Today’s Readings: Psalm 58; Isaiah 48:1-11; John 1:43-51; 1 Corinthians 2:1-9; Psalm 8
The passage from John starts innocently enough. We hear of Jesus’ encounter with Philipp that ends with the seemingly innocent words “Come and follow me” (John 1:44 from The Message). I say “seemingly innocent words” because you truly never know where those words will take you when you first say them. Let me give you an example of what I mean. In the early 1990’s, I was a newly appointed member of the City of Spokane’s Human Rights Commission. The Commissioners became aware of an anti-gay training event that was being held at one of the local businesses in our community. Human rights activists from throughout the community decided to stage a peaceful protest to show that the event did not represent the values of our larger community. Shortly before the protest was to begin, however, we got word that members of the white-supremacist group The Aryan Nations (the Aryan Nations compound was about 45 minutes away) would be in attendance. They promised that blood would be spilled if any protesters had the nerve to show up. Each of us protesters had to decide if the decision to show up was worth it. In virtually every case, it was. Thankfully, the members of the Aryan Nations didn’t show up in force; they were used simply as a smokescreen to try to intimidate us. Those moments leading up to the protest were some of the richest moments in my spiritual life as they helped ground me in the reality that this thing called discipleship (this following Jesus) isn’t always easy. As Martin Luther King, Jr. and his associates showed us, there is often a price to pay. Today, I would ask you to consider two questions. First, when you hear those words resonate across the millennia – “Come and follow me” – what are their implications for your life? Second, where do you think those words might take you? Til next time…
The passage from John starts innocently enough. We hear of Jesus’ encounter with Philipp that ends with the seemingly innocent words “Come and follow me” (John 1:44 from The Message). I say “seemingly innocent words” because you truly never know where those words will take you when you first say them. Let me give you an example of what I mean. In the early 1990’s, I was a newly appointed member of the City of Spokane’s Human Rights Commission. The Commissioners became aware of an anti-gay training event that was being held at one of the local businesses in our community. Human rights activists from throughout the community decided to stage a peaceful protest to show that the event did not represent the values of our larger community. Shortly before the protest was to begin, however, we got word that members of the white-supremacist group The Aryan Nations (the Aryan Nations compound was about 45 minutes away) would be in attendance. They promised that blood would be spilled if any protesters had the nerve to show up. Each of us protesters had to decide if the decision to show up was worth it. In virtually every case, it was. Thankfully, the members of the Aryan Nations didn’t show up in force; they were used simply as a smokescreen to try to intimidate us. Those moments leading up to the protest were some of the richest moments in my spiritual life as they helped ground me in the reality that this thing called discipleship (this following Jesus) isn’t always easy. As Martin Luther King, Jr. and his associates showed us, there is often a price to pay. Today, I would ask you to consider two questions. First, when you hear those words resonate across the millennia – “Come and follow me” – what are their implications for your life? Second, where do you think those words might take you? Til next time…
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