Powers, Principalities and Drivers Licenses

Mix the following ingredients:
  • The Word Before the Powers by Charles L. Campbell
  • The Propers for Pentecost
  • The Newspaper

Throw in some imagination and deliver a sermon which accomplishes the following: 1) names or reveals the work of the powers; (2) urges resistance to the powers' works; and (3) describes a community practice we might embrace to challenge the powers' works.

Here is my thinking thus far (feel free to provide feedback if you are so inspired - I have until May 20th):

TEXT: "When it was evening . . . and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' . . . 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you.'" (John 20:19-23)

Names/Reveals the Work of the Powers: Homeland Security (i.e., Anti-Immigration)

“The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief, 2005” (a.k.a. H.R. 1268) became Public Law 109-13. This law which authorized an additional $82 billion in spending for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan and ongoing tsunami relief efforts in Asia, also contains within it a section called the Real ID Act of 2005. This is the latest piece of legislation that, in the interest of “homeland security” increases the challenges faced by those seeking asylum in the U.S. and tightening border security.

Urges Resistance to the Powers' Work:

"When it was evening. . . and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’”

Though the disciples wanted to protect themselves, to close their doors against the perceived enemies outside, Jesus was able to enter the house. Jesus passed through the locked door and offered a greeting of peace. Jesus broke through the boundary and declared,

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

As Jesus’ demonstrated his willingness and ability to break-through an artificial boundary – a locked door; so we are called to break through the artificial boundaries of our world – to move outside of our comfortable house to be with those on the other side of the locked door.

Describes a Community Practice We Might Embrace to Challenge the Powers' Work:

June 20th as World Refugee Day

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