Date: Saturday March, 21st
Scripture: Revelation 2:10
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
By Michael Nailor, Deacon, Diocese of Central PA
Revelation speaks to Christians in Smyrna. Smyrna was a center of the imperial cult worshiping the Roman Emperor as God’s only son. In addition, there was a community of Jews who reported Christians to the authorities as having a King that they revered above Caesar (true!) and who were rebellious and dangerous (false!). Not exactly an easy place to live out the Christian faith! Suffering and testing come naturally to any human living differently from the crowd. Remember the Japanese proverb “the nail that sticks out is the one that gets hammered.”
When facing a secular world – whether it is ancient Smyrna or our own friends and workplace – it is easier to stay safe and comfortable in the confines of our personal faith. Keeping it to ourselves equals no opposition. Maybe our one hour in church each week is enough. We don’t need to sow the seeds of conflict in those other 167 hours of the week. If “the authorities” (hopefully, not Roman Imperial soldiers!) came to investigate our lives, would they find enough evidence of our Christian faith to convict us?
Jesus notes that “for ten days you will have tribulation.” I am not sure that he was speaking of exactly ten days – but of a short, defined time. Suffering does not last if we are focused on the love of God and the “crown of life” that is offered to those who live in that love. Lent asks us to contemplate how far our conduct strays from the way God offers through Christ. In Luke 9:60 Jesus is clear when he tells us, “Go and spread the news of God’s kingdom.” Are we content in our comfortable closet, or are we willing to follow the clear instructions of Jesus Christ and share God’s love and grace with everyone?
Prayer: Dear God, Be with us as we struggle to live counter culturally as Jesus did. Deliver us from the temptation to live closeted, comfortable faith lives and instead encourage us to live out the gospel boldly. Amen.
Fact: Not only are people of color over-represented in the general prison population, they are also over-represented in the solitary confinement population.
Action: Listen to this episode of NPR’s Throughline on the history of Mass Incarceration.
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/14/751126384/mass-incarceration
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