Liberty: Finding and Maintaining Our Voice
When defining his view of Christian liberty, Martin Luther offers that there exists possible room for compromise or negotiations in dealing with another person, but when it came down to the Word of God he was unwilling to deny his beliefs. As Christians in 2017, we are in a precarious position in a world surrounded by atheists, cynics, pretenders as well as those from other religions who challenge our belief in God. We examine church attendance and observe a decline. If we look at the proliferation of reality television shows, many which pander to human beings’ base needs, it is clear that anything goes with today’s out of whack moral compass and ethical boundaries. A manifestation of disintegrating moral codes is observable in the fact that issues of race and hate speech are commonplace instead of being eradicated by education, enlightenment and love. Can the proclamation of the gospel and teachings of Christ make a greater impact in American society? Has the prophetic voice been quieted by the din of social media that continues to steal attention from sound doctrine?
Christian liberty is more than the ability to worship in the church or on a street corner, or hand out tracts while letting folks know that Jesus loves them. It is the knowledge that we can proclaim our belief in God and Jesus Christ without fear of reprisal from government and those who deny us this right. Christian liberty is also responsible for why we search for the higher moral ground and seek justice for those who may be oppressed. In John. 8:31–36, NRSV, Jesus said that he brought freedom to those who believed in him. Christian liberty allows us to grasp faith and sustain that freedom when we see incidents in society that give us cause to believe that all hope is lost. We must continue to be excited and share our understanding of God’s love and the liberty it affords. Mystic and theologian Howard Thurman speaks to what I believe is the passion undergirding Christian liberty. “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”1
When Jesus declared that he came to give us abundant life, he was speaking about those who were living with less and while the thief came to kill, steal, and destroy the hopes, plans and joy of the people, Jesus came to provide a life that was more sufficient to those who would not only believe the words he said but would live in a manner that demonstrated it. To those who live without the understanding that they serve a powerful God who is at work in them and enables them to do far greater things than they can imagine, there is no liberty or freedom, so they become paralyzed by skepticism and cannot move forward.
In seminary we were given an assignment where we had to depict how we saw ourselves in the Bible. As a black man, I had not looked at myself from that perspective. I had read the Bible solely for its content that I would study and apply to my life without conscious thought of how my ethnicity and worldview impacted my interpretations of the content. I began to understand that my interpretation of Scripture could and would change due to my experiences as a black male and socio-economic status. The story of Simon of Cyrene who carries the cross for Jesus and in effect replaces Peter (also named Simon) who has deserted Jesus (Mark 15:21), and the story of the Ethiopian eunuch, a man of color, who is educated, literate and has authority over the finances of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians (Acts 8:26), both of these stories have characters of color who signify the diversity in the Bible, eradicating the perceptions of the Eurocentric thinkers who created images of Jesus and David with Caucasian features and of slave master readings of scripture that made it appear devoid of people of color. These passages in particular are empowering to me, assuring me that as a black man I count and am represented throughout the Bible.
To those who exploit their wealth and power to oppress the weak, voiceless, disinherited, those impacted by homelessness, AIDS, repeal of healthcare, and immigrants deserving of asylum, Christian liberty is the voice of reason utilized by men and women of God, who like Jesus, speak truth to power and challenge the status quo. Theologian Augustine voiced his opinion this way, “Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are and courage to see that they do not remain as they are.”2 Taking a stand, finding our voice, and acting against man’s inhumanity to man requires a combination of Martin Luther’s resolve, Howard Thurman’s counsel to find the issues or things that make us come alive and acknowledgement of Augustine’s revelation of hope’s daughters anger and courage.
Finding your voice requires soul searching and honesty to ask yourself hard questions. Have I done enough? Can I do more? Have I walked in another person’s shoes before pronouncing judgement? Is God pleased with the way I behave, or am I guilty of the neglect that Jesus pointed out in Matt. 25:42–45? Am I outraged and offended enough to take a stand when I see people who may or may not look like me being oppressed and treated unfairly? Can I take a stand against a candidate who doesn’t represent the concerns of all? Finding and utilizing your voice occurs at a risk, the risk of being unpopular, isolated for your views and in some extreme cases, silenced like Jesus or Martin Luther King Jr. Those who marched in the Civil Rights Movement or protested the Vietnam war were able to find their voices regarding issues that divided the United States and created the dialogues necessary to impact change in the thinking and actions of those in power.
Some may not possess a voice that has nationwide appeal, but instead has a grassroots effect that impacts the quality of life of the local community. My neighbor Catherine Arline, who recently passed away, was a social worker who continued educating those who would listen on various subjects that would enhance their lives as well as make our neighborhood better long after retirement. She had a passion that inspired me to become more active in my neighborhood, involved in quality of life issues and better acquainted with local community organizations that provide services to people in need, consequently making me a better informed neighbor, and impacting my ministry away from the pulpit.
Maintaining our voice is necessary because those who practice oppression under the pretense of fighting for the weak have ulterior motives that support a need for power that must be viewed with a cautious eye and then challenged with boisterous disapproval whenever necessary, not quiescent or pacified by previous accomplishments. In Acts 1: 9, Jesus’s last words to the apostles declared that they would receive power after the Holy Spirit had come and with that power they would be effective witnesses in all parts of the earth. Christian liberty is love in action, and the ability to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit as the restored Peter did in Acts 2, not a passive practice, but an active response. Maintaining our voice includes developing consistency, avoiding complacency and doing the will of God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The practice of ministry to the oppressed is fueled by the understanding that there cannot be peace when that liberty is challenged by powers, principalities and spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12). Christian liberty is the vehicle we use to defeat that challenge.
Notes
1 The Living Wisdom of Howard Thurman: A Visionary of Our Time. Boulder CO, Sounds True, (2010).
2 http://www.azquotes.com. Accessed March 1, 2017.
