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By calling ourselves
progressive,we mean that we are
Christians whorecognize that being followers of Jesus is costly, and
entails selfless love, conscientious resistance to evil, and renunciation of
privilege.
Whenever people
widen their circle of concern, they will find demands on their resources and
risks to their status. Followers of
Jesus cannot expect to be any more successful or popular than Jesus was. Like the first of Jesus’s disciples, we must learn
to give up the hope of being favored or special.
In
one story (Mark 10:35-45), two
of Jesus’s disciples, James and John,
come to ask a favor. “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your
left, in your glory.” Most people also
look to find some place where they can be special. To have a special place helps to overcome the
fear of being nobody and the fear of having no power. Christian groups claiming special access to
God have overcome their fear of being nobody and of being powerless, but they
frequently have produced a negative reaction in those from whom they wanted to
separate themselves - even though the gospel story had warned them that they
would evoke hostility.
As
soon as the other ten disciples heard about the request made by James and John,
“they began to be angry.” After Jesus heard the request of James and John and
after he saw the anger in the others, he changed the course of the
conversation. He did not tell James and
John that they were wrong or bad for wanting to have a special status. According to Mark, Jesus said, “Whoever
wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be
first among you must be slave of all.”
Jesus understood the fear that drove his disciples to want special
status. Jesus also understood that
redirected fear can become a form of spiritual energy that can be transformed
into loving concern for other people. There is a special bond that occurs when
we put ourselves at risk on behalf of another.
Genuine concern
for other people includes resisting any forces that would drain them of energy,
deny them sustenance, rob them of dignity, or destroy their hope. Progressive Christians believe that the
resistance to evil in society, rather than the enhancement of our social
position, has always been both an obligation and an opportunity for those who
follow Jesus. It is an obligation because it is a way to test our commitment to
the path; it is an opportunity because when one puts themselves at risk on
behalf of another simply because of one’s compassion, it can be one of the most
direct paths to an experience of the Realm of God or that absolute sense of
connectedness.
There is caveat
here that is important. Jesus gave us a wonderful story about the Good
Samaritan who literally put his life at risk to save his arch enemy, the Jew.
The Samaritan merchant suddenly found himself in a difficult situation. He knew
that if he did not act this man would die. He also knew that were most likely
robbers in the area and the safest thing would be to get out of that area. But
he did the humane or even the holy thing and stopped and helped the wounded
Jew. He took him where he could get help and paid for it at some significant
expense. But then he apparently continued on his way to Jericho
to do his work. He did not wait for rewards or praise nor did go back out into
the desert and look for more victims to “save.”
Some people have
misinterpreted the teachings of Jesus to presume that we are supposed to fix
all of the injustices, all of the wrongs, using all of our energy and resources
to save the world at the expense of our health, our families, and our financial
resources. The universe will always provide plenty of opportunities to make a
stand; to help another; to put ourselves at risk when it can make a difference
and when it counts; even to literally put our life on the line. But we must
remind ourselves that the teaching is to love another as we love ourselves. We
can not love others more than we love ourselves and loving others can never be
a substitute for love of self.
1. What does the word “disciple” mean for you
today? In what ways do you think it
could be “costly?”
2. How far
would you be willing to go? What changes
would you be willing to make? What risks
would you be willing to take?
3. How might we transform our negative fears into
positive energy? How could we help
others to do the same?
4. What privilege are you willing to recognize and
renounce for the betterment of all?
5. What do we mean by evil today? In what ways do you think you can resist evil
in our world, in your life?
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