Christian Reflection and Prayer

(from Lisa Sharon Harper)

 “Some Nights” by Fun has a rocking military beat.
It’s rowdy. It’s fun. It’s creative. And it starts with
an electric choir of voices singing:

Some nights I stay up cashing in my bad luck
Some nights I call it a draw
Some nights I wish that my lips could build a castle
Some nights I wish they'd just fall off

And here’s the part that blew me away…

But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh, Lord, I'm still not sure what I stand for, oh
What do I stand for? What do I stand for?
Most nights I don't know anymore...
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh,
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh”

Then it breaks into an awesome military beat that
gets you wanting to march through the streets.
“What do I stand for,” cries a generation. “What do
we stand for,” I ask?

Here is my attempt to sing the answer back to our
broken generation. This is what the church stands
for. This is what is worth dying for.

What do we stand for?  What do we stand for?
Most nights … I wonder if we know … anymore, oh!

There was a time when the call was clear.
Wilberforce blew the horn of freedom.
Stopped the slave trade
Dead in its tracks.
But that wasn’t enough—not nearly enough. No!

With an altar call Charles Finney drew
A line in the sand
On one side darkness,
The other side light
He said come get clean
And enter the Kingdom!
And by the way, that means
forsake our slavocracy!

With a booming voice
Sojourner Truth said,
“Ain’t I a Woman?”
Jeering crowds tried to squash her voice
But in the name of Jesus, she stood strong
Shared stories of her slave daze …
And soon tears flowed!
She turned hearts in the north
Then supplied black soldiers—black soldiers
In war, oh!

Then up in the north
After the war
Industry boomed and
People turned into cogs in a wheel
Church pastors stood witness
As steel whips cracked babies’ backs
“Organize,” they cried!
And up came the unions!

That’s what we stood for! That’s what we stood for!
Most nights… I wonder if we know … anymore, oh!

And the church marched on!
Through suffrage and Civil Rights
Vietnam and Afghanistan
No nukes and Great Societies
The church cried…
“Holy, holy, holy, holy, holy is God!”
Oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, whoa, oh, oh,

They said, “Hey, Jesus, whatcha think of this?”
He cried: “Feed the hungry!
Clean the water!
Welcome the strangers in your land!”
He cried: “End poverty!
Make the sick healthy
Set the prisoners free!” Oh!

And I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I see for sure what you stand for, oh
If we die on a hill, then we’ll die for this

That’s what we stand for! That’s what we stand for!

Most nights… I pray … that we’ll know…

On Jan. 1 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of
the Emancipation Proclamation. Our forbearers
stood and died for the reform of our nation — a
reform that made us a more holy, cleaner society.
But we are not finished. The job is not complete.
In this anniversary month, feel free to take these
adapted lyrics, set them to music and sing them
in your church. Perhaps, someone sitting there,
trying to discern how they want to invest their life
will catch the vision. Perhaps the Holy Spirit of
God will whisper to them: “The Gospel is bigger
than you ever imagined … and yes, it is worth
standing for.”

Lisa Sharon Harper is director of mobilizing at
Sojourners.

Scripture:

"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert
mind and a thankful heart."
Colossians 4:2, NLT

Reflection:

Have you ever grown tired of praying for
something or someone? Paul says we
should "devote" ourselves to prayer and be
"watchful" in prayer. Our persistence is an
expression of our faith that God answers
our prayers. Faith shouldn't die if the
answers come slowly, for the delay may
be God's way of working his will in our lives.

When you feel tired of praying, know that
God is present, always listening, always
answering--maybe not in ways you had
hoped, but in ways that he knows are best.

Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby
towns and villages, preaching and announcing the
Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his
twelve disciples with him, along with some women
he had healed and from whom he had cast out evil
spirits.Luke 8:1-2

What an honor, privilege, and opportunity these
women had to walk with Jesus, in the flesh, from
town to town--serving him, experiencing miracles,
witnessing to others, and continuing to learn from
him along the way. But what a scandal! It was
unheard of in first century Jewish culture for women
to be taught by a rabbi. These women were not
necessarily among the elite or influential of their time,
either (see Luke 7:36-50).

But infirmity and transgression know no social
boundaries. Neither did Jesus. He crossed those
barriers. He treated all people equally. By doing so,
he demonstrated their significance to the Kingdom.

These females may have come from diverse
upbringings, but there was still a common thread
that bound them: God valued them. Mary Magdalene
is depicted in Luke 8:2 as having seven demons cast
from her. Yet Jesus took her into his closest circle.
She is reported in Matthew 27 and 28 to have
witnessed his crucifixion and was first to discover his
resurrection. Joanna, who was the wife of one of Herod's
officials, would have lived in extravagant surroundings,
but nevertheless required some type of healing. Susanna
is listed, and we know nothing about her, yet God
redeemed and treasured her as well. These women didnt
wallow in inadequacies and limitations. They realized
they were forgiven much, and they acknowledged their
need and love for a Savior. Jesus accepted these women
just as they were, but he didn't leave them in that condition.
He restored them to health.

Not unlike womens involvement in modern day mission
trips and various spiritual activities, these women arranged
their daily routines and family duties to do whatever was
required to aid in spreading the Good News. They may not
have been in the forefront of Jesus' ministry, but their tireless
work for little recognition is an example we all can follow.
These women remind us that effective service for Christ will
eventually mean more than recognition by others.

Your faithful acts of service may not seem to be noticed.
Or they may be noticed and devalued by others. But
remember what Jesus told the woman whose actions
precede this summary of women's roles: "Your faith has
saved you; go in peace" (Luke 7:50).

(Tyndale House Publishers)