Saturday Night Theologian
5 July 2009

Ezekiel 2:1-5 (first published 6 July 2003)

"Frequently I have been threatened with death. I should tell you that, as a Christian, I don't believe in death without resurrection. If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people." These words of Oscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador and Christian martyr, reflect well his commitment to work for justice and speak out against oppression in El Salvador, regardless of the consequences. He understood what it was to speak prophetically in a difficult political climate. The prophet Ezekiel began his ministry among the Jewish people in the days before the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. In today's reading, God charges him with the difficult task of speaking God's word to his own people, whom God characterizes as rebellious and stubborn. God warns him in advance that the people are likely not to listen. However, "whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them." Ezekiel had the task of speaking words of judgment against his own people, for they were heading down a path of assured destruction. After the catastrophe of 587 B.C.E., Ezekiel's tone changed, and he became a prophet of hope for a shattered people. But what would have happened had the people listened to their prophets in the first place? Today's Christians are called to be prophets to our neighbors, our co-workers, and our government on all levels. Perhaps because we're tolerant by nature, we Christians on the more liberal end of the spectrum--whether politically or theologically--often let the immoderate words of our more conservative brothers and sisters go unanswered. We sit in silence when a co-worker rails against the lazy, poor people on welfare. We delete the e-mail forwarded by a church member that advocates intolerance against people of other faiths in the name of a "Judeo-Christian ethic." We ignore our political leaders who are working hard to create a "Christian nation," one that is far from our understanding of Jesus' teachings. It's time to stand up and be counted as one of God's spokespeople! Remind your co-worker that most of the poor were born in poverty, just like most of the rich were born to wealth. Hit the reply button on your e-mail and explain why religious liberty is a biblical principle worth fighting for. Support politicians and candidates whose views reflect those you believe most closely reflect the example of Christ. When we begin to show the courage of our convictions in the face of (usually mild) opposition, perhaps we'll begin to understand the conviction that drove the great prophets like Ezekiel and Oscar Romero.

Psalm 123 (first published 6 July 2003)

Kyrie eleison! was the one part of the liturgy of the earliest Christians that continued to be voiced in Greek, even in the Western, Latin church. Meaning "Lord, have mercy!" the phrase has been spoken, sung, and prayed in Christian services for almost two thousand years. Why have these words been so immutable through the centuries? Perhaps because of their simplicity: these two words contain a wealth of theology pertaining to the sinful state of humanity, the source of redemption, and the relationship we are to have with our God. Or perhaps because of their power: they constitute an imperative statement, a confident plea for forgiveness and blessing. Or perhaps because of their ability to comfort: their history reaches back beyond even the early days of the church to the words of the psalmist (verse 3 in the Greek Septuagint contains this exact phrase), and we can see how God has shown mercy to his people continually through the ages. Christianity originated in a remote province of the Roman Empire, and it spread primarily among the lower classes in its early days. For the first three centuries of the church's existence the typical Christian was poor, illiterate, a non-citizen, and, more often than not, female. From the margins of society, the church took center stage during the reign of Constantine. The wealth of the institutional church multiplied, a class of professional clerics arose, and men pushed women even further away from the limelight as they assumed all the official leadership roles in the church. The Protestant Reformation, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and now the Silicon Revolution have brought untold wealth and power to the predominantly Christian West, and we've lost our sense of need to cry Kyrie eleison. As we've gradually forgotten our need to ask for mercy, our actual need for God's mercy has grown. In the presence of a God who sides with the poor, we live in a society that is brazenly opulent. In contrast to a Savior who was oppressed for his teaching, our society has become increasingly intolerant of dissent. Forgetting our spiritual forebears who were ostracized as non-Romans, our nation persecutes non-citizens, particularly from Muslim countries. Ignoring the words of Jesus to love our enemies, our response of choice is missiles and bombs. As we Americans celebrate Independence Day this weekend, let us remember to pray, on our behalf and on behalf of our country, Kyrie eleison, Lord, have mercy!

