The way of Jesus

Joshua Brockway speaking at the Discipleship Ministries dinner
at Annual Conference 2019.
Photo by Glenn Riegel

By Joshua Brockway, director of Spiritual Formation

Earlier this year, I picked up March, a graphic novel by Congressman John Lewis.  The first volume of the series sketches the plotline from Lewis’s early life to the first success of the Nashville sit-ins in 1960.

One of the pages, in particular, caught my eye. On the day of the first arrests of the Nashville protests, a white student named Paul LaPrad was pulled from the lunch counter and beaten. The page stood out to me, not because LaPrad was white, but because I heard his story during my undergraduate studies at Manchester College. LaPrad was a Church of the Brethren young adult and would later graduate from Manchester. He attended James Lawson’s weekly workshops on nonviolence, heard the experiences of Jim Crow and racism from his black peers, and learned to withhold a violent response to verbal and physical attacks.

Since reading March and other accounts of the Nashville student movement, as well as talking with Paul LaPrad, I have come to one conclusion:  Peacemaking is a way of life.

We talk about peace often in the church—and rightly so—but when I read about Lawson and his nonviolence workshops, I realized how counter-intuitive nonviolence truly is. Violence, whether through fists or words, is ingrained in us at an early age when we are taught to stand up for ourselves. We are encouraged to share witty retorts to insults. We are entertained by verbal sparring on news channels and by retributive violence on big and small screens.

So in order to live nonviolent lives—and like Jesus—we must be re-formed. This means that peacemaking is not a means to an end but, rather, the result of a long and intentional process of formation. Through our discipleship, we are made into the likeness of the Prince of Peace.

Our ministries, from Sunday school classes using Guide for Biblical Studies to youth groups gathering to raise money for National Youth Conference, keep us in the path of the “long obedience in the same direction,” as the late Eugene Peterson would say. Our ministries don’t just teach the ideas of peace, but they invite us to read the Scriptures through the nonviolent life of Jesus. Our practices of mutual aid and service are not a means to happy living or random acts of kindness, but are acts of obedience to Christ. And our witness and advocacy in our communities and nation are extensions of our relationships with those pushed to the edge of our culture through unjust laws and policies.

Thank you for the ways you disciple others in the nonviolent way of Jesus. Thank you for the ministries you lead and support in your congregation, district, and the denomination. And most of all, thank you for promoting the practices of discipleship and peace through your gifts to the Church of the Brethren.

Learn more about Discipleship Ministries at www.brethren.org/discipleshipmin or support them today at www.brethren.org/givediscipleship.

(Read this issue of eBrethren.)

Mist-like: Reflecting on James in the Middle East

By Nathan Hosler, Director of the Office of Public Witness

The permanently closed Shuhada Street in Hebron. Photo credit: Nathan Hosler

James 4:13-5:6

Writing this, I was sitting on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Below me, closer to the water, on my left and right are spots that mark many significant points in Jesus’ ministry. The ancient village of Capernaum, a chapel marking the Primacy of Peter, and a chapel with the famous mosaic of two fishes and five loaves from the year 480- marking the spot where Jesus multiplied these meager foods and fed the crowds. In Capernaum there is a house that then became the site of a church in 5th century. The house is thought to be that of the mother-in-law of Peter where Jesus would stay and where the mother was healed. It was also the site of one of the earliest house churches. Maybe 50 yards away there is the remains of a synagogue for the Byzantine period. This synagogue is built with stone imported from Jerusalem but built on an earlier foundation of local basalt stone—Some archaeologists assert that this earlier synagogue is from the time of Jesus.

A mosaic of the two fishes and five loaves. Photo Credit: Nathan Hosler

Byzantine Synagogue with the “Jesus Synagogue” beneath. Photo Credit: Nathan Hosler

To my left (to the north) 20 miles is Syria whose civil war and refugee crisis require no introduction. Back south is the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. Most of the week to this point has been hearing from an assortment of political, religious, NGO, and peacebuilding workers struggling in a situation of conflict that feels rather intractable. The significance of the land both present and past is of incomparable magnitude.

