The grace to stand up and be silent...

Now for those who know me you know full well that silence is not one of my strongest points...I do not do it well...I do not seek it...I do not embrace it very often (if at all). But I do understand its power in the right context. One of the most outstanding examples we have in the Christian faith is Jesus. Yes most people remember how he became angry at the stall owners who 'sold access' to the Sacred but one of the things that seemed to stand out just as much about Jesus is that when it came down to the hardest thing he had to do..he was silent!

It is the contrast of these two situations that for me tells me of the two biggest tests for a person who calls themselves a lover of God, or a person of faith. (Do NOT mistake me for saying that it is only Jesus who taught us this message because I know that many wise and wonderful faith pace-setters and leaders have also set this example, Jesus is merely the one that my faith journey most resonates with).

The first test or standard by which I measure myself is how I act when I see injustice, the way that I react when there is exploitation or wrong doing when anyone who is suffering can not stand up for themselves. Jesus did not pause to ask who in the temple that day had repented, he did not ask life circumstances or their theology...he saw injustice, the name of God being used to say who was in and who was out, and being that this was one of the only times that Jesus really got angry, we can assume that he did not appreciate this.

So what do I do as someone who claims to be a person of faith, someone who wants to make a difference in the world? Sometimes the answer is to take action!! But measure your actions carefully...will it really do good? Is it only your personal crusade? Are you doing it in order to look like a wonderful person? One lesson I have learned in my short time of being in ordained ministry is that you really have to be comfortable at the bottom and (thankfully) on your knees. The last thing it is is to be important or exalted and that's fine by me!! This action MUST be done with the heart of a servant if it is to have any effect whatsoever on the others around you.

The second test for me is how we act when faced with the impossible...it is true that those who face death with dignity and admired by others..but more so when the death is unexpected or unnecessary. Jesus' death was both of those, at least from the point of view of his disciples, so it was not until after the resurrection when they realised that Jesus knew what was coming and that nothing would happen to stop it that they realised the enormity and awesome act of his silence to the cross. 

This is NOT about people of faith being walked all over, being a doormat or letting themselves be abused in some way. It is about the example we set in the face of great adversity. My favourite example of this is Nelson Mandela, who after so many years being imprisoned came out into the world seeking peace and reconciliation. He was not a person who had lived a luxury life telling people steeped in poverty to remain peaceful..he had suffered too. What an example!!

Jesus - a man who bridged the gap between the Sacred and the world, brought the two together. Mandela, a man who bridged the gap between a nation who had been repressed and abused and their abusers, a man, who with the gift of grace, stood up, and was silent!