Psalm 91; Deuteronomy 18:15-18; 1 Corinthians 4:9-15; Luke 22:24-30
When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly.
That, friends, is what an apostolic faith looks like in action. Positive, persevering, gentle. Anything else, no matter how much it may dress itself up in Christian clothes, is no more than ‘reality television’ with a cross tattoo. When a Christian insults another Christian (not points out differences, but insults), that’s reality television, not apostolicity. When a Christian bullies and yells so that her voice is the only one in the conversation, that’s reality television, not apostolicity. When we give up on someone or something because it’s too hard, that’s reality television, not apostolicity. The ‘unscripted’ drama of reality television, which always looks the same despite being so preeningly spontaneous, confuses rudeness with strength, confuses giving up with being smart, confuses snark with courageous truth-telling.
We need to be blessings. We need to stick to our guns. And we need to be kind and gentle. Anything else is playing the game by the world’s rules while flaunting our Jesus-fish bumper stickers. And here’s the true truth: the world’s rules are rigged against anyone winning. But being a blessing, standing firm in our commitments, being kind and gentle, those are the evidence that we’re playing an entirely different game, one that is rigged in our favor by the Author of the rules.
