The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world
The title says it all.
I will explain my recent lack of profound posts with three reasons. One, I am busy in Philly. Two, when I have time to post I enjoy being lazy and not doing anything. Three, I lacked clarity with which to post.
But now that clarity has come in the form of a quote from a Martin Luther King Jr. sermon delivered in 1954 (or 56…) entitled Paul’s Letter to the American church. One quote (amongst the many fantastic quotes that the sermon contained) was the above title, “the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.” And it is this overarching statement that has reinvigorated me with the clarity of mind to post, to proclaim, to preach if you will, that I fully believe King’s statement to be true. Just as true as it was in 1954, it is true today, and will be true until the fullness of that hope is achieved That Day To Come.
And if I believe that statement to be true, that truly the Gospel of Christ is the hope of the world, then that makes a great many other things follow from it.
For example, I am in Philadelphia because I believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the true hope of the inner city. It is the hope of children who would rather meander around MySpace then read a book. It is the hope of families familiar with violence and oppression. The Gospel is the hope of poor school systems. The Gospel is the hope of utilities not being able to be paid. The Gospel is the hope of molested children and abused mothers. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the inner city.
And when I speak of the Gospel of Jesus Christ it is not simply (as if it could ever be simple…) that Christ died on the Cross for our sins, and now we live with Him forever. It is that. But it is the fullness of that Gospel as well. It is the Gospel that redeems the brokenness of the world, that proclaims “Grace, Grace, Grace!” Grace for the prideful. Grace for the lazy. Grace for the weak. Grace for the arrogant. Grace for the selfish. Grace for the perverted. Grace.
It is this redeeming transforming Gospel that can reform the Church, restructure economic norms, abash oppression, reconcile races, cultures, and genders. It is this Gospel of Jesus Christ that is the hope of the world. And that hope is for today. It is not some distant hope to be suddenly upon us on some distant day. It is an ever present hope that we welcome into our homes, churches, workplaces, and lives when we choose Christ above all else.
When we choose Christ, His hope seizes us and we are compelled to live (as King calls it) maladjusted to the patterns of the world. We live maladjusted to patterns of greed, war, violence, oppression. We are, in Christ, opposite of these things. Our Hope is in selflessness, peace, love, and justice.
So it is not with a naiveness that I say that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the inner city. It is with a great vindiction of faith and a resolute understanding (or at least always trying to understand more and more) of the immense power and scheme of God. His is not a wicked scheme, He is not cruel. He is good. And His Gospel is hope.
Hope for inner-city Philly. Hope for the Gaza Strip. Hope for suburbia. Hope for Kenmore and South Street and Stow and Green. Hope for America. Hope for Afghanistan. Hope for both the unborn and the abortionist. Hope for for Mozambique and India. Hope for the Dalits and their oppressors alike. Hope for Creation and nature.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.
{This has become a predominant theme in my life of late, thanks for taking your time to read it!}
Grace and Peace.
Still Here
So I have been absent from the blog scene for while and for that I apologize. I have either been too busy, too lazy, or too confused to blog over the last couple of weeks. Anyway, I’ll just throw out a spattering of various thoughts I’ve had that I’m still in the process of mentally refining into blog form.
So I’ve been thinking about…
+the Church. the means by which Biblically we are called to see social change and justice implemented. how could we do church differently, more creatively?? should we adhere the structure of services and buildings to accommodate the lost or should they continue to contort themselves to fit into the pre-established norms (not all of which are necessarily Biblical)?
+Dirty, Sexy Money: Inspired by the show, which I have never watched, and its slightly ridiculous title that uses taboo words to lull in viewers, I have been rethinking what a redeemed sexuality and redeemed finances could look like. Under the premise of cleanliness and uncleanliness from the Bible, how have sexuality and our use of money been distorted from God’s design and how can we partner with (through/in) God to continue to redeem these aspects of our lives. I think one such venue is by being more explicit about such matters, sex and money are quite often discussed in the Bible but seldom discussed in the church (aside from a list of condemnations or something). Crazy questions like would it be Biblical if the church actively helped each other get out of debt (which I believe may be the greatest detriment to the mission life, debt!!) (Expect a post on this soon)
+Racism: I read and discussed more on white privilege and am in the midst of defining what racism means and what I (as a white, middle class, man) ought to do about it.
+My beard. Going on two months since I’ve shaved and my beard really does look fantastic, just a little maintenance, and I look like a mountain man. Sorry for the lack of Facial Hair Awareness Campaign updates, I’ve been too busy living it!!
+What happens next year. Stay in Philly, back to Akron, or somewhere else? Teach, preach, non-prof, church, school, academia?
+Excited for the Watchmen movie to come out as well as The soloist. The former a sweet comic book now hopefully awesome movie, the latter a great read, hopefully great movie about homelessness and mental illness.
+Lots of thoughts on foolishness. Presently reading 1 Corinthians again with a smattering of Gospel excerpts to supplement, (as if 1 Corinthians needs supplementation haha) Considering what a foolish idea the whole of Christianity is. Not in the sense that, “this is foolish, thus we abandon it” but rather in the “this is the foolishness that only God could come up with!!”
+Presently reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel and What am I suppose To do With My Life, (and Ultimate Spiderman volume 12)
Whew, that seems to be a pretty good expression of the majority of the thoughts that I have been having of late, I am excited to expound on some of them soon and eagerly hope for your comments and feedback
Grace and Peace