2 Corinthians 12:2-10 (first published 6 July 2003)

We live in an age of personality cult. It began with movie stars: everyone wanted to imitate the clothes and the mannerisms of their favorite screen idols. It moved from the big screen to the small screen, and suddenly TV stars were just as popular as their colleagues at the cinema. Politicians quickly discovered that good looks, proper grooming, and charm go a long way with voters (just look at the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debates). Preachers followed suit, and many amassed huge followings, either through TV shows or through direct contact, as in Jonestown and Waco. The problem with personality cults is that they emphasize style over substance, or sometimes instead of substance. Paul was not the center of a personality cult. He says in this passage from 2 Corinthians that he took great pains not to attract people because of his ecstatic experiences, because he was afraid they would miss his message. From other hints in the New Testament and early church tradition, Paul might have been an extremely unlikely character to attract a crowd for other reasons as well. In 2 Cor 10:10, Paul acknowledges that he is unimpressive in person: "His bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible," people say. From this verse, some scholars have suggested that Paul had a physical disability of some sort, or maybe a speech impediment, quite likely the "thorn in the flesh" he alludes to in today's reading. Elsewhere he speaks of writing in large letters (Gal 6:11), a possible allusion to weak eyesight. Paul's numerous imprisonments, beatings, and other forms of mistreatment might have taken a toll on his physical appearance. "No matter," says Paul, "for I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong." Too many "leaders" today, both in the church and in the government, seem obsessed with appearance rather than matters of real importance. Catholic bishops cover up the sexual malpractice of the priests they supervise in order to protect the image of the church. Protestant pastors spend small fortunes on designer suits. Politicians consult pollsters before making decisions (remember when people got upset because Nancy Reagan consulted an astrologer?) so that their popularity won't decrease. What we desperately need is leaders in the political arena, the pulpit, and the boardroom who make decisions based on what's right, not on what's popular. Of course, the corollary to that statement is that those same leaders need to be schooled in the traditions of the prophets, traditions that emphasize God's grace, love, patience, and strength. These are themes that have always been taken up by our greatest leaders. That's how we recognize them--or, that's how people will recognize us.

Mark 6:1-13 (first published 6 July 2003)

How many great leaders through the ages have been rejected by a majority of their fellow citizens, at least during the early stages of their public activity? Religious leaders like Gautama (the Buddha), Jesus, Mohammed, and Francis of Assisi had more detractors than followers throughout their lives. Political reformers like Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela evoked huge animosity among their opponents. People are afraid of innovation, whether in religion, politics, or even thought. Columbus was commissioned by Spain, not his native Italy, because he couldn't get financial backers in Italy for his bold plan to sail west to the Indies. Galileo was censored by the church for daring to suggest that the earth wasn't the center of the universe. Darwin was vilified (and still is in fundamentalist circles) for proposing the idea of evolution through natural selection, an idea that has been called the most powerful idea of the second millennium. I'm reminded of a Far Side cartoon in which several cavemen are sitting around a fire holding pieces of meat near the flames with their bare hands and grimacing. Suddenly one caveman points to another fire, where a smarter caveman (you can tell he's smart because he's wearing glasses) has put his piece of meat on a stick to keep his hands from burning while he holds it over the fire. "Look what Oog do!" says the first caveman. I can imagine that in the following scene the other cavemen would beat Oog silly for breaking with tradition in such an outrageous manner. As followers of Jesus, it is our duty to imitate him to the greatest extent possible. Jesus' idea of the gospel was that it was good news for all who heard it. The gospel message, the true gospel message, has never been popular, and both church leaders and political leaders have tried to water it down, that is, pervert it, over the centuries. Jesus didn't really mean to love your enemies! Jesus didn't really mean to give all you had to the poor! Jesus didn't really mean to break with tradition! Jesus didn't really mean that women were fully equal to men! Jesus didn't really mean that matters of the heart were more important than external ritual! When Jesus sent his followers into the surrounding villages to preach, he had them go in humility, dependent upon the kindness of strangers (to quote Scarlett O'Hara) and dependent upon God. As we go into the world, it is incumbent upon us, too, to present the good news of God's love with humility and grace, but at the same time with hope and enthusiasm. Don't be fooled by surveys that show that huge percentages of Americans consider themselves Christians, or even by the full parking lots at many churches on Sunday mornings. The true gospel of Jesus Christ still need prophets to present it, to Christians and non-Christians alike.