17 August 2006

Again, Douglas John Hall attempts to put suffering into a perspective that is meant to engage all of us.

The suffering of the body of Christ is...by no means a fate, and where it is genuine (as in the case of Bonhoeffer, or of Simone Weil, or of Martin Luther King Jr.) the element of choice is prominent and vital to it. The church does not have to suffer, as if there were no other possibility - indeed, the fact that the historic church has so regularly and characteristically managed to avoid suffering ought to set to rest any insistence that Christians always and necessarily suffer. However, whenever the church has made good its claim to Christ's discipleship, it has at least known the call to suffer.

There is in the above piece the important "however." The church as the followers of Jesus from age to age has "at least known the call to suffer." We are not to live to suffer. That is not our goal. And yet, when we follow the one we claim brings us new life, Jesus, we will come to know how closely suffering comes into our lives. One of the aspects of the many of the claims of Christian Dominionism (usually coming from conservative/literalistic churches) is that the followers of Jesus are meant to be in power. They are the ones who complain that they are suffering because they are see that Christianity is not in as dominant of of position as it once was. The suffering is the they cannot have a manger scene on public property or that people are contesting things like "God" in the pledge of allegiance (even though it was added out of sheer fear in the 1950's). this is not suffering. This is privilege wanting to keep its standing. This is not suffering. No one on the Christian right is going to face the cross like those listed above in Hall's piece. The church is called to follow Jesus and that is all the way to the cross. That will mean that we will not settle for gifts merely given to us...we will walk the way of justice and mercy and peace for all. We walk on behalf of and with all. That will bring suffering because few people and even fewer "powers" will settle for life that takes care of all. Special interests...even religious ones usually find a place to thrive and grow and stay safe.

Connection: Read or listen to the gospel story again...and again. Then listen to what is out and about in the religious communities of the day. It is my bet that the growing national religious power is living a life that is quite out of step with the way of the cross. It is a way of desired privilege.

Deliver us Lord, whenever we begin to claim a right to power because you are the Lord of All. Deliver us so that we can see that your lordship is not like that of the powers of this world but of the gracious life that comes when all people are considered a part of your sacred rule. Amen.