Stan Moody:
The honorable Ex-President Trump joins the rising chorus of convicted felons! Do we Evangelicals take a long look at our national pride in getting the “criminals” off the streets, or do we make an exception for people of money and power? Does Trump get a pass denied to tens of thousands of others without the resources to defend themselves? …and where is God in all this?
We who claim the Kingdom of God as our primary homeland have stood by immobile while America became “Incarceration Nation” – more prisoners behind bars than even the Peoples Republic of China. With 95% of prisoners expecting to be released, what about the folks next door or in the church pew right behind us crushed or desensitized by the futility of faith in the American Dream of prosperity and success? Sad to say, we have become a nation of proud survivor groups at war with one another in the mad scramble for control.
To assume our assigned roles as servants to the “least among us” (Matt 25), what calamitous action will it take to wake up the Church?
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COVID-19 Pandemic??
· President Trump doing prison time??
· War in the Middle East??
· Repeal of Social Security??
· Churches losing their tax-free status??
· Democrats running the country??
· Jesus landing on the Mount of Olives announced by “fake news”??
· A son or daughter coming out as gay or transexual??
· Folks leaving our churches for the hip/hop megachurch industry??
Call to the Resurrected Life:
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God is all about entering into the Resurrection Life with Christ. Resurrection begins by looking around to see who is least among us in the back row of our churches, at work and in our neighborhoods, taking a genuine interest in their welfare and experiences. Resurrection puts us on alert to a perpetual war being waged against love of neighbor, especially when that neighbor is an enemy.
God may well be pleading with us, “Let My People Go!”:
To the organized church that continues committees long since irrelevant, burdening its members with meetings and duties, “Let my people go!”
To the church that focuses on ritual, special days and formality but without a call to faithful discipleship in Christ, “Let my people go!”
To the Democratic Party that enlists advocates for social justice separate and distinct from personal faith, “Let my people go!”
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To the Republican Party that has joined forces with Evangelicals to create its corrupt version of the Kingdom of God on earth, “Let my people go!”
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To Evangelical leaders who have rallied believers in support of legislated morality rather than unmerited righteousness, “Let my people go!”
To the evangelists among us for whom professions of faith in Christ are more important than cross-bearing, “Let my people go!”
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To the Christian Zionists for whom the Promised Land is a place of Abrahamic borders that must be defended against all interlopers, “Let my people go!”
To the leaders of the Prosperity Gospel, for whom suffering is a sign of unbelief rather than cross-bearing, “Let my people go!”
To the suburban ghettos of America that protect their residents from the realities of shattered lives, “Let my people go!”
To the public schools in America that now schedule on worship days what they have run out of time for on other days, “Let my people go!”
To those in prison who profess belief in Jesus Christ as Lord but who pass judgment on their incarcerated brothers and sisters, contributing to their misery, “Let my people go!”
To those in prison who profess belief in Christ but who encourage hatred of staff and neglect to pray for their keepers, “Let my people go!”
And so it is that the call to the Resurrection Life does not follow the format of the typical worship service – scripture, application, lunch and Sunday afternoon football. It was designed for robust group discussion of who we are as believers, how deep is our commitment to Christ and what we must do to cross the line to where our brothers and sisters, imprisoned by law or by social convention, await a word of hope hidden in genuine love.
Is it time either to punt or get out of the lineup?
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