Are You Up Yet?<\/a><\/p>\nIn the 5th Chapter of the Luke\u2019s Gospel, we find a particular passage of scripture. \u00a0One in which Jesus is having a very curious conversation with an unlikely collaborator. \u00a0The context in which the text occurs suggests that Jesus has traveled across the sea of Galilee with His disciples for the purpose of releasing a man who is possessed by demons. \u00a0Jesus arrives in the Gadarenes and is met by this beleaguered brother. The demonic influence upon the man has driven him to the point of insanity. The text tells us that he cannot be restrained, so much so that he has not only become a danger to those around him but has also begun to damage himself. \u00a0It is a destructive dilemma, to say the least.<\/p>\n
But in this moment, Jesus does something both peculiar and powerful. As he is confronted with the reckless reality of the demons, with all of the power to exorcise these demons at His disposal, Jesus goes into frank and honest dialogue with the demons. \u00a0Before Jesus heals the man, Jesus has deep discussion with his demons. Before my Savior offers deliverance, Jesus engages in discourse with the devils living deep within this brother.<\/p>\n
I think about this practice as it relates to efforts of equality and practices in progress in the United States today. \u00a0The disorders of this democracy are known all too well. To hear that racism, discrimination, sexism, institutional oppression and a host of other issues plague this province is no surprise to anyone. But for all of the professed commitment to change, there is little, if any, conversation about the realities of these issues. \u00a0The collective cry, across all fronts, is that people want this nation to be better, but in order for there to be meaningful improvement, there must first be frank interlocution. \u00a0If the demons we see around us cannot be confronted in conversation, how we possibly expect there to ever be a conversion?<\/p>\n
If Jesus Christ is the model by which we measure our life standards, then we must be willing to confidently address the demons of this day, just as He did back in His day on the shores of the Galilee. Prophetic communication has been so watered down by political correctness that to be uncompromising in the face of these social demons is often seen as unpatriotic. The purging of this province must start with Christians speaking to the spirits that surround us; even if that speech stretches us to the point of discomfort.<\/p>\n
Our love for our Lord, our desire to live like God, must be at the center of these confabulations. \u00a0We need to be able to say that black lives are not treated and valued in the same way that other lives are in this country \u00a0We need to be able to say that women are passively regarded as a lower class of being in almost every way possible in America. \u00a0We need to be able to say that poverty, war, and fear are all good for business in America. We need to be able to say that \u201cMuslim\u201d & \u201cTerrorist\u201d are not synonyms. \u00a0We need to be able to say that LGBTQ children of God are children of God. Not being able to say these (and others) are all present day demons of our nation. Demons that have gone unaddressed for too long and now are completely unrestrained. Demons that ultimately prompt America to damage herself and others.<\/p>\n
Not only must we who love God and His righteousness be able to say things like this, but Christians who may not be directly affected by these demons (even Christians who may consciously or unconsciously benefit from the work of these demons) must be willing to listen; to hear these statements as necessary and not paranoid ranting.<\/p>\n
When demons aren\u2019t discussed, comedians can be insensitive to the African experience in America and justify it with creative license. \u00a0When demons aren\u2019t discussed, video proof of a murder isn\u2019t enough to garner a conviction. When demons aren\u2019t discussed more time is spent questioning the character of the victim than that of the victimizer. When demons aren\u2019t discussed, ethnicity is devalued in the name of a warped sense of equality. \u00a0When demons aren\u2019t discussed, audacity is confused with integrity and democracy devolves into dictatorship. When demons aren\u2019t discussed, the nation, and all of those who reside in it, are left to become the worst versions of themselves; versions that will, ultimately, consume each other.<\/p>\n
We, as believers, need to begin to have conversations about things that matter. Talks that create the space for transformation the Lord desires for us all. \u00a0If we choose not to, we vacate the word \u201cchange\u201d of all its meaning. \u00a0How much longer can we go on living in a world where demons aren\u2019t discussed?<\/p>\n
Derrick Holmes is a R3 Contributor<\/em><\/p>\nDonate to the Work of R3<\/b><\/p>\n\n
Like the work we do at Rhetoric Race and Religion? Please consider helping us continue to do this work. All donations are tax-deductible through Gifts of Life Ministries\/G\u2019Life Outreach, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, and our fiscal sponsor. Any donation helps. Just click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to support our work.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the 5th Chapter of the Luke\u2019s Gospel, we find a particular passage of scripture. One in which Jesus is having a very curious conversation with an unlikely collaborator. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[910,840,210,30],"class_list":["post-5691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-contributions","tag-demons","tag-derrick-holmes","tag-jesus","tag-racism"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>by Derrick Holmes<\/a><\/p>\n