There are times that we must wonder if the wars of the Reformation ever ended. We now see those ware reflected in the divide between Christian nationalism which pushes a theology of power, success, and glory versus a biblical approach, which reflects the stand that Dietrich Bonhoeffer took against the Nazi regime in Germany.
We aren’t there, you say, but if you look carefully at the theology of power preached today, you might wonder. Most of don’t think we have a “theology,” because that word suggests thick tomes written in abstruse language by mostly dead men. But each of us does have a theology, which really means how we live our faith.
Jesus didn’t preach a theology of power, nor did he practice. Jesus identified with the poor and oppressed. The powers aligned against him identified with power and money. We are now facing two different approaches to the Gospel, one of exclusion and the other of inclusion. We may think we are not at the point of becoming a Confessing Church, but we’re getting awfully close.
Prayer for the Day
Entering this time in our lives, in our Nation,
We come to you, O God, with trepidation;
Hearing voices that call for violence against others,
We tremble, O Lord, for those seen as outsiders.
Restore us, O Holy One, into a people who care for the poor,
As did the One who showed us the power of love,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Christianity is about healed brokenness and right relationships in God’s kingdom.
Adam Clark, Xavier University
The moral condition of those who have survived the underside of history, have done so that we may dare to suffer. Not for piety or pies in the sky, but to expose the false gods who have honed a structural reality that keep many of us from destroying the power it has over us.
Rev. Stacy Floyd-Thomas, Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University
Jesus unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because God has anointed me
To bring good news to the poor.
God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4: 17-18