Living the Jesus Creed this February

Last updated on: February 10, 2017 at 12:04 am by Scot McKnight

Living the Jesus Creed this February 2017-02-02T19:27:08-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Michelle Van Loon www.MomentsAndDays.org and www.MichelleVanLoon.com

Hear O Israel, the Lord our God. The Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.

Readers familiar to this blog will recognize the words of the Jesus Creed. The last few months have stretched my understanding of the challenge and necessity of living these words. Not that I ever thought they were easy words. They’re dying to myself difficult. But they’re very oxygen of the kingdom of God.

No matter where we fall on the political spectrum, many believers have experienced fractures in our relationships with family, friends, and fellow church members as a result of the election cycle. Some relationships have been completely severed. Countless others have been frayed. Whether it is from rabid posting of hyper-partisan news stories from click-bait faux news sites on social media or in-real-life shaming (or even questioning the salvation of those who disagree with a particular political point of view), plenty of damage has been done to relationships both between believers and between believers and the watching world. I’ve been on the receiving end, and I have no doubt I’ve probably been an irritant to someone as I’ve expressed an opinion or question.

Evangelicals have focused on a particular kind of political involvement in the last generation. Some – perhaps 81% of white Evangelicals (or possibly a smaller but still sizable number, depending on who is doing the counting) – are reveling, or at least hopeful, regarding President Trump’s victory as an expression of that involvement. Others in our churches are deeply concerned about Trump’s character, shady business dealings, political appointments, and handling of policy. Supporters and resisters both claim the name of Jesus.

Things are not going to get any easier for us in the Church. President Trump is now floating the idea of repealing the Johnson Amendment, which would strike down IRS rules forbidding church leaders to opine from the pulpit about politics without losing their tax-exempt status. This may seem like a wonderfully freeing notion for some church leaders. Instead of speaking in code to congregations about who to vote for, using words like “We need to pray that ‘Our Values’ will be protected…”, with repeal of the rule, pastors will be able to finish that sentence with the words “…so vote for _______.” When a church leader uses his or her authority in this way, it makes it unsafe for every person in the pews. Those who agree with the pastor may take his or her words as a benediction on their correctness. Or they may believe to be a good sheep they must do what their spiritual shepherd says. Those who disagree may be bullied, shamed, or silenced because of their dissent.

So I ask the question I’ve been asking for months. Who will we as the Church be after the election is over? As of this writing, we’re two weeks into answering that question. It seems the divisions among us have taken on new intensity.

Certainly there is ample historical precedent to dividing from one another in order to seek purity and reform. I think of the Desert Fathers and Mothers who fled from a church they saw as compromised by her enmeshment with power. I think of the Reformers. Some of them stayed within the system in hopes of spurring change, and others broke away to hit the reset button in radical ways. I think of the Confessing Church in Germany in the late 1930’s and 1940’s, who refused to toe the Nazi party line. I think of the House Church movement in China, or the little pockets of believers in countries hostile to the Gospel, meeting in secret. I believe there may some believers in the coming years who find themselves drawn into a new wilderness. (Some of you reading these words may already be camping out there.)

I will confess I find it much easier to flee fractious relationships with other believers than it is to fight to stay seated at the same table with people who sound more like enemies than friends. (Specifically, I’ve had a few “Christian” acquaintances express support for white Supremacist agitators, which is particularly worrisome to me as a Jewish person.) Jesus, who counseled his disciples to turn the other cheek and go the second mile on behalf of an enemy, stayed at the table with Judas until Judas left him.

That said, to live the Jesus Creed may mean getting up from a table that is serving a banquet of poison because that’s no table at all. But I’m finding I must have the chutzpah to stay in my seat with some believers in my world a little longer than I might wish. I’m still trying to discern how to do this well, and the whole enterprise feels fraught with landmines. Yet I can’t shake the conviction that stepping forward may be what loving God and my unlovable neighbor looks like right now.

What do you think? How are you navigating fractious relationships with other believers in your family, church, or online? When is it time to step away from the table, or choose not to pursue someone else who has done so? What helps you stay at the table when it would be easier to leave?

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 9, 2017

Great, Great Idea

Next Post

February 10, 2017 Salvation the Wesleyan Way

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What teaching is behind Jesus washing his disciples' feet?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Seek power Serve others Rule over them Never serve