In this Holy Season when Christians make their Lenten sacrifices and celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus The Christ, believers all over the world will pause to contemplate their lives and their faith. They will remember the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus by telling stories and singing songs. They will perform plays where the Passion of the Christ is reenacted to drive home the importance of His journey and what it means for the church of the 21st century. But will they hear?
|
|
Philosopher Karl Barth says that in the modern church a preacher must have a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. Barth proposed that if the church is going to be relevant it must deal with the sociological realities of life. This is because Jesus’s story is a modern story. Jesus moved among the thieves, harlots, hustlers, and thugs of his time. He preferred to teach outdoors, not in temples. Jesus preached then that all lives mattered, and proved it by going directly to the people with his message of hope and salvation. In so doing, Jesus pushed back against customs, norms and traditions, and He was eventually killed by the Roman State on trumped-up charges. Jesus was left to bleed on a cross as a public spectacle, dying a slow, agonizing death underneath the searing sun. The last person standing at the foot of that cross was his mother, Mary.
We hear today the cry and the plea of so many mothers who, like Mary, are witnesses to the senseless death of a loved one at the impersonal hands of the State. Michael Brown’s mother placed a sheet over her dead son’s corpse after he lay bleeding on a Missouri street for four hours. Sybrina Fulton had to publicly identify the recorded screams of her son Trayvon Martin while sitting in a Florida courtroom. Lucia McBath had to identify the dead corpse of her teenage son Jordan Davis at the Florida State Coroner's Office. These are the stories that Barth knew the church must confront while preaching the Gospel.
We hear today the cry and the plea of so many mothers who, like Mary, are witnesses to the senseless death of a loved one at the impersonal hands of the State. Michael Brown’s mother placed a sheet over her dead son’s corpse after he lay bleeding on a Missouri street for four hours. Sybrina Fulton had to publicly identify the recorded screams of her son Trayvon Martin while sitting in a Florida courtroom. Lucia McBath had to identify the dead corpse of her teenage son Jordan Davis at the Florida State Coroner's Office. These are the stories that Barth knew the church must confront while preaching the Gospel.
|
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? |
How long, God? Why, God? How many more, God? God, where are You? These questions remind me of the same question Jesus asked while being executed by the Romans. As the Christian Church gathers, can it make sense of why the Romans killed Jesus? Can we make sense of why a woman would be shot to her death while asking for help on a stranger’s door step? Does it make sense that women’s bodies are always under attack? Can we make sense of it all when every 48 hours a black person is killed by the State, sometimes with impunity? How do we make sense of the senselessness of it all?
Sermons will be preached and liturgies read and proclaimed; special food prepared in observance of this Holy time. We will gather this Lent and share our collective stories privately and publicly. Stories of redemption, sacrifice, restoration and resurrection will be the subjects of the hour. However, if we dig deep and sit still long enough perhaps we will hear from God. I know for sure — I need everyone to just quiet down because I’m listening for God.
Header art by T. Guzzio. Original photo by Wolfiestyle.
CONNECT WITH DAVID:
David Shawn Smith is a native of Memphis, Tennessee who has lived in Atlanta, Georgia since the summer of 1999. After working extensively in human resources in the corporate world, he took a leap of faith and opened I Speak Life Coaching in 2007. David specializes in the areas of communication and interpersonal relationship skills, conflict management, goal setting, and organizational development. His clients include business owners, universities, non-profits, faith-based organizations and community leaders. David has a degree in Communications and Rhetoric from Oglethorpe University, and he is currently working on a Master's Degree in Leadership and Coaching from Bellevue University. In addition to Prodigal's Chair, David's work has appeared in Creative Loafing, as well as countless other on-line publications. Connect with David on Twitter and Facebook, and via his website.
ADD YOUR VOICE:
ABOUT COMMENTS:
At Prodigal's Chair, thoughtful, honest interaction with our readers is important to our site's success. That's why we use Disqus as our comment / moderation system. Yes, you will need to login to leave a comment - with either your existing Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ account - or you can create your own free Disqus account. We do this for a couple of reasons: 1) to discourage trolling, and 2) to discourage spamming. Please note that Disqus will never post anything to your social network accounts unless you authorize it to do so. Finally, if you prefer you can always email comments directly to us by clicking here.