Daily Devotion for Lent 2024, Day 37

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is how their ancestors treated the prophets."

                                        Luke 6:22-23 (NRSVue)

This sounds like a good part of my time as a district superintendent during disaffiliation.  There were certain people in authority who were clearly leading others away from The United Methodist Church - some laity and some clergy.  In a denomination as large as ours, outliers can be found on just about any topic and these were often lifted up as normative in order to move people against our church.  

I don't mind healthy discussion but when people have been riled up - it often degrades into slander and harmful rhetoric.  I made the comment (many times), "I am tired of trying to convince people to uphold the vows they took."

I had many people - United Methodists that stayed included - who told me to just let them go.  Why fight it?  I will say that I handled different churches differently.  I would go and present The United Methodist witness and answer questions to the best of my ability.  But where I perceived that it was over 90% in agreement, I didn't stand in the way.  Where there was a significant United Methodist presence that wanted to keep their church, I felt in these instances that I either became their pastor or had to stand in support of the pastor who was trying to hold their church together. 

In these instances, I received hateful words, exclusionary words, reviling words and defaming words.  I was painted in a public court of law as a tyrant who did not order the church fairly.  I felt derision by former church members that I worked with, conducted funerals for family members, and aided personally in moments of natural disaster.  I did not feel blessed but I did feel that I stood in this path for the sake of the Son of Man.

The difficulty of this is when we realize that those seeking to leave - and even those doing the reviling - were also doing so out of a faith position.  Most had a sense of righteousness around the issue of human sexuality that differed from mine.  I believe that many felt persecuted by my wielding authority in a way that tried to call them into accountability.  They likely saw it as an abuse of power.  I recently made the quip at a public gathering that I put the grace into gracious exit.  It got some laughs which indicates that people recognized my difficulty of trying to hold accountability among people who saw things very differently.

As we continue in Holy Week, one thing that's helpful for us to recognize is that our persecutions are not in the same league with what Jesus faced.  It doesn't compare to the way the early disciples were treated.  It wouldn't even be a blip on the radar for how the early church fared against the various government harassment, restrictions and arrests.   

Sometimes we have to stand up for the faith.  My faith begins with loving God and loving neighbor.  I want to do this in a way that provides respect to all.  But I will also ask for the same consideration and when I am in a place of power and authority, I will expect it. 

And while it doesn't feel blessed to do so, it is helpful to see how Jesus considers blessing in the Sermon on the Plain: poor, hungry, weeping.  Hated and reviled.

The outsider is lifted up by God.

I can rest in that.

I will continue to stand for the outsiders and am in solidarity with them.

Prayer for the day:  God, I must confess that I don't want to be hated or reviled.  I would just like to get along with others.  But when we give a voice to the voiceless, people may begin to exclude us as well.  It is easier to let things go.  It is easier to go with the flow and say nothing.  But you call us to be disciples.  Help us to walk this week with Jesus even though we know where he is going.  Give us the strength to carry his cross for a bit.  For Jesus' sake we pray.  Amen.

 

Photo by Seattle Parks and Recreation via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2024, Day 8

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

                                                                        Matthew 5:10-12 (NRSVue)

 

Assuming you're not currently in a bad relationship, the easiest way to avoid persecution in the future would be to never pose any changes.

One of the main rules of systems theory is that systems resist change.  And of course, any relationship is a system of people interacting.  Most systems exert pressure on the individuals to get back in line - the pressure may be subtle or overt.  

Think about a family with a functioning alcoholic.  Is it easier to confront the person about their drinking or is it easier to say nothing?  Most families will continue to function as is until a breaking point comes and disrupts the system.

The right thing may be to identify the issue before the breaking point occurs but you are likely to be persecuted for the sake this righteousness.  You may even be labeled as self-righteous.

Can we stand in the midst of the persecution that is to come?  Thinking about this may keep us quiet.

From an organization standpoint, I like the Ronald Heifetz quote, "Leadership is disappointing your own people at a rate they can absorb."

This is due to the idea that introducing change (even positive changes) will likely be difficult for people to embrace.  Edwin Friedman tells us to expect sabotage when we seek to introduce health to a difficult situation.

As we look at who is saying these words, Jesus is being rather prophetic.  He may have been building to this because of all the reversals he was proclaiming in the beatitudes themselves.  

What did Jesus actually do that would get him crucified?

Author Douglas Adams suggests that it was for "saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change."  This is an exaggeration to an extent but maybe it is also basically true.

What does it mean to ask the community at large to respect people who are currently disrespected as a whole?

Alexei Navalny's recent death in Russian prison reminds us that political persecution is real.

Martin Luther King, Jr. ran up against all kinds of resistance during the Civil Rights movement.  On the day before his assassination, King stated in a speech, "I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land."

He may have also seen his own death coming but he continued to offer hope.  

As we move through Lent, may we find the courage to offer needed change to the systems we find ourselves in - and to maintain our stance even when there is resistance.

Prayer for the Day: Mighty Savior, you offered yourself to the world in so many ways.  We grieve the fact that people in power chose to reject you in the most extreme way possible.  But we also remember that death does not have the final say.  Help us to follow you even when it is difficult.  And when we falter along the way, pick us up, dust us off and walk with us along the path you would have us go.  We pray this in Christ together.  Amen.

 

Photo by Prachatai via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.