Protest

My sister recently sent to me the notes of a sermon she had just offered in the Ottawa congregation. Great message! And I'm not about to give it all to you in this blog post; a good sermon is what is delivered in the congregation on the day it's given. If you were there, you were blessed by it I'm sure.

But there was a line that caught my attention. I've been sitting on it, letting it percolate, considering what -- if anything -- to do with it. Maybe this week when we've been thinking about preventing child abuse, of ending domestic violence or listening to news of new troops advancing or corrupt elections or the leaked secrets of trusted officialdom is the right time to come back to it.

The sentence I grabbed out of the midst of that Advent sermon was this: Jesus only raised his hand in blessing or in protest. That's it. It stopped me short.

Here we are in the midst of Advent, the "waiting season" and this thought just catches me. We await the coming of Jesus, fully human, fully divine, that great paradox and along with it comes this notion of the fully human Jesus raising his hand.

How often do we excuse even small acts of violence, a slap, a harsh word, an icy glare or injudicious gesture, with the words "I'm only human"?

So might we expect that the fully human Jesus might have fired off a smack with the back of his hand or a gruff toned remark some time when one or other of his only-too-human colleagues did one more stupid thing? But no! Apparently not.

Only in blessing or in protest did he raise his hand.

"Forbid them not."
"Don't stop me Peter; I must wash your feet too."
"Allow her to use her precious perfume. Don't exclude her."
"You have made my house a den of thieves."
"He who lives by the sword will die by the sword."

Where are the injustices that still endure? What would Jesus be protesting today? Where must I draw the line? It's up to me now to either bless or to protest. May I have the wisdom and the courage to do the right thing.

Posted by Marion