Along the way I have been reading and meditating on our passage in James.

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” 14 Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

Narrowly, this and the following verses are about wealth. I think, however, that money stands in for the assumption that we are in control or our desire to be in control. Though God (and the world with its histories and cultures) are big, you are misty—mist-like, ephemeral. This assertion is not negative, not an insult, it is simply honest. Though those of us who are at least relatively well-off may forget this, our lives are indeed contingent. Our lives are dependent. They are based in God. James addresses the one who confidently says they will do this or that. The hearers of the letter of James were likely not the well off—or the overly wealthy. So, it may not be that this or the next portion are as directly applicable to the immediate crowd. The general assertion, however, is very applicable, hence its inclusion. To those who are well confident that their plans will succeed, James asserts—you are mist—misty—mist-like in the fleeting quality of your life. Because you cannot know what will happen you should always acknowledge that even the best laid plans rest in God. The habit and practice that James exhorts is to, in all things, acknowledge that one’s life is held in God.

Your existence is in God.

As I’ve been reading James I have also been thinking about a similar passage in the Sermon on the Mount. Given my writing location if felt particularly relevant to note this. In the sixth chapter of Matthew, Jesus teaches: Why worry about your life?—about what you will eat or drink or wear. Are not the flowers of the field more splendid than Solomon, the most extravagantly dressed of all kings?

A sign outside the Tent of Nations that reads, “We refuse to be enemies.” Photo credit: Nathan Hosler

The sign by the entrance says, “We refuse to be enemies.” The Tent of Nations (http://www.tentofnations.org/ ) is a Palestinian farm on a hill top in area C. Area C is part of the West Bank, the land of the future Palestinian State. It is also the site of many settlements, which are illegal under international law, undermining the possibility of a future state, and more like towns or cities than anything makeshift that is indicated by the term “settlement.” To get to the Tent of Nations we left our van and climbed over boulders that have been placed on their road a few hundred meters from their farm in order to impede access. The farm is on a hill top. Every other hill top surrounding has a massive settlement.

We met with Daoud Nasser whose family has lived there for generations. Unlike most Palestinians whose land is at risk they have a clear line of documentation of land ownership going back to the Ottoman Period in the early 1900s. Since the land is documented but still deemed very desirable, they have been fighting in courts since the early 1990s. The case keeps getting passed back and forth between the Supreme Court and Military courts. They must keep fighting and filing because if they don’t they will be forced out. They can’t build any new structures and the structures they have—even the tent like structures—have demolition orders on them. Daoud Nasser, though, seems to be full of joy. He told of their struggle just to keep their family’s land. He demonstrates a trust in God and in others to continue on.

Again, your existence is in God. You are mist-like but God is steadfast.

Unsurprisingly, the rich also have this problem. They also easily forget that their existence is in God.

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

James doesn’t discuss if there are righteous ways to be rich. Certainly, our congregation isn’t rich compared to much of Capitol Hill. Because of this and certain prophetic inclinations we may find it easy to speak critically—to speak “prophetically.” However, though we are not that rich we are comparatively rich in relation to much of the world. And as such may be indicted.

The rich people that James addresses have built their riches on the backs of others. For white America the legacy of slavery of Africans and genocide of Indigenous communities is a clear example. But also, immigration, trade, and foreign policy often continue this pattern.

What we don’t know is if James has certain rich folks in mind or assumes that all those who are rich have earned it through injustice. It is also unclear if the “rich” are those who meet a certain income bracket (which seems unlikely) or if it is short-hand for those in power. This call is a call to repentance. It is a call towards being rightly oriented toward God and others. The call to repentance and to acknowledging that one’s existence is based in God rather than in one’s own might or smarts or good looks or cunning is not against but for the one being challenged. Only when you care about that person or entity can you fully embrace the uncomfortable confrontation. Repenting of this is in the interest of both the oppressor and the oppressed.

