PRAYER

Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it:
a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor;
a world where the riches of creation are shared, and everyone can enjoy them;
a world where different races and cultures live in harmony and mutual respect;
a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love.
Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

SERMON

What are we resisting?

Resistance stories resist Empire by telling the truth and telling counter stories in the midst of Empire.

“It defies the empire by subverting the notion that history will be written by the wealthy, powerful, and cruel, insisting instead that the God of the oppressed will have the final word.” —Rachel Held Evans, Inspired

Resistance in Apocalyptic Literature

Apocalypse: Unveiling or disclosing: reveals things as they really are. It tells the truth.

“Beneath all the wealth, power and excess of these dazzling empires lie grotesque monsters, trampling everyone and everything in their path.” We see God tolerating, then restraining, then destroying these monsters, we see that The story isn’t over; even the greatest empires are no match for goodness, righteousness and justice.” —Rachel Held Evans, Inspired

Point: The Resistance is winning.

Resistance through the prophets
Prophets: not soothsayers who tell the future, rather truth tellers who see things as they really are; and challenge their community to accept that reality and imagine a better one. They tell the truth.

“The prophets “are moved the way every good poet is moved to have to describe the world differently according to the gifts of their insight.” —Walter Brueggaman, The Prophetic Imagination

Amos 5:21-24 NRSV
I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like water
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Isaiah 40:10-11 (NIV)
See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;

Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Resistance Stories against empire

Daniel 1:8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine, so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself.

Daniel 1:15 At the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations.

Daniel 3:6 Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”

Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. 17 If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

Daniel 3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” 25 He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the fourth has the appearance of a god.”

Daniel 6:6 So the administrators and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the administrators of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to any god or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions.

Daniel 6:19 Then at dawn, the king got up and at first light hurried to the den of lions. 20 When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him because he had trusted in his God.

Point: The thing that’s presented as important: power, wealth, prestige….is brought to light as nothing, overcome by authenticity and truth and the hand of God.

Esther 1:17 For this deed of the queen will be made known to all women, causing them to look with contempt on their husbands, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ 18 This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will rebel against the king’s officials, and there will be no end of contempt and wrath!

Point of Interest: Xerxes and his court have a habit of making major, national decisions based on personal offense and whims.

Esther 3:13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, giving orders to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, children and women, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods

“While Persia cast the lots; God holds the history and he can outwit even the most unpredictable regimes to deliver and preserve the vulnerable.” —Rachel Held Evans, Inspired

Point: The propping up of power, greed and politics is rendered ridiculous through the hand of God and telling the truth.

Continuing the story of Resistance
We look to the resistance stories of our world today.

Who are our prophets? Truth tellers? Who do we need to be listening to when it comes to moving us toward goodness, righteousness and justice?

Jeremiah 6:14 “peace, peace they say, when there is no peace

We tell our own stories of resistance; which is our lives.