I Have to Confess, I Am A Radical At Heart... But It's Not What You Think.

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each person’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I’ve got to confess that I’m a little surprised by a recent assertion that “rebellion starts somewhere” by a long time friend of mine who, as it happens, is black.  Not that I wouldn’t expect her to rightfully be passionate about the mistreatment of black people in this country… It’s more surprising to me that she would sound like she's embracing, at least the possibility of, overlooking the means if they produce a particular end.  It seems so unlike her to yield to anger and throw her own valuation of life and values out of the equation.  But she, like so many others in this country, seems to be wearied by this constant state of tension around matters of race.  And whether we like it or not, racism still exists in 2014 American life.  It is a reality.  To what extent, and who the aggressors are, I will leave for others to argue over... those topics aren't the reason for this particular confession.  I am writing to address the thought of "rebellion" as a solution.  I want to share some thoughts on radical change in the relationships Americans have between differing cultures.  But, as with all things, I must confess that I view it all through the bifocals of my faith in Jesus Christ.

To begin, I feel that the Body of Christ, if it is indeed a body, should not only be speaking and speechifying about issues surrounding reconciling Love and Christ-like Peace; Christians should EMBODY these principles for the world to see. 
We should live together, worship together, raise our voices together, and love one another with such unity that no one can deny that Christ is present in us!  (John 13: 35)  The body has more than just a mouth with which to tell people about ideas, it has arms and legs and feet and hands... and it has a brain, a central "command center" that coordinates the movements of the rest of the parts.  (Read 1 Cor 12 when you get a chance or Ephesians 4: 15-16.)  In Christian terms, we seek Jesus to guide us to our action... and He is consistent in reminding His followers to not respond to hatred with hatred.  (try Matt 5: 1-12, 38-48 & Luke 7: 40-43 for starters)  If we give in to the temptation to surrender the moral center God has given us in Christ, we are no better than those who would be oppressors in the first place.  (James 2: 8-13)  So yes, rebellion certainly starts somewhere.  BUT so do love and healing; they begin within us.  The choice becomes which will bring betterment to living.  Rebellion doesn’t have to mean violence, destruction and escalation of hatred and hateful action.  Radical doesn’t have to equal ferocious.  

Love is radical because it isn’t a commodity to be traded or withheld for leverage, but a gift given freely.  Peace is radical because it exchanges power for mutual benefit.  Mercy is radical because it doesn’t deal with those who have wronged God’s children and creation by doling out the “earned” or “deserved” punishment; but rather forgives the most heinous offenders. And none of those require denying reality, or excusing oppression, or living in a fantasy world pretending that nothing is really wrong.  In fact Love, Peace and Mercy can only be expressed and put into practice by acknowledging that hate, violence, and vengeance exist and choosing their opposites.  Empathizing with someone means sharing and feeling their agony or illness or anger.  But that should lead to a desire to help them recover joy or health or balance; not a desire to inflict agony or pain on others.  In realizing that we are sinners, guilty of our own forms of angry, selfish, even aggressive behaviors; when we find an ability to share our counterparts' pain it should lead us to repentance and an end to our hostile actions.

I know that I may sound like I’m over simplifying very complex and deep emotions, but I am not doing so intentionally.  I’ve spent years in prayer over these concepts for my personal living.  And I refuse to surrender my faith that God can bring forth peace and healing because humans can be, and too frequently are, so destructive.  In fact there is ample evidence that humans are also capable of great compassion and beautiful accomplishment.  I have faith because of people like Dr. King and others who have proven and continue to prove what God can accomplish in spite of what “society” might say is impossible… because of people like Pete Gathje (a Memphis resident and professor at MTS) who gives a majority (literally so) of his salary from the school to maintain the ministry of his outreach mission, Manna House, which provides shelter and rest for the homeless population in Memphis… and the list could go on and on.

A little over a year ago, I shared some thoughts on this very subject in another post I wrote.  I will "re-share" a couple of those thoughts now to close, because they seemed to me to still reflect my heart's attitude in this matter.  I pray that Christ's disciples, no matter which "member" of the body they may be, become visible in their intentional LIVING of the Gospel message they hold dear in their hearts.

I admit that it is easy for me, standing outside of the situation looking in, to make statements about a needed course for people obviously affected tremendously by the horrific events that have transpired.  That being said, I offer this thought as a possibility that may begin to move all of us towards healing.  Maybe in our efforts to be a just people, the starting point [should be mercy].  This may seem odd, as justice is about equity and balancing the scales, and mercy doesn’t promise this on an immediate and tangible level.  But if we search God’s example, we see that the entirety of scripture is less about getting what we deserve, and more about being gifted with something we don’t… forgiveness.  In showing mercy God doesn’t give humanity what it has earned, or even what is fair given our treatment of our Creator, his people, and the creation in which we live.  Instead through mercy, God gives humanity what was originally intended at creation… abundant and eternal life.  In a seemingly odd way mercy leads to justice; because through it's restoration we receive a gift that was meant to be ours in the first place.  We get to enjoy what we were made for from the beginning... an infinite communion with God.   

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” Mercy, chastity, or honesty only practiced until a situation becomes difficult, may be less virtue and more spectacle. To live mercifully, chastely, or honestly in a world that can despise these things is to live courageously. To seek peace in a culture that so often thirsts for confrontation takes tremendous bravery. To stand for what is right as opposed to what is popular is incalculably daring. After all, as Mr. Lewis also pointed out… “Pilate was merciful till it became risky.”  Given a choice between justice and mercy, God chooses to give mercy.  Maybe, just maybe, we should choose to give the same.  Even if it is difficult, or risky, or if it runs contrary to every emotion we have, it is the just thing to do.

originally shared on http://clcooksey.blogspot.com/2013/08/i-have-to-confess-that-i-long-for.html