10 May 2006

Another look at resistance and rebellion by Ronald Sider.

This distinction between resistance and rebellion is by no means merely semantic. The person who resists, resists only the oppression of injustice and continues to accept the government's authority. Furthermore the one who resists respects the government and calls on the governing officials as free moral agents to change and end their rebellion against the shalom willed by their true Sovereign, the risen Lord, who is in fact King of kings and Lord of lords. On the other hand, the one who rebels denies that the government has any authority and abandons any hope that the unjust rulers can be anything other than enemies to be removed.

This is one of those comments that must be seen from a number of angles. For example, those of us who are in the Church can glean much from this discussion. The Church is a blessed institution and yet it has many flaws. Some of those flaws create a system that is unjust and oppressive. Yes...the Church. Therefore, to be a part of this blessed institution, it is a blessing to the whole body if there was a voice that would rise up and offer a word of resistance when the Church seems to be dealing with life in ways that are a witness to the way of the cross of Christ. In this way, we continue to stay in the middle of all that is going on and yet we do not "go along" with the prevailing winds. Resistance may be the way to witness to Christ when the Christ is not being revealed by the body itself. But know this. Just because we resist, it doesn't mean that we are right. I think it simply starts the dialogue. It is the tipping point that carries the potential for differing sides to come together and somehow...discern the truth and find new ways to live together under the banner of the Reign of God. To rebel is to simply throw stones and not care where they land. To resist is to understand that the resistance may change or it may change the the institution...it is to also understand that the witness may be utterly rejected and even crucified. Resistance keeps moving ahead willing to be available to where the resistance may lead us.

Connection: Resistance is an insider action that needs to be a part of every group - even families. It is often the family member who resists the status quo of the group who becomes the one who helps take a family into a whole new way of being family.

Lord of the Cross, through the way of your suffering we find a power that does not try to overwhelm others...but rather tries to open up the future to a movement of grace that turns the world upside down within the simplicity of conversation, dialogue, and community. Keep us on the way of the cross as we claim to follow our Lord, Jesus. Amen.