Thursday in the square with our friends was accompanied by an even larger group of sign-toting evangelists (of course that term is supposed to refer to someone who is bringing news of joy!) along with their families. I asked them where they came from. The title link is to their website. They are from a church about 50 minutes drive from here.
It was a little more vehement this time.
I have been reading NT Wright alot lately... he has highlighted for me a particular aspect of Jesus ministry. Shock value. I think we lose this in our familiarity with the text. Jesus was shocking to his contemporaries, especially those in power. I find myself looking for similar ways to 'shock.' Not in the manner of the 'street preachers' who are shocking the public with their displays of 'righteous indignation' and outright rudeness (I observed one sign-weilding man call a woman a vulgar name), but in the manner of Jesus.
It seems that Jesus was not re-enforcing stereotypes but subverting them, not shoring up the status-quo of the religious elite but leveling the playing field, not calling down judgment on the 'sinners' but rather calling down judgment on the saints!
How can we, by our actions, do this? Is there more than simply living as devoutly as we can and through our personal relationships sharing our faith?
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