Anonymous

I.        Vows of Affirmation

“We devote our daily life to God, and to serving our neighbors as images of God”

5. I will daily seek to do good for someone without reward or recognition.

Heard about guerilla goodness, anonymous or random acts of kindness, paying-it-forward?  People voluntarily giving up their right to be recognized, to be thanked, to be pleased with themselves, to receive some kind of gain from their good actions? Most Western economic thinkers who trust the “invisible hand” of self-interest see giving it up as unlikely human behavior—and they are right. Yet this is exactly what Christ calls his followers to and models the same himself.  One of the earliest Christian confessions about Jesus, Philippians 2:6-11, makes clear that he gave up his right to gain from his privileged status and obedient actions—willing to suffer for doing good rather than receiving his deserved reward for it!

God’s ironic way left Jesus with far more reward and recognition than if he had initially demanded what he deserved for his status and good works, “regarding equality with God as something to be exploited.” Jesus gave up his privilege and rights for recognition and suffered for doing good, but in the end “God highly exalted him” because of it.

The Messiah’s Revolution

III.    Vows of Nonviolent Witness

“We pledge to act in allegiance to God alone, and to resist injustice with goodness”

Paul Speaking Before Agrippa

12. I will be subject to civil authorities, unless they command actions which are unjust or protect injustice, or if they violate common human dignity.

This is a slippery vow to reflect on. Not being a political theologian, I danced around having to write something for this. I come from a Christian religious tradition historically wary of close Christian relationships to—much less involvement in—the civil governing authorities (enigmatically labeled “the State” in much contemporary theologizing).

As a called-out people (dwelling in the United States of America) commissioned by God in Jesus to self-emptying, nonviolent service to the least-of-these, how do we faithfully relate to civil systems and laws and even individual leaders? Especially ones who demand the right of our country to assassinate its own citizens abroad, that propagate poverty among already-disadvantaged economic classes, that create giant profit out of incarcerating (and not rehabilitating) a massive prison population, that call for enforced racial profiling against our darker-skinned migrant brothers and sisters?  “Be subject to governing authorities.” Really, Paul? “Accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors.” That’s not what I wanted to hear, Peter!

An Elemental Offering

 I.        Vow of Affirmation

“We devote our daily life to God, and to serving our neighbors as images of God:”

1. I will daily offer my life to God with reverence and a living faith; I will daily pray to be used as a servant by God for the good of my neighbors near and far.

(Photo by justin tippins via Flickr)

During the opening to Lent, we may sound like a recording from the first week of the New Year: “I resolve to eat less and healthier, to be a nicer person, to turn this resolution into a new habit.” How many of us really make it through more than a few weeks of our resolutions? But the commitments we make at the beginning of Lent are of a different nature. Unlike most New Year’s resolutions, Lenten vows are made as a covenant between us and our God (and hopefully our faith community). The focus shifts toward serving God and others more than just our own self-improvement.  And rightly focused, God—more than our human initiative and willpower—becomes the source of our resolve and strength to carry out our Lenten vows.