what is hanging in the balance now?

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust their lives to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

1 Peter 4:12-19; NRSVue

Wherever you are as an American on the political spectrum here, you’ll have grave concerns about the past, present and future. We have lived in a privileged existence, and it looks like that is under great stress at this time. One thing most Americans agree on is that democracy itself is at stake here. There is even a so-called Christian disdain against democracy, aligned to some extent with the Christendom of the past, focused on implementing a “Christian” order. That is another subject in itself.

Another matter is just where our priorities should lie as followers of Christ, Christians in that sense. We now live in a different setting in America compared to those who lived at the time of Peter’s writing. Rome was then in charge with no ands, ifs or buts about it. In the rule of Caesar, there was no representation of the people. Now we have that, and as Christians we do well to advocate for what we consider to be good. We still have that freedom at the moment, but the problem now is that everything seems more than less partisan in the limited two-party system here.

What has happened in my lifetime since the 1960s and gaining momentum from the 1980s and 90s up to the present day is a culture war which initially was a reaction to the government telling a Christian institution that it could no longer bar Blacks from its spaces. That was the basis of the founding for the “Moral Majority.” After a few years abortion became the issue which they found united and gave momentum to their cause. The fallout from this race based, abortion, religious freedom platform has been great. There is little to no incentive to work with the other side on issues like abortion, and all kinds of other issues. We’re at a place now where there’s one side spurred on by Christians who want to take over entirely, be the ones in charge, with others in line according to that. So it’s a challenging time since there are a host of Jesus-followers and others who are opposed to that.

What is hanging in the balance now? I think for us as Christ-followers, it’s a time of purging, salvation for us in that sense. What does our faith tell us about the good we ought to be doing? Where do our priorities lie? Is it about our own protection and freedom? Or is it with the values which Jesus taught us: to love our neighbor, to be the neighbor when anyone is in need. To welcome the stranger, the refugee. To advocate for fairness for all. To stand against racial and gender discrimination, particularly right now against the transgender community. To stand against war and the destruction of innocents such as is happening in Gaza, both Israel and Hamas utterly failing in their use of horrific violence.

So all of that and more are important to us as Christ-followers. We won’t be uniform exactly in how we think and approach such matters. But there are certain things that forever should mark us. We don’t advocate force of any kind. We rather appeal by words, and mainly by works, by what we do. We are willing to stand with those who are considered the dredge of society, in the way, a nuisance or even danger which needs to be pushed to the side, cancelled, even eliminated. We stand for the humanity of all. We look for solutions to problems, not imagining there will be perfection in such in this life but pushing toward that ideal.

With that, what do people see in us? Democrats? Republicans? MAGA followers? Patriotic Americans? You fill in the blank. Rather, shouldn’t they be seeing people who are not known as any such, but rather as Christians in the sense of which Peter talks about above? Followers of Jesus, as Jesus taught and lived in the four gospel accounts? Yes, that. That alone is our identity from which we live. There’s no doubt that we all have our opinions on political matters of this world. But we are in allegiance to one Lord, Jesus. Our following of him means that all peoples are embraced as those whom God loves. We continue on in that way, expecting difficulty, maybe even suffering. But the only way we’re to live in this life as followers of Jesus.

God’s beloved

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Mark 1:9-11; NRSVue

Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Mark 2:13-17; NRSVue

I think I would put The Cure somewhere on the top ten of the books which have most influenced me, or at least most intrigued me. It is a most interesting read, whether or not you agree with it entirely. It’s really not meant to be a book to convince you of this and that doctrine, in spite of somewhat copious although often helpful endnotes. It is a story of the difference between living in grace and religion*, the latter involving unrelenting standards to measure up to with necessary masking to hide the fact that inevitably no one does. The place of grace is entirely different, not only no mask wearing, but hair let down with many tears. People are real, themselves, and completely accepted. Unlike the place of religion where you are accepted on many conditions.

The difference is what the above passages are getting at: the love of God from the God who is love. God has God’s heart set on all humanity, really intent in restoring all of creation, and especially fallen and broken humanity. That is more than evidenced in God becoming flesh meaning human in the Son Jesus through the Incarnation. Completely identifying with us, right where we live with all of its challenges along with our (not his) failure, but with the laughter and joy as well. But it seems especially identifying with those who are mourning, the poor, the oppressed, the downcast, the marginalized. Bringing the healing that can only come from God, healing being synonymous with salvation in New Testament terminology.

If there’s one place I especially feel uncomfortable, it’s with religious folks. Unfortunately you have to add to that nowadays those who are caught up in the tribalism of this or that political persuasion. But lots of those folks are religious, which just becomes either a new rule added on, or understanding among them that it’s simply that way no questions asked.

In contrast to that, God accepts everyone warts and all, just the way we are with all of our blindness, failure and sin. And unlike religion, people are fully accepted in the beloved one, Christ. Christ came that we might through him find our true identity and ultimately our true selves in the reality we are included in with him through faith and baptism, so that we may come to realize that we too are indeed God’s beloved, God’s much-loved ones.

In the end we’re told that God will be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15) accomplished in and through Christ in his life and reconciling death, so that everyone will be included. It will be a most happy ending, even if it takes some time to get there. No one will be left behind, no one left out. Not even the sad religious folk who somehow imagine themselves better and look down on everyone else (see Gregory of Nyssa, George MacDonald, etc.). Not that judgment and severe judgment isn’t in the mix, because it most necessarily is, but not a rejecting, obliterating fire, but a purging, redeeming fire. But this is another subject entirely.

But the point is that we need to see that “in Christ” we are indeed God’s beloved. That we don’t have to measure up to this and that which other people, even churches might want to impose on us. No, we are not rejected, but God’s children.  In and through Jesus.

*Religion in the sense of something fabricated by humans rather than received from God and regularly practiced and lived out in response to that (example: James 1:26-27).