I am always moved by the poignancy and significance of Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:37-38. Jesus was coming to terms with the reality that his hopeful, life changing message of God’s kingdom on earth was going to be refused by the power structure of his day. One can sense his deep sorrow when he said of the establishment, “[Once again you are going to] kill the prophets and stone those sent to you.”
So it is in every generation. True change agents are brutally treated by those entrenched in power. They will verbally and physically attack and employ any means to silence the voices of change, even if they have to make martyrs out of them. A generation ago it was Martin Luther King. Before that it was Abraham Lincoln and so many others down through history—including Jesus.
Often, as was the case in Jesus’ day, it is the religious establishment that most aggressively opposes progress. I’ll never forget the hostile stance the mostly white conservative Christian circle I was raised in took toward Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. Shame!
The overriding theme of our time is change. It is an echoing crescendo in the public square, the halls of congress, political arena, corporate board rooms and religious circles. You can feel it everywhere. There is growing discontent with the status quo. Something is going on that I haven’t felt since the peace and civil rights movements of the ‘60’s.
Tragically, those movements faltered and ran aground because of the loss of key leaders and the infighting, rebellion, hedonism and violence that filled the vacuum. They fell far short of their ideals. In the aftermath our nation plunged into decades of scandal and greed that have diminished us as a nation.
Once again, young people and change minded folks of all ages are rising up and saying to the entrenched powers, “We want a better world than you have given us. Your old policies of the past have failed.” And, once again, the establishment is ready to destroy any serious voice of change.
Many of us are praying for societal transformation. I am convinced God is in the process of answering our prayer. Let us continue to pray that the leaders of change are kept safe and given the full chance to be heard. Some of them are sent from God.
