week 4 (part 2) Jesus and Freedom
Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you–although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. - 1 Corinthians 7:21-23
Check out this week's transformation journal.
posted by SonHarvest Kids @ 8:45 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
"You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men."
"Slaves of men" keeps ringing in my head. Selfishness, sinfulness seem rooted in "self-lordship". I recall the comic phrase "The devil made me do it". Then I realize (my thanks to Walt Kelly) the Pogo truism: "We have met the enemy, and he is us". That about sums it up.
We were bought at a price, indeed. Let's not become slaves to our selves, "Lord Me".
"For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave."
Re-reading the TJ (the book), I was struck by the personal interpretation of "freedom". The first section uses the word "we" often, but the message I am hearing is "I" centered. The later section also speaks to "I", as in personal acceptance of Christ and the freedom that results.
Today I recieved an e-mail from Linsay Mack, a pastor and social worker from the ELCA engaged in a two year mission in Honduras. Basically, I "found" Lindsay while wandering on the web looking for mission links to Honduras.
I wrote Lindsay last week, one early morning at 4AM, "free" of sleep and a "slave" to my latest obsession to hear and learn more about mission. Lindsay wrote me back, having rescued my e-mail from the trash last night (I guess it came up as spam).
So here I am, comfortably reading about Jesus and Freedom in Charlottesville, and the reading Lindsay's introduction e-mail about the mission in Honduras, and the words "Liberation Theology" jump off the screen at me.
Suddenly the prospect of being called to discipleship and mission, to be a "slave" to Christ -- not man, not myself -- takes on meaning.
Eric,
I'm excited you are blogging! I just saw your post on "liberation theology" and thought I'd pass along a couple of resources. My Dad has spent some time in Central America studying this phenomena. Now retired, both my folks do quite a bit of mission work. I've asked my Dad to 'mentor' me on a short trip within the next year or so.
There is an ELCA global mission event in Baltimore this August - more info @ http://www.elca.org/gme/.
My Dad has done some writing about his experiences. We're working on a book now, but some of the material is available @ http://tomwilkens.com/papers.html.
Yes, the blogging I do may well become a part of my daily "quiet time" reflection and devotion, to the extent I have thoughts to share. The genie is out of the bottle.
Thanks for the reference. I've done some reading while slogging through the web, the first of which was very much over my head, but the second not too bad.
Nancy is thinking of inistiating a one week medical mission to Honduras and is trying to connect with people from Peace and the Community who have interest. She has been on two such trips previously, also Sarah (once) and Sam (once), myself not at all. Tentatively the four of us plan to go. We'd like to bring as many as 12-15 adults and youth to Tegucigalpa and the surrounding villages. We will likely connect with the church and mission at Gerizim, run by Pastor Roberto, because that connection is well established, but I'd also like to connect with Lindsay and the ELCA mission in Honduras.
This is ambitious, perhaps, but mid-August is the prospective timetable. You do not need to be a doc or nurse to do this, btw, just be prepared for a life changing experience. (There will be medical personnel going, too, but many of the tasks relate to patient intake, disbursing meds, worship, etc.)
More later.
Wow, Kim. Thanks. Powerful words, in particular:
"We discovered our own cultural cocoons. And we were helped — not always gently — to break out of those comfortable yet constricting habitats."
"We discovered the relevance of liberation theology. We came to sense Christ’s presence among the poor; and we came away considering seriously the prospect of Christ’s absence among ourselves."
"We discovered a fierce, fearless grasp of the gospel. And we learned to be learners, to be tutored by those of low estate, to have our perspectives challenged and our bland, often blind confidence subverted."
And, finally: "There is much to be done in Central America. But first, for North American Christians at any rate, there is much to be discovered — including, perhaps, a re-discovery of the gospel itself."
from "Central American Sojurn, by Tom Wilkens
"If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning." 2 Peter 2:20
In other words, a daily battle. Not just Sunday mornings.
Back to some words from Dr. Wilkins:
"There is an integrity to life in Central America that I seldom see here. There is an understanding that all of life coheres, that every dimension impinges upon every other dimension. There is far less compartmentalization, far less effort to keep education and economics and politics and religion discrete. This is risky business; compartmentalization seems safer and cleaner. Yet integration is, I think, a far healthier approach to life."
Actually, our small discipleship group touched on this last night, our tendency to organize, compartmentalize our lives. Our discussion was in the context of worship; not worship defined as what we do on Sundays within the "four walls" (eight?) of church, but how we worship God with our lives.
I think that was dead on.
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