Jesus undertook many politically dangerous assignments. To bring good news to the poor meant preaching outside of the religious establishment. To proclaim release to the prisoners meant speaking and acting against the Roman Empire.
Even healing the blind became politically charged when Jesus did it on the Sabbath. When Jesus called those first disciples, and later each of us, to follow him, he meant it. The work that he did is the work we are to do in his name. The people who he served are the people we are to devote our lives to lifting up. The institutions he challenged are the same ones, with different names, we are to stand against today.
And what this means for us who follow today is just as scary as it was for the disciples of Jesus’ time. It is about freedom to leave our brokenness at the forgiving feet of Christ, to live as a community of equals under God, to be who we are meant to be.
This message was excerpted from the October 2015 faith reflections in Cafe by Collette Broady Grund.
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