Newspaper Columns by Bishop Paul V. Marshall
Onward Christian Dialogue Facilitators' Won't Cut It
Bishop Paul V. Marshall
November 2002History will giggle that many Christian denominations eliminated the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" from their hymnals in the late 20th century.
War for our souls goes on every day in our increasingly anti-religious culture. There is also the global conflict that all women and men of good will must engage in with all that impoverishes, enslaves, or debases human beings, with all that keeps persons from knowing God's peace.
Until we raise the def-con level of those struggles, and take them up with the radically peaceful tools that Jesus Christ has given us, our churches will lie in defeat -- and will deserve to.
Though the battle image is ancient, I am not invested in calling ourselves soldiers of Christ. We are called, nevertheless, to have an intense response to human suffering and to spiritual blindness. What we call the response matters not, though "Onward Christian Dialogue Facilitators" doesn't mine the depth of commitment the Lord seeks in his disciples.
Each person who has never heard the gospel preached in a way they can understand is a battle lost.
Each woman raising her children in the back seat of an old car is a battle lost.
Each person whose life has no meaning is a battle lost.
Each child who cannot go to school because it is not his or her turn to wear the one warm jacket the family owns is a battle lost.
Each runaway teen who is beaten and raped into slavery as a prostitute in our cities is a battle lost.
Each teenager who commits suicide because she or he has been taught to hate who they are is a battle lost.
We who live in houses and have food and clothes and a good self-image seldom appreciate how desperately some lack what we take for granted, necessities for physical and emotional health. Frankly, we would rather not hear about it.
Our theology doesn't matter. We may believe that for each action there is an equal and opposite reaction. We may believe that any organism -- snail darter to parish community -- will push back when homeostasis, its familiar balance, is threatened.
We may believe that a personal Satan attacks us when we are doing important work for God. We may simply believe in entropy and that the expanding universe privileges randomness or chaos or decay.
Whether we are Carl Sagan or Mother Teresa, when we try to advance, there is that which will push back. The story of Jesus is in part the story about how, when we are trying to do our best, we may get crucified.
The cross, however, is only where the story gets interesting -- Jesus Christ is alive and has triumphed over the worst that can be done to anyone. His victory is our victory and our power. Christians dare not act as though there were a more potent reality than that fact. That would be false witness. The Resurrection of Jesus is the definitive thrust against entropy, reactivity, and evil.
Like most Americans, I have found the last year to be draining; still, we have a choice: to build our lives around our fears or around our faith.
It is precisely when times are tough that we need to return to our dreams, to celebrate our vision. Every one of the issues we face is real. But even more real for Christians is our calling in the risen Christ.
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