{"id":6077,"date":"2017-01-10T08:22:11","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T13:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=6077"},"modified":"2017-01-03T15:06:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-03T20:06:00","slug":"january-15-2017-come-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/january-15-2017-come-see\/","title":{"rendered":"January 15, 2017–Come and See…an Extremist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jesus, compassionate Savior, send your Holy Spirit upon us to open our eyes and hearts to you and your love and grace.\u00a0 May we see God the creator through you and serve you with joy.\u00a0 By your power let us be lights to the nations inviting all we meet to come and see you and there to find acceptance, forgiveness and hope.\u00a0 We ask this in your most holy name.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n

Dennis Sepper, Burnsville, MN
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Warm-up Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who do you see when you look at Jesus?\u00a0 What words or titles do you use to describe Jesus?<\/p>\n

Come and See…an Extremist?
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April 16, 1963\u2014Today is the Commemoration day of Martin Luther King, Jr on the Lutheran calendar (for the entire calendar see pages 15-17 in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship<\/em> hymnal).\u00a0 Tomorrow is a national holiday and our country pauses to remember the life, work and words of Dr. King who fought against race segregation and for civil rights and the dignity of African Americans and all people.\u00a0 Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.<\/p>\n

However, in 1963 Martin Luther King was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama for leading a non-violent protest against the direct order of city officials.\u00a0 While in jail, King learned that many people, including pastors, had labeled him an \u201cextremist\u201d for defying the authority of government representatives.\u00a0 In response to that label, on April 16, 1963, King wrote a letter to those pastors and the quote below (edited a bit for space) became famous.\u00a0 Dr. King wrote:<\/p>\n

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like am ever-flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.” So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?<\/p>\n

Labels and titles matter.\u00a0 They reveal what others see in us and how we see ourselves in the world.\u00a0 They also reveal what we see in others.\u00a0 There are a number of labels and titles for Jesus in today\u2019s Scripture readings.<\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n