Status Quo

First thing this morning, I settled in to read my two devotional books that I mentioned in an earlier post. As I sat there, sipping my iced tea, I was struck by two things: the individuals, both the authors and the subjects, fought against the status quo; and they probably were (or are) lonely. In All Saints, Nicolai Berdyaev was exiled from both his country and his church for his stance against both communism and capitalism. I also read two essays in The Impossible Will Take a Little While: "Come September" by Arundhati Roy and "The Clan of One-Breasted Women" by Terry Tempest Williams. Roy railed against political systems and the cycle of violence in this world. Williams shared the sorrow of breast cancer caused by nuclear testing in Utah - how her family and many others were struck by this devastating disease and how the government was protected by the ancient legal doctrine of sovereign immunity: "The King can do no wrong."

Sometimes I feel like Cassandra, crying truths to all who will listen, knowing the words fall on deaf ears. I feel lonely in the fight against global devastation, social injustice, rampant consumerism....It certainly doesn't make me popular and sometimes I wonder if it's really worth the effort. But this morning, I was reminded of a very important truth: Jesus fought the status quo. The Pharisees and Sadducees were "the man," the ruling class, the status quo. And he let them know when they were wrong, knowing he would pay the ultimate sacrifice for it. He wasn't trying to win a popularity contest and he wasn't afraid of offending when it was necessary. I'll try to remember this as I go about my life, speaking out against things I believe are wrong. I'll also remind myself that is really is worth the effort.