Most of you who will be reading this blog are aware that I was recently Ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church. Some of you may have even watched my recent ordination online and heard the vows I committed to as an Elder, however, you may be unaware of the commitments that laypeople make when they become a member of the United Methodist Church. I am getting ready to finish up our confirmation class for last year’s 8th graders. They will be standing in front of the church committing their lives to Christ and to be faithful to the Church. Within their vows is this section that I will ask them to commit to and they respond…
Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sins? I Do.
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves? I Do.
This is not just what we have teens during confirmation confess, but anyone who becomes a member of the United Methodist Church. Why is that important?
- Seek Christ First
In the society in which I live people often tend to identify themselves as an American Christian instead of a Christian who is also an American. They pledge their allegiance to the Flag just as much as they pledge their allegiance to Christ. This is problematic because what happens when these two collide? Too often I have witnessed fellow Christians doing theological gymnastics to make their theology fit their partisan politics instead of examining their politics through a theological lens of who Christ is and what God calls us to be. We must let Christ be our guide, to be our Lord, and not just our Savior.
2. Resist Evil
If something is evil then we need to be willing to stand up and call it out. We need to quit pausing to see who said it or did it to determine if we will resist it or not. Far too often we want unbounded grace for those we agree with and hard truth for those we disagree with. Yet, as Christians, we are not to fit neatly into earthly kingdoms, because the way of Christ is not of this world.
3. Beyond Anger to Action
We are in a time of unrestrained social media rage. People see something they don’t like, they then share it, tweet it, blog it, and yell loud into the internet void. Often this leads to debating back and forth where those who disagree write a harsh reply and those who supported the original person come to their defense. Then, we move onto the next article, tweet, status update, and continue the cycle. Yet we are called to resist evil not just tweet about it, we are called to oppose injustice, we are called to stand against oppression.
Let us seek Christ this day and may his words penetrate our hearts and lives.
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