Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.””
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, April 12, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Personal disclosure time: I don’t always admit that I’m a Christian. There. I said it. In my experience, there are far too many people in my country proclaiming that they are Christians and then engaging in behavior that is the furthest thing from my understanding of what it means to be a Christian. (Personal disclosure again: in case you haven’t guessed from reading my devotions to date, I don’t think following in the way of Jesus includes discriminating against anyone for any reason, nor enacting and upholding policies that make that discrimination (i.e. oppression) systemic, nor making a golden statue of a former president…okay. I’m done. Sorry.)
ANYWAY, reading passages like this one bring me up short. The local authorities tried to tell Peter and John to keep their Jesus talk to themselves. And their response was, “Gee…who should we listen to? The local politicians and public opinion? Or…say…God?” So what is God saying to me, here? Is my ego and fear of how I’m perceived getting in the way of my commitment to the gospel? Is it okay not to announce my Christianity to the general public if I’m sure to claim it when I’m doing the work I feel God has called me to? I mean, ultimately the reason I do what I do (write and publish worship and education materials, participate in my church community and climate justice advocacy, etc. etc.) is my Christian faith. Maybe it’s hiding something not to announce to my doctor or the wonderful woman who sells me my coffee that I’m a Christian completely out of context and apropos of nothing. Or maybe it’s respectful. One can argue all sides of the issue. I’m not offering an answer—just letting you know that if you struggle with this, you’re not the only one.
How do I define myself as a Christian? Do it do it differently privately, in small communities, and publicly? Why or why not?
