What is your response to Michael Brown's Killing?

I was recently preparing to preach from John 13:1-8 and found myself lingering on verses 2 & 3.  They are a parenthesis to the narrative and give us insight into what was going on in the mind of Judas and Jesus as the group entered the upper room right before Jesus' arrest and crucifixion.  However, if all you care about is the action, you could skip these verses but remember God has them here for a reason.

On one hand, Judas enters the room with his mind influenced by the evil one, hell-bent on betraying Jesus.  On the other hand Jesus has his game face on, knowing the power of God is at his disposal, knowing that his identity was found in God, knowing clearly what his mission was, and knowing that he could willingly give up his life because his destiny was with God.

This is important to understand because these 2 verses tell us the mindset of these two men as they entered the upper room, about to face a test.  Would Judas relinquish his selfishness and would Jesus succumb to it?  As the narrative continues in verse 4 we learn that Judas was empowered by the Devil, leveraging unhindered selfishness in the heart of this carnal man to ultimately produce violence.  On the other hand, Jesus was empowered by God, leveraging unhindered selflessness in the heart of this spiritual man to ultimately produce redemption.

As you enter into the dialogue and activism of the debate raging over the killing of Michael Brown you are facing a test which will reveal your mindset.  The carnal mind has a pre-formed agenda that is controlled by the Evil One.  The Spiritual mind is the mind of Christ, rooted in His power, identity, mission, and a future destiny in heaven.  It's a mindset that allows you to respond, in the midst of testing, in the way that Christ would respond.

So Christians, of every color, in your conversations and in your activism and through your discussions on social media, etc. your first priority is to have the mind of Christ evidenced in your responsiveness to other's needs and to God's call.  The mind of Christ will allow you to push past barriers that you otherwise would find impassable in your calling to be a peacemaker.  Whether you're a civic leader, a stay at home mom, a business owner, a policeman, a shift manager, or a corporate executive, if you're a Christian you've been assigned the job of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:16-18.)

When Christians pro-actively work to be peacemakers we honor God's name in front of the people we rub shoulders with on a daily basis.  When Christians set the example of what it means to have harmonious inter-cultural relationships we are a light in a dark world.  When Christians demonstrate how to take the lead in working out problems and solving crisis in a just and loving way, we will find that the world is taking notice of our witness.

For any white readers it starts here...how many friends of color have been in your home to share a meal with you?  How many times have you been invited by a Latino to join his family for a birthday party or spent the day with an African American friend?  Will there be people at your memorial service who look different than you?  Hopefully friendship and love will win the day when race tensions test your community and God will receive the glory because you embraced the ministry of reconciliation.    

A Dream

We just passed the milestone 50th anniversary of Dr King's famous "I have a Dream" speech.  If you haven't watched it in its entirety you need to along with your family and friends.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs        

Sunday in church I talked about this dream (vision) that Martin Luther King Jr. had for a country that wasn't segregated by the color of our skin.  I didn't grow up seeing the legal segregation that used to be prevalent, but I have friends in our church who have shared with me stories of how they experienced   it and still face racism today.  Largely because of this infamous speech and the courage of so many of our citizens who chose to speak up and to peacefully demand equality, we no longer have legal segregation in our country.  That doesn't means that segregation is dead...in fact I see it alive and well in many churches.  What is causing this?  What is it that our church is doing differently that has enabled us to be an ethnically and economically diverse church?

Dr. King's dream was a catalyst for significant change in our country which reminds us that it's important to have a dream...especially one that God has given to you.  What's your dream?