Those who want to espouse security can go right ahead, but they can’t say that goal is a biblical one. Remember all those calls to not be afraid and be not anxious? Or, if you’d rather, that line about those who want to save their lives will lose them and vice versa? The Sermon on the Mount works, too. You know, turn the other cheek, love your enemy. And, oh, I left out the beatitudes, “Blessed are the meek … the merciful … the peacemakers.” Not to mention Jesus’ admonition not to fear those who can kill the body.
There is no place in the gospel that calls us to safety first so post all the pictures you want of jars of jelly beans and bunches of grapes with the unknowable poisonous ones, but do not act as if that analogy is one Jesus would use. People aren’t jelly beans or grapes. They are human beings, created in God’s image and called good, the entire bunch, even the ones that are toxic – which, if you happen to be big on sin like we Presbyterians, is everyone, too.
I have been appalled by the rhetoric that has followed the Paris attacks. I have been disgusted by the hateful speech, the fear mongering and the xenophobia. When political leaders are harkening back to the internment of Japanese Americans as a model to emulate and those vying for the country’s highest office call to register and monitor Muslims and the U.S. House of Representatives passes legislation keeping Syrian refugees from entering the United States something dark is on the rise and we dare not sit by and watch it grow.
This is not ambiguous. Christians are called to welcome the outcast, advocate for the vulnerable and not give one wit about our own safety. There is no biblical mandate for self-protection. Our security is found in God, freeing us to risk everything to follow Jesus Christ. Now is the time for the church to be the church, raising a loud voice for justice, mercy and kindness. We need to stop agonizing over being safe and start working tirelessly to be faithful. If ever there was a moment to preach the radical, self-sacrificing love of Jesus Christ it is now.
We are called to live and proclaim Jesus’ call to be not afraid and that requires that we do everything in our power, individually and corporately, to ensure that this growing tide of hate is stopped. Whatever our sphere of influence, we are called to use it to counter the prevailing sentiment of exclusion and fear. Call your elected officials and tell them your church is prepared to resettle a refugee family. Reach out to the rabbis, imams, the priests and the pastors in your community and plan ways to show the world the ways we are united, rather than divided. Write letters to the local paper. Donate to organizations working directly with the most vulnerable, including our own Presbyterian World Mission Agency. Pray without ceasing.
There are times when we might wonder about the role of the church or the purpose of discipleship. There are questions to which the right answer is debatable. There are many issues on which people of faith can disagree. There is, however, no biblical ambiguity when it comes to feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger and caring for the hurting. There is no biblical basis for seeking safety. There are repeated biblical commands to stand up for marginalized, the vilified and the persecuted. There is the discipleship requirement to care even for those who seek us harm.
People are not analogous to jelly beans or grapes. They are human beings, created in God’s image and declared good. They are sinners for whom Christ died, part of the world he came to save. We are commissioned to counter any message that says otherwise, regardless of the cost, even if it jeopardizes our own safety. When meanness is met with cheering and suspicion is called wisdom and security is worshipped, it is imperative that the church remember what the Lord requires of us. It is time to fearlessly do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with One who put his own safety last.
