not only did it give her
confidence to persist and she graduated in 1965. Her explanation was
simple: “God was with me.”
But the
role models in her life always made her believe that she could ‘be’ something more. We are always something
more when we become the message of God’s transforming love in Christ.
This
being Children’s Sabbath, as I mentioned before, I am reminded too of something
that was written by the Executive Director of the Children’s Defense Fund which
sponsors Children’s Sabbath, Marian Wright Edelman:
“The adults in our churches and community made
children feel valued and important. They took time and paid attention to us.
They struggled to find ways to keep us busy. And while life was often hard and
resources scarce, we always knew who we were and that the measure of our worth
was inside our heads and hearts and not outside in our possessions and or on
our backs. We were told that the world had a lot of problems; that Black people
had an extra lot of problems, but that we were able and obligated to struggle
and change them; that being poor was no excuse for not achieving; and that
extra intellectual and material gifts brought with them the privilege of
sharing with others…. They had grit.
They valued family life, family rituals, and tried to
be and expose us to good role models. Role models were of two kinds: those who
achieved in the outside world (like Marian Anderson, my namesake) and those who
didn’t have a whole lot of education or fancy clothes but who taught us by the
special grace of their lives the message of Christ and Tolstoy and Gandhi and
Heschel and Dorothy Day and Romero and King----that the Kingdom of God was
within---
in what you are, not what you have.”
(M.W. Edelman, The Measure of our Success, pp. 5-7.)
That’s
the fundamental truth of all this—isn’t it?
To have a
sense of our being ‘chosen’ in Christ—to ‘be’ His message in the world—a
message of a faith that works, a love that labors and a hope that not only
endures but never disappoints.
Wouldn’t
it be awesome if Christ himself were to write us a letter using our dual
addresses- one geographical, the other spiritual--- commending us—as imitators
of Him--- for our witness being so evident and effective, that He need not say
or do anything more?
Indeed,
he could tell us that reports reaching his desk say that people have seen and
experienced ‘the message’ in us.
Amen