Small Acts of Courage
Luke 21:5-19
Isaiah 65:17-25
November 17, 2019
Emmanuel Baptist Church, Rev. Kathy Donley
The reading from Luke takes place in the last week of Jesus’ life. He makes the outlandish claim that the temple will be destroyed. The temple is one of the wonders of the ancient world. It is Herod the Great’s massive building project, begun before Jesus was born, an enlargement and renovation of the temple built after the return from Exile some five hundred years earlier. Herod’s Temple is still under construction in Jesus’ time. The first century historian Josephus described the temple like this: “The sacred edifice itself . . .was approached by a flight of twelve steps. The façade was of equal height and breadth, each being a hundred cubits [that’s about 150 feet], . . . The first gate. had no doors, displaying unexcluded the void expanse of heaven; . . . the exterior of the building wanted nothing that could astound either mind or eye. For being covered on all sides with massive plates of gold, the sun was no sooner up that it radiated so fiery a flash that persons straining to look at it were compelled to avert their eyes, as from the solar rays.”[1]
Those within earshot were likely incredulous at Jesus’ prediction that the temple will cease to exist. It is not just an impressive building. It is the place where God and humans meet. One scholar says that the temple is “the moral center of the universe, the source from which holiness and a terrifying justice radiate.”[2] We are familiar with the destruction of buildings by dynamite or bombs, but imagine the loss of meaning if, say, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington were to be no more. Or the White House. Jesus’s words are alarming and unreal to those who hear them.
But by the time Luke writes his gospel, the beauty of the Temple is only a memory. Luke is probably writing about 55 years after Jesus, about 15 years after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Luke’s audience likely pricks up their ears to hear what Jesus will say next. You see, they are living through massive upheaval. Trusted institutions have collapsed. Religions have to invent or re-invent themselves to survive. The political landscape is a turmoil. Jews and Christians from Jerusalem have scattered as refugees all over the known world. Add in the earthquake at Pompei and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and it seems that the world is really and truly coming apart. Those who are reading Luke’s gospel then must be hanging on every word.
I often try to avoid this kind of text because it seems to belong to end-of-the-world, doomsday preachers, but this year, I’m resonating with Luke’s first audience.
Religious institutions collapsing while some religious leaders support the status quo – check.
Political landscape in turmoil – check.
Refugees scattered all over the world – check.
Glaciers melting, songbirds going extinct, clearcutting of the Amazon, raging fires in Australia, flooding in Venice, the world really and truly coming apart – check.
Jesus warns of impending doom, but not for the purpose of alarming people. What he offers is a path of hope and trust in the midst of destruction and great difficulty.
This week many of us saw the movie Witness at Tornillo. It is about the activism of Joshua Rubin and those who joined him to protest the separation of families and the detention of children and teenagers. On a chain-link fence near the facility in Tornillo Texas, groups of protestors had mounted signs which said things like “free them” and “let my people go”. The authorities did not like these signs and eventually got them removed, using the pretext of a law against advertising. Joshua was there when county employees came to take them down. He talked to the employees, reading each sign out loud to them, explaining that one in particular had been created by a group of children who put it where the children being bussed in to the detention center could read it. He pointed out that it was hand-made and kind of fragile. The employee who took it down gave it to Josh for safe-keeping. Ultimately, they gave all of the signs to him, clearly disobeying their own bosses in doing so. Joshua described this disobedience as a small act of courage.
For the people of Luke’s time, these words of Jesus strengthen their faith and enable their own small (and large) acts of courage. Perhaps they can do the same for us.
When the people in the Temple ask about the destruction that is coming, Jesus’ first warning is about leaders who will come in his name and claim to have the answers. Jesus says not to follow them. Such people are still among us. This warning is still necessary.
Then Jesus says “do not be terrified.” We have often remarked that the angels always say “Do not be afraid” as a standard greeting. I’m struck that Jesus amps it up here and says “do not be terrified.” And its just like when the angels say it – what comes next is actually terrifying. Jesus speaks of persecution, betrayal by friends and family, arrest, imprisonment, even death. These are real possibilities for his followers in the first century and in every century.
Baptist scholar Alan Culpepper says,
“Following Jesus always exposes the faithful to opposition from the authorities. If in every generation, there are those whose religion is simply a form of escapism into the fantasy of futurism, every generation has also had its courageous and prophetic visionaries who devoted themselves completely to Jesus’ call to create community, oppose injustice, work for peace, and make a place for the excluded. Every generation, therefore, is called back to the teachings of Jesus by the examples of those who have suffered persecution and hardship . . .”[3]
If Jesus is offering spiritual resources to cope with adversity and hardship, what should we make of verses 16 and 18?
Verse 16 says “they will put some you to death,” but then verse 18 promises “not a hair of your head will perish.” If both of these statements are to be true, then Jesus’ reference must be to something deeper and greater than physical death. His meaning seems to hinge on verse 19.
Verse 19 can be translated “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” Many in Luke’s audience will die as martyrs, beginning with Stephen stoned to death in the book of Acts. For them, these words indicate that faithfulness to death will lead to life eternal.
