Truth and the Duty of Citizenship for Christians

I was born and came into the world for this reason: to testify to the truth. – John 18:37

Our society is in need of truth. This is a responsibility of every Christian. The events at our nation’s Capitol this past Wednesday drive home the significance of citizenship for all. From the earliest days of Christianity, responsible citizenship that bears witness to truth has been a hallmark of Jesus’ followers. This hallmark of truth has provided a meaningful contribution from Christianity to every society and it is required of each of us today.

Lake County is a long way from the U.S. Capitol. But an otherwise educated man and leader in business who lives a short drive from our church was arrested for his participation in the riotous attack on our nation’s deliberative body. This arrest suggests to me that our own community is afflicted by misguided and destructive impulses.

I have listened to many members of our church express a sense of personal assault as the violence was wrought on our Capitol building this week. I found myself remembering words of Jesus’ lament over his capital, Jerusalem. “See, your house is left to you, desolate.” (Matthew 23:38). In that scene of lament, as Luke records it, Jesus was approached and encouraged not to threaten Herod, but Jesus sent word to him, saying, “Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work.” (Luke 13:32)

Eric Gill, 'Jesus before Pilate', Woodcut, 1921

This is the context of events that placed Jesus before Pontius Pilate, governor of the Roman Empire, when Jesus stated his duty of testifying to truth. The Apostle Paul followed in the footsteps of his Savior both in front of leadership in Jerusalem and before the Roman Empire. In one scene, “the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Be encouraged! Just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so too you must testify in Rome.’” (Acts 23:11) Testimony to truth is a responsibility of any disciple of Jesus Christ. Paul shared his truth and claimed it in the context of his citizenship in the Roman Empire when a centurion commander, “went to Paul and demanded, ‘Tell me! Are you a Roman citizen?’ He said, ‘Yes.’” (Acts 22:27)

The Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States of America

Each of us, as citizens of the United States of America, have been offered a unique gift of self-governance. The constitution of our nation offers us the spiritual privilege of religious freedom. As Christians in this nation, we are not only called upon to speak truth, but also to sustain the constitution so that we may continue to bless our land with the benefits of our spiritual work. It is clear that as followers of Jesus, part of our work is to heal and confront the corrosion of falsehood. 

I was struck by the witness of John Kelly in a television interview on Thursday. General Kelly had a distinguished career in the Marines and answered the call and was confirmed to serve in the Presidential Cabinet and as Chief of Staff for President Trump. In the interview, he said, “The behavior yesterday and in the weeks and months before … has just been outrageous from the President. What happened on Capitol Hill yesterday is a direct result of his poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the frauds …." It is possible for people of various political stripes to quote their own preferred expert on recent events. But the phrase that leapt out at me from the testimony of this man who has been a firsthand observer of events in recent years was his reference to “poisoning the minds of people with the lies and the frauds.”

As followers of Jesus Christ, I believe this moment in history is asking each of us in our own lives to take extra care when bearing witness. There are otherwise well intentioned people who have fallen prey to a poison of falsehood in our society. Familiar political banners of 2020 were carried into the capital alongside individuals who wore clothing that celebrated the Auschwitz concentration camp or proclaimed similar heinous wishes for tomorrow. This is truly a poison which requires sincere and sacrificial truth in love for every community including our own. We are charged in the Ten Commandments not to bear false witness. Our witness as Christians must always be truth in love.

This Sunday is the annual congregational moment for the renewal of our baptismal covenant. We do need a cleansing. It is Baptism of the Lord Sunday. Bearing truth is not for the faint of heart. We know ourselves. Each of us is flawed and we all bring shadows of our own personal journeys. But a Christian is always brought back to the light of life that we discover in Jesus. That life is our testimony. It shapes our character and becomes a contribution we can offer as citizens. Let us pray for our nation and its leaders. Likewise let us look in the mirror with sincerity of heart and pray for our neighbors. Hope persists.

Friends, never forget. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

Brian R. Paulson, D.Min.

Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville

(This is an article first published in the Parish Life virtual newsletter of the First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville.)

Inspire!

Can you feel God tugging at your heart? Easter is a moment that opens my heart. I am inspired by resurrection to see anew.  An example of this vision inspired me last night and opened my memory to more inspiration.

A little boy ran up to a homeless man on the street corner last night as I was headed to a wonderful dinner with a group of Christian leaders. (It is not this photo, I found this a stock image of inspiration online - but looked just like this!) It was clear the boy's heart was open as he went rushing to put money in a cup.

Then I remembered images of young and old from our community preparing beds and meals for the homeless we house in our weekly shelter. A flood of caring acts filled my memory and my heart. Just as I shared in worship on Easter, I am inspired by our congregation!

Such inspiration is in start contrast to the events of a world that is killing the spirit and numbing our senses. What can we do?  I am inspired by the story of a boy who was discouraged by a man from throwing starfish back into the sea - it would just send them back again. Undaunted, the boy held up another starfish, looked at the man and said, "That may be," said the boy, "but here is one I can save today."

If only we could always have such child-like determination and hope!  But there are many in our world who grow weary from the constant waves of misery crashing against our lives. How can we confront an expression that has developed in recent years: "compassion fatigue."

One of the conversations I had over dinner last night engaged the challenge of equipping and encouraging new generations of leaders who will inspire the world with good. The next generation of adults who currently work to change our world are very idealistic in many new and practical ways that engage specific projects all around the world. I see new kinds of community growing through friendships fostered at work, school, intentional living communities, and various forms of networking.

What I do not see growing is a sustaining base for this altruism that will last a lifetime. This is a gift that I believe congregations have to offer the world.  It is a gift that our congregation seeks to offer each and every day of the week. We inspire!

(Elmore Nickelberry, at left in 1968, he was then a Memphis sanitation worker on strike when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was slain in Memphis at the Lorraine Motel. His son Terence recently displayed a slogan made famous by the 1968 sanitation strike. by Carl Juste / Miami Herald Staff)

Yet some real challenge remains for me and for our congregation in a suburb of privilege.  That challenge is present on street-corners in Chicago just as it should be in our hearts every day.  How can we shift the tide of inhumanity afflicting our world?

A congregation does more than countless acts of charity.  We ground our lives in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the one who taught parables in order to "tease our mind into active thought."  The boy engaging the beggar on the street corner brought to mind Jesus' parable about Lazarus and the rich man. Is the gospel engaging our imagination?  Is our creative soul inspired?

I remember that Dr. King was slain in 1968 while posing challenging questions about the relative worth and dignity of everyone living and working in America. These questions continue to haunt our society as rifts between rich and poor, black, white, and every color grow ever more stark and alarming. I suppose if the answers were simple, they would have been accomplished by now.  But here is a prayer that I make unto God as I return to the desk after Easter morning:  I pray for inspiration - inspiration for action.

The empty cross stands above our church as both invitation and instigation. The image may seem as quaint and classic as a Rockwell painting, but we are an incubator of action. This is the charge and challenge for every Christian congregation.  We must be a source of inspiration for a better humanity.

So go inspire someone.  We can help you start with a wide range of caring acts. But carry that spirit into your daily routines and conversations.  Commit your life to the cause of Christ and let the Holy Spirit flood your heart to change and inspire the world.

Christ is Risen - Let Us Show the World what it Means!

Brian