Let’s suppose that riches and power are somewhat interchangeable. During the past two weeks the question of power and who is criticized in what manner has been close at hand for me. For Palestinians living under Israeli occupation the restricted rights, living under military law, limited ability to move freely, and lagging infrastructure is clearly unjust. For many Israelis their existence as a small country surrounded by the much bigger and often hostile Arab world, history of the Holocaust, and repeated abuses throughout history lead to a strong emphasis on “security” at any cost. Many wars in the past decades as well as an enforced separation which does not allow interaction with Palestinians in normal life keeps these fears alive and well.

One morning on this trip we met with Defense for Children International. They explained that there are 500-700 cases of Palestinian children being convicted in Israeli military courts. Many times, the kids (usually but not always boys) are arrested from their beds at night. Regularly they are beaten on the way. Harshly interrogated. And sign confessions written in a language which they can’t read in order to get out sooner. Rarely can they see their parents or actually meet with a lawyer to know their rights. Because of this work of documentation and exposure DCI is declared an enemy and traitor of the state of Israel because it highlights these abuses. Many Christians in the US would harshly criticize me for repeating these things—claiming that the Old Testament commands me to “Bless Israel.” However, as noted earlier, criticism is not the opposite of blessing. Criticism may be part of blessing.

Even as I recount these few notes from an hour long meeting I think back and begin to feel overwhelmed. And this was only one meeting out of the whole week. It is easy to feel the mist-like character of my life when held up against the enormity of the world. The enormity of the ancient stones and places of Jesus. The enormity of Syria just down the road. The enormity of the so-called Israeli and Palestinian conflict. I’m not sure that this is what James intends, but getting to the point of realizing our mistiness—our mist-like nature—is half the struggle. The second half is recognizing that our existence is in God. We are mist but our existence is sustained by the God who has mysteriously created us and called us. Our existence is in the God that has created and called us beyond ourselves.

Drawing strength from Jesus and each other

by Donna Parcell (Volunteer just returned from Nigeria)

I am overcome by the strength and resilience of the people of Ekklesiar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN-Church of the Brethren-Nigeria).  Everyone has a story.  There is not one who has not been affected.

There is Zakariya, who hasn’t seen his mother in two years and doesn’t know if she is alive or dead.  And Ibraham who heard from a former neighbor that his father was killed by Boko Haram.  There are those who saw their parents or children killed.  Pastors tell of witnessing people in their congregation killed or tortured.  People fled in different directions, and many have not seen or heard from family members in months or even years.  Everyone we meet has lost someone.  Everyone.  I can’t imagine this happening to my own church.

Most have spent time in Internally Displaced Persons camps (IDP), living in tents with scarce food and water and crowded conditions.  But the children still laugh and play.  They make up games and fashion toys out of discarded water containers or broken tires.  They all have many mothers as the entire village looks out for each other.  They often cook together as a community and fellowship together.

The EYN members in Jos have taken in and cared for displaced persons into their homes.  It is common for a family in a 2 bedroom house to be caring for 50 additional people.  They are not discouraged by this, they are finding ways to take in even more people.

They firmly believe that this persecution will result in spreading the word of God and growing the church, just as it did in the early church.

Despite a burned church - EYN still meets

Despite a burned church – EYN still meets

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.  And yet, they are not poor in spirit.  Yes, they grieve and struggle deeply with their loss.  But they rely heavily on each other for encouragement, support, and guidance.  They turn always to our Heavenly Father, and trust Him in all things.  They are confident in the love of Jesus, and have incredible faith that He will sustain them and bring peace to their country.

They are so appreciative of the concern of the global Church of the Brethren.  They feel covered by the prayers that are placed before the Throne daily on their behalf.  They are humbled that they are remembered and prayed for.  They are strengthened by our concern and prayers.  And through all of the horrific events of their everyday lives, they continue to pray for us.