Verse 19 may also be accurately translated “in your endurance, you will save your lives.” We remember that the Jewish people of this time did not have a robust concept of the afterlife. The Greek word Luke uses here would have been stand-in for the Hebrew word nephesh which means self or life. It refers to the essence of a person which is inextricably bound up with the body. It is not the Greek concept of an immortal soul which endures beyond the death of the body.
And so, if we read, “in your endurance, you will save your lives” what we understand is that Jesus is saying, when you are faithful to me, you are also true to yourself. By standing fast, you maintain your integrity. You hold onto what makes you you and gives your life meaning.
Faithfulness to Jesus will save your soul and your life. Both translations are true. Faithfulness to the gospel has resulted in death in every generation, even now. We could easily name so many contemporary martyrs. I think of MJ Sharp, the 34-year-old Mennonite man, who was building peace in the Congo. Over the course of several years, he and his team had persuaded about 1600 people to lay down their weapons, which had an impact on some 23,000 family members.[4] He was shot to death in two years ago, while investigating the use of child soldiers by a militia group and governmental massacres of unarmed civilians. One of his long-time friends said “I felt he just had a strong sense of duty and commitment, probably fueled by Menno[nite] life, intrigue about complex situations, and didn’t mind the edge of danger,” she said. “Which means, if all of us travel along what makes us truly come alive, who knows where we’ll be? Not necessarily in the DRC, but definitely standing in our own God-given power and brilliance.”[5]
I think of Sister Dorothy Stang, a Catholic nun who spent her life among the poor in Brazil. Her ministry included advocating for peasant farmers and against the deforestation of the Amazon. Her work was opposed by the powerful. In spite of death threats, in spite of the knowledge of a bounty on her head, she did not stop. In 2005, as two gunmen approached her on a dirt road, she took her Bible from her bag and began to read the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.” The gunmen listened and then, when she was done, they aimed their pistols and killed her.[6]
Christians are still persecuted for their faith, or more accurately for what they do because of their faith. By their endurance, Dorothy and MJ and countless others gave their lives but gained their souls.
You might notice that these two examples involve political actions. It is not often that practicing your faith in private gets you killed. True persecution happens when your faith compels courageous actions which make a difference. Let’s not diminish the deaths of the faithful by claiming persecution because someone wishes you Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.
American Christians are not typically at risk for the kind of persecution that ends in death. But there are still consequences for following Jesus I think of Diana Butler Bass whose brother has not spoken to her since she spoke out against white nationalism after the events in Charlottesville, Virginia.[7] I think of people who risk symbolic arrest to call attention to injustice and of those who serve time in prison because they obey the dictates of conscience rather than unjust laws.
I just heard about a man named Doug Stephens. As a federal employee, it was his job to interview asylum seekers and then send them back to Mexico under the current protocols. He did five interviews and then refused to do any more. Knowing that it would cost him his job, he told his supervisor that he would not be part of implementing this immoral policy. He said, “You’re literally sending people back to be raped and killed. That’s what this is.” [8] When disciplinary proceedings were begun against him, he decided to resign, but first he drafted a memo outlining why he believes the Remain in Mexico policy violates the law. He sent it to everyone in the San Francisco Citizenship and Immigration office as well as agency supervisors, his union and a U.S. Senator. He lost his job, but remained true to himself. He gained his life.
Some of us are terrified, or at least anxious, about the state of the world, the status of our democracy, the precarious position of the church. Some of us are heartbroken and outraged. And we have been feeling this way for a long while. In times like ours, Jesus offers very practical counsel. He says to stand firm and testify. Testify – speak the truth. Opening our mouths, letting the truth come out in love and power, that’s one small act of courage we can attempt in this time.
In forced retirement, in 1970, Maggie Kuhn founded the Grey Panthers, an organization that worked to end age discrimination and to provide care for the elderly. I love the way she echoed Jesus’ words. She said, “Leave safety behind. Put your body on the line. Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind – even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say. Well-aimed slingshots can topple giants.”
Beloved ones, this week, this very week, may we commit small acts of courage. Look for an opportunity to testify. An opportunity to save your soul, a chance to gain your life. Let us speak the truth, even if our voice shakes. Amen.
[1] Josephus, The Jewish War, 5:207-208, 222, trans. H. St. J. Thackeray, LCL (Cambridge, MA; Harvard University Press, 1928), 263, 269.
[2] Jon D. Levenson, “The Temple and the World,” The Journal of Religion 64 (1984); 298
[3] Alan Culpepper, The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), pp 402-403.
[4] https://themennonite.org/daily-news/one-year-later-mj-sharps-parents-reflect/
[5] http://mennoworld.org/2017/03/29/news/sharp-pursued-peace-around-the-globe/
[6] https://www.deseret.com/indepth/2019/11/12/20950149/amazon-rainforest-nun-protect-war-anapu-brazil-deforestation-vanishing-jungle-class-blood-war-death
[7] https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/20/opinions/god-of-love-had-a-really-bad-week-bass/index.html
[8] https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-11-15/asylum-officers-revolt-against-trump-policies-they-say-are-immoral-illegal