Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Lent Bible Challenge | Day 24
March 24
Luke 10:1-24

Jesus sends out his followers, not as zombies or pawns, but as active participants in his subversive and counter-cultural effort to bring peace - not through violence or top-down hierarchical structures but through community organization, group empowerment, social revolution talking not just about peace but actually practicing it. He even praises Tyre and Sidon - foreign, Gentile cities, as quite possibly more "in tune" with God's plan then supposed righteous Jewish ones. This kingdom of peace transcends lines of ethnicity, race, class and even gender. Yet that's not what the church ended up advocating within 100 years of the absence of Jesus? What happened? Does that excuse us from living so radically? Or is it all just a pipe dream? Maybe that's why Jesus send his followers out in pairs: to encourage each other, for mutual empowerment and for accountability to the orignial vision.

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