Tempted to Go Along

Text: Luke 4:1-13

At the February Disciples of Christ District 2 clergy meeting, Rev. Jack Sullivan of Fifth Christian Church, Cleveland, shared an article he wrote about five things that can be learned from the historic black church. Living and worshipping in the Heights, it is easy to forget how unique we are in racial diversity. As I continue to come in contact with more and more churches I realize there are not many churches that have the kind of diversity we do. So while we may still technically be a “mostly” white church, that is not how we act, and we are better defined as a diverse congregation. However, the points that Rev. Sullivan made are still important for us.

Luke tells us the devil offered Jesus choices, choices that differed from God’s plan. Commentator Kate Huey suggests, “After all, why shouldn't Jesus satisfy his hunger with a little bread, and wouldn't it be great if Jesus ruled the world (instead of the hated Romans), and how impressive would it be if Jesus flung himself off the temple roof and a thousand angels came to rescue him? If Jerusalem witnessed that one amazing thing, early on in Jesus' ministry, perhaps there would be no need for the rest of the Gospel, right?”

All Jesus had to do was acknowledge Satan’s lordship over the world and claim the kind of worldly power that he was offering. In doing so, of course, Jesus would have been accepting the devil’s lordship - would have given up his freedom to follow God and instead followed a path that would have led to much injustice.

The early church stood for freedom and justice - though the Romans granted it little of either. When, 300 years later, the church became “official,” it started moving in a different direction, claiming power, which led to restrictions of freedom and much injustice.

Barbara Brown Taylor begins her sermon, "Lenten Discipline," with a short history of the way Lent developed, after being a follower of Jesus had become a bit "ho-hum," when Jesus' followers had "stopped expecting so much from God or from themselves," and "had become devoted to their comforts instead." Taylor's description of our ancestors fits us, painfully well, today: "They decided there was no contradiction between being comfortable and being Christian, and before long it was very hard to pick them out from the population at large….They blended in. They avoided extremes. They decided to be nice instead of holy and God moaned out loud."

Historically black churches, consisting of people who also had limited freedom and were subjected to injustice, claimed the early Christian position. They spoke out passionately on these issues and acted on them as well. We know that history. For people in power, and in this country that has always been white people, the devil has always been the voice of reason. Economic reasons, scientific reasons, even religious reasons, have been given for maintaining the status quo. From scriptural “proofs” supposedly supporting slavery to arguments during the 50‘s suggesting that justice should be allowed to wind its way through the court system, “reason” has held back reform and change and real justice for those oppressed.

In the Heights, we are used to a diverse community, used to people being concerned with freedom and justice, with ensuring equality. HCC is a diverse church. We take rightful pride in that. But it’s easy, tempting, to sit on our laurels, to believe we’ve made it, to say we’ve done enough, or done all the right things and we’re okay now. The historic black church and scripture remind us that we are never done, never “there.” There is more work to be done, in ourselves, in our church, in our community. It is “temptation” that says we’ve made it. It is easy to become passive. But there is no such thing as passive anti-racism - only active anti-racism. If we are not actively working to change things, we are part of the problem.

How do we become more aware? How do we figure out new ways to advance the causes of freedom and justice? We can begin this Lenten season, by looking inward, by examining ourselves; and by looking outward, becoming more aware of how racism, prejudice, and injustice play out in our communities. We can begin by deepening our connection to the God of love, to the Prince of Peace. By deepening that connection, we can be renewed to continue to strengthen our commitment to freedom and justice.

Having been renewed, we can continue to preach anti-racism, teach anti-racism, and reach out through our actions to confront racism everywhere we see it. Having been renewed, we can continue to preach equality, teach equality, and reach out through our actions to show what true equality looks like. Having been renewed, we can continue to preach peace, to teach peace, and to reach out to bring peace into our lives, our congregation, and our community. Having been renewed we can continue to preach justice for all, teach justice for all, and to reach out through our actions to show justice for all.

Rev. Sullivan said that we must “listen for God’s non-negotiable call for all churches to engage in bold, innovative and risky ministries that dismantle historic patterns of... systemic injustice, and replace them with [the] reign of God values of peace, justice and unity.” In this season of Lent I would call on each one of us to look inward and then renew ourselves to work outward for freedom and justice in our world.

-Rev. Roger Osgood