The Word of God Is Not Chained!

Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:8-9 – “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.” (NRSVue)

We talk a lot about freