If I ever become a saint—I will surely be one of darkness, I will continually be absent from heaven—to light the light of those in darkness on earth.
Mother Teresa
Strikingly Mother Teresa sums up the life of Jesus – the outsider – and the calling of any Christian – to be on the outside. Does this make our ancient faith a contemporary reality?
Many people feel excluded and on the outside, or trapped by the goal to remain on the inside. We can see this in different cultures and places: we are told that the economy is recovering but growing inequality is evidenced in busy food banks; the hope of the Arab Spring has been sacrificed on the altar of brutal power; global climate change impacts the poor disproportionately; and education, that great enabler of social mobility, is burdening a generation with huge debts. Surely, in this opaque age, we need more saints of darkness.
Marx claimed that philosophy must move from interpreting the world to changing it. How much more this is true of religion. Too often the church has concentrated on a private faith in a privatised world and has thus provided sticking plaster amid society’s loneliness and greed. Faith becomes compromised and is no longer a motivator for change but a comforter for the status quo. Surely this is not the legacy of the wandering prophet from Nazareth, who was crucified by an oppressive regime?
The contemporary theologian, Pete Rollins, proclaimed, “I deny the resurrection of Christ every time I do not serve at the feet of the oppressed… I affirm that resurrection… when I cry for those who have no more tears left to shed.” In this season of Easter, we are journeying with the resurrected Christ. In the Bible and the church’s calendar this journey leads to Pentecost and the call to be a generous community which is lived in the Spirit. Do we deny this by our actions or lack of actions? Jesus calls us to be yeast in the dough or salt in the meal. He calls us to make a difference. The father of John the Baptist reminds us of this by looking forward to the adult tasks of Jesus and John, “To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” His words are repeated daily at Morning Prayer.
May your light shine in the darkness.
Paul
