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Week 8: Thriving in Exile
As we progress into the blessed journey of exile, it is important to remember that the kenotic (self-giving) church is well, alive, and thriving today--especially in areas of the world that promote the church's physical exile through persecution.
Whether the church of Jesus Christ is under the thumb of communistic atheism or being oppressed by an Islamic theocracy, kenotic forms of ministry are invited daily during the exile of persecution.
Likewise, as we become better acquainted with a life of exile, we too will find daily opportunities to live within the kenotic ministry of Jesus.
Below you will find two recent stories from the Middle East. They have been carefully selected among many experiences. I have chosen them because one is the organized work of the church and the other is a spontaneous gospel opportunity of an individual and family.
In exile, God uses both our organized life and spontaneous opportunities to spread the hope we share in Jesus Christ.
May these stories of transformation, self-giving, and love help us all be more faithful within our current and coming exile.
Refuges of Hope
It is no secret that Syria is in chaos. The regular bloodshed born in the strife between the Assad regime and the people has grown as the months pass by. Currently the death toll is approaching 100,000 people and the number of Syrians who have fled their homeland to the relative safety of nearby countries has almost reached half a million people.
Jordan, just to the south of Syria, is one of the countries that has been forced to receive both legal and illegal Syrian refugees. The vast numbers of displaced people is so great that in recent days, Jordan has spoken very clearly to the UN regarding how unsustainable the situation is.
While the Jordanian government officially does its best, and while there are mosques who seek to help the refugees, the needs of the people can not be met. More tragically, the refugees are often taken advantage of. This is especially true for the young and beautiful Syrian woman who find themselves in a foreign land.
Echoes of Ruth and Naomi reverberate in the streets of Jordan. However, there is not always a Boaz to look after the vulnerable. Imagine Ruth loosing her husband to death, leaving her homeland because of turmoil, and then being regularly abused while trying to seek refuge.
The reality is hard to conceptualize.
It is within this context, that Jordanian Christians organize, visit, take food, and provide care to both Muslim and Christian Syrians.
These displaced people are caught up in so much turmoil that they have little sense of safety and they are willing to cross social boundaries out of desperation.
I recall one Syrian family that I had the pleasure to bring food to and to spend time with. This particular family had lost most of their men to fighting, and as they left their homeland, the few men who remained alive, stayed to fight.
When we stood up to leave after our time together, the matriarch asked us to pray to Isa (Jesus) that he might bring hope and peace to her family.
These days, this occurrence is so regular that a Christian leader in Amman was recently asked by a Muslim refugee, "Does your God teach you to love me?" The leader's response was, "God loves you, and teaches me to do the same." The Syrian man replied, "You are truly a man who obeys."
The regular kenotic self-giving of Christians in Jordan to their world is an invitation they find even while they are being persecuted in varying degree.
Justice: From the Gates of the City to the Lord's Table
In 2011, Shauna and I were part of a team who visited, encouraged, and worshiped with Christians in Iraq. Among the towns we visited was Al Cush, the historical home of Nahum.
There, a layman named Thacker looks after local Christians in the area. Christians gather in his home to pray, sing, read the scriptures, and build one another up.
In the corner of Thacker's home is an arsenal of guns for protection.
Being in Thacker's home was like watching a movie that parodied the old west. Thacker's home held great warmth and friendship. Yet there was also a sense that Thacker would shoot any threat without pause, still holding his smile, and moving instantly on to the task at hand.
In 2012, Thacker's home was robbed in the middle of the night and his wife was held at knife point.
Some how Thacker defused the situation and no one was harmed.
When the police asked Thacker if he wanted to press charges, he refused, not wanting to add to the shame of those who violated his most precious loved ones. The police therefore sequestered the town so that the thieves could kiss the feet of his wife, who was once held in the thieves' captivity.
Knowing that this action would be a great loss of honor, Thacker and his family instead insisted on using the opportunity to share the hope and love of Jesus with the town.
That morning, as the town gathered to witness the thieves be humiliated, Thacker stopped the ceremony and invited the entire town to his house for breakfast.
Thacker, his family, and his church, are now know in Al Cush as people of God's love.
In the Middle East, as it was in Biblical times, justice is often carried out in the gates of the city. However, in Al Cush, the justice of the Gospel was carried out while the town broke bread together and gave thanks in Thacker's home.
Wrestling with God
Beloved, these are mere examples of life-giving kenosis; a daily opportunity when God's church is in exile. On the other hand, when the Church is the powerhouse, we are often blind, deaf, and dumb to those beyond our walls. In power, we often hid from the world and the Great Commission. In exile, hiding is futile.
Therefore, let us thank God together for exile, its purpose, and its blessings.
- Praying through the Matthew 5:1-16, ask God to offer you a heart of thanksgiving, and a faith full of wisdom. What opportunities does God want you to see today? What can you imagine God's call will be on your life and the church in 10 years?
Peace,
Matt Skolnik
Holy Habits
God gives us over to the world so that we may impact the world with God's forgiveness, grace, life, and relationship.
Gather your church's leadership team and invite 3 to 5 people who have served God over-seas or outside of their immediate geographical context.
Ask these men and women to share how they have seen God at work through the organized life of the church and through the spontaneous actions of Christians.
Bring a piece of 4x8 foot plywood and make a graffiti wall of God's mark on the world--as seen in these stories.
Leave a space on the graffiti wall blank and regularly pray for God to provide you and your church with an opportunity to share God's love for the world in a new way.
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