The Message
In the eyes of many, the church has become very political over the past 20 years. Many in society see the church as a political body, working to secure its power in the world. People used to look at the Catholic church in this way in the Middle Ages, when the church owned so much land and was intertwined with emperors, kings, and queens of the day.
It's important for the church to remember its role. The church is certainly called to be involved politically, but political power is never the end. The church is, as Augustine described it, a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. It is a collection of people who have come to realize that the ultimate solution for the sin and brokenness in the world lies not within ourselves, but in Christ, who then empowers us to go into the world carrying the Gospel, which is a light to dark times. The church should go out in such a way as to invite others in. The church should be interwoven into the community, often in small ways. Supporting the sick and caring for the homeless and lifting up the broken in prayer. It's slow work, investments that compound over time as the church supports the entire community.
It is my fervent hope and prayer that the church will continue to be faithful to Christ's calling to tend to the sick and the lost and the poor and the rich and the proud and the broken and everyone else -- and that the church will do so in a gracious and winsome way, clinging to the Truth of the Gospel and patiently and humbly depending on the work of the Holy Spirit to lead us forward.
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