Speak Out

Text: II Corinthians 5:16-18

The easiest way for a pastor to get in trouble is to preach politics. The IRS says I can’t endorse a particular candidate - at least not from the pulpit. Preachers most often hear negative comments when they preach on issues of the day that are considered “political.” This often happens when a preacher’s remarks don’t line up with a congregant’s beliefs. Very few people get upset if you’re on their side of an issue.

I can say that this makes a preacher, especially a new preacher, cautious - careful to address both sides of an issue, and hesitant to move too far beyond the congregation - especially the vocal members of a congregation.

But change does not happen when we’re cautious. Change happens when we take a stand and speak and act boldly. The history of the world is the story of those who stepped out ahead of others and boldly pushed society forward. We see many illustrations of this in Scripture. Two weeks ago our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrated the feast of Purim which celebrates the actions of Esther.

The book of Esther tells her story. She lived during the time the Jewish people had been taken in exile and were living in Persia. When the king selected her to join his harem, he fell in love with her and made her queen, though he did not know that she was Jewish. One of his top ministers was slighted by Mordechai, a Jew who would not bow to him, and so the minister convinced the king to have all of the Jews put to death.

Mordechai was Esther’s cousin and he got word to her of what was to happen. Esther, though she was not allowed to approach the king, cleverly designed a series of banquets during which the king offered her anything she desired. She spoke boldly and asked that her life and the lives of her people be spared. Which they were.

In Acts, we find numerous examples of Paul and other disciples speaking boldly, even when it meant risking their lives.

Dr. Jack Sullivan, in his article on what the historic black church can teach us, says, “No meaningful social changes would have occurred without courageous acts on the part of Black churches and other churches of goodwill. If they had played it safe they would have delayed justice and derailed the freedom movement. Thank God for the marches, the sit-ins and the peaceful demonstrations! Thank God for visible and vocal church leadership that insisted that God’s liberating “yes” was more powerful than society’s oppressive ‘no.’”

Being faithful requires us to move past being safe, to being bold, taking a stand for justice and freedom for all. It requires a change, a new creation. It’s what Joan Campbell, Ed Weisheimer, Al Pennybacker, and many other members of this church did when they invited Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr to speak here back in the 60’s.

As Dr. Sullivan says, “Our faithfulness, growth, and credibility are not rooted in our ability to play it safe and avoid controversy, but in our willingness to open ourselves to God’s transformative, liberating love-justice vision, and take the risk of teaching, living and preaching this vision with decisiveness, clarity and without apology.”

But it’s not enough to have done it then, we have to continue to do it now. We have to continue to speak boldly, to teach boldly, to act boldly. We have to look past our upbringing, our prejudices, and even, in some cases, society’s norms when they conflict with what Jesus taught. As Paul says, we are no longer to see things from a human point of view but from Christ’s point of view.

Being faithful requires boldness in other ways as well. Boldness in speaking about our faith and how it has made a difference in our lives. Boldness in making changes in our personal lives and in our lives together as a community. We need to be continually recreated, made new, through the power of God’s love for us. Christ came that we might be reconciled to God. And we are to continue that ministry of reconciliation. Christ didn’t just do something on his own and then leave us to ourselves. Christ invited us in to the inner circle, he touched the very core of the disciples’ lives and helped them understand that there was a better way to live, that they could be transformed into children of God. That life could have new meaning, excitement, joy, love.

That is our ministry of reconciliation too. To work to transform the world by witnessing to God’s call for justice and peace. But also to witness to our neighbors and friends of God’s love and transformation of our lives.

And that requires us to be bold.

-Rev. Roger Osgood