Stretching Exercises

Not seeing today’s post? Hit the “refresh” button on your browser.AWAKE_ADVENT_4


Psalm 125


To ponder:

As I left the grocery store, a man stretched out his hand and asked me for several dollars to buy some food. Keeping his eyes on the sidewalk, he explained that his family was hungry and he didn’t have any money. Reaching into my purse, I handed him some money in response to his need, which he gratefully accepted before entering the store. Was he telling me the truth? I don’t know. What I do know is that Jesus calls us to feed the hungry and in doing so, we feed Jesus. Let us welcome those who have need into our hearts this Christmas. In doing so, we welcome Jesus.

Prayer for the day:
Stretch us, God, to see Jesus in those whom we meet along the way to Christmas. Then stretch us to respond in the spirit of Christmas with love and kindness. Amen.

 

~ Kim Ebersole, Director of Family Life and Older Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Advent Devotional written by Sandy Bosserman, a former district executive and ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Sandy’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Good for Goodness’ Sake

Not seeing today’s post? Hit the “refresh” button on your browser.AWAKE_ADVENT_4


Philippians 3:7-16


To ponder:

“All I want for Christmas is…” How do you complete that sentence? The popular song from my childhood says that “two front teeth” are at the top of the Christmas wish list. I don’t know about you, but toys usually graced my list when I was younger. As I grew older, my list changed to reflect my maturing understanding of life and my deepening faith. Now, like Paul in his letter to the Philippians, knowing Jesus and living out his teachings so that others may see the love of Christ reflected in my life are at the top of my list. It is a lofty goal, but Paul encourages me to “keep on keepin’ on.” What do you want for Christmas this year?

Prayer for the day:
Generous God, you gave the world the best gift of all when you gave us Jesus Christ. Give us strength and courage to put Christ first in our lives so that we may experience a taste of the Kingdom of God here on Earth. This is our Christmas prayer. Amen.

 

~ Kim Ebersole, Director of Family Life and Older Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Advent Devotional written by Sandy Bosserman, a former district executive and ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Sandy’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

A genealogy of grace

2013 Advent good_news_hi_res  Matthew 1:17

Prayer for the day:

Surprising God,
like those who experienced the first Christmas so many generations ago, we stand amazed in your presence. Thank you for giving us the gift of Jesus, whose birth we celebrate and whose life we emulate.

God of grace,
help us to use this Advent season to prepare our hearts to welcome Christ into our world and into our lives.
Amen

Question for reflection:
Tim Harvey shares the story of how his great-grandfather, an outcast, was welcomed into the community of faith. This Christmas, how are you and your congregation welcoming people who are marginalized by our society?

~ Kim Ebersole, Director of Family Life and Older Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Advent Devotional written by Tim Harvey, pastor of Central Church of the Brethren (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Tim’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

 

‘Immanuel’: God with us

Isaiah 7:13-14

Question for Reflection:
What does the gift of “God with us,” Emmanuel, Jesus, mean to you?

Prayer for the day:
God, we have anticipated this day for weeks now, building expectation through Advent worship, devotional study, decorating, gift buying, serving our neighbor, food preparation, sending cards and so much more. On this day of Jesus’ birth, may our anticipation and preparation transform into sacred hope, promise, light, peace, and joy.  With gratitude for promises made and kept, we pray. Amen.

~ Jonathan Shively, executive director, Congregational Life Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Advent Devotional written by Walt Wiltschek, campus pastor of Manchester University. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats) Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Walt’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

 

The baby Jesus: At the center

Matthew 1:25

 

Question for Reflection:
How are you entering sacred space today?

Prayer for the day:
God of mangers and stables, of shining stars and heavenly choruses, alert us to the arrival of your son.  Enter into our space and time in a form that we recognize as human and yet know as divine. Transform this world through the holiness of this night. Break into our lives through the cries of a baby, through Jesus the Christ. Amen.

~ Jonathan Shively, executive director, Congregational Life Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Advent Devotional written by Walt Wiltschek, campus pastor of Manchester University. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats) Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Walt’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.