The mission of the Church for those who decide to follow Jesus is to tell a
renewed and powerful tale that is so inclusive that it ties the past and present
together into a whole so that others can see even clearer the preferred path that
God desires for all as we walk into the future—this is the alternative story
The mission of the Church is about building relationships with other human beings in the name of Jesus Christ, and to encourage and direct them in building a relationship with a loving and transformative God. And there is another important part of the mission which the willingness to risk, sacrifice and to suffer on behalf of what is right and just for God’s preferred vision for humankind.
I agree with Vaclav Havel when he writes in his book, “The
New Measure of Man”, “Something is on the way out and something else is
painfully being born. It is as if
something were crumbling, decaying, and exhausting itself while something else,
still indistinct, were arising from the rubble.
We are in a phase when one age is succeeding another, when everything is
possible.”
I remember my hopefulness that I had during the Arab Spring
when countries like Egypt and Libya rejected autocratic leadership that denied
people freedom. I was so hopeful
about what might emerge from the ash of the violence and bloodshed. I was a witness to a dominate worldview that
was crumbling, and I was hopeful about what would arise from the rubble. This week’s news was a real world reminder
that there still a long way to go, but I will not lose hope because I know that
God has a preferred vision for the people of Africa and the Middle East. There are good people throughout the world
working tirelessly and willing to sacrifice much for God’s preferred vision for
humanity. The death of Ambassador
Stevens is a difficult reminder of the sacrifice that tragically happens as we
wrestle against forces that seek to deny people their God given sense of
mission and freedom.
Let me now turn my intention towards the subject of
justice. Justice is about insuring
fairness, but what weights the scale. In
Matthew 25, we are provided with a list of compassionate concerns on which we
will be judged. I do not believe that
the list is exhaustive, but I do believe that the admonition is clear,
“Whenever you do it to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it
do me.” Justice is about whether or not
the systems that govern our lives treat people with the same dignity and respect that you believe that
you deserve. Jesus is even clearer when
he states, “You are to love the God with all your heart, soul, mind, and
strength…..and you are to love your neighbor as you would yourself.” Justice is about insuring that these core
values are lifted up and affirmed.
Mission cannot be separated from a concern for justice. If the mission of the church is about the
proclamation of the Kingdom, then you cannot avoid the work that is necessary
to insure that justice is done.
The Micah text reminds us, “What does the Lord require? Seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly
with God.
This is a very simple admonition, but it is the essence of
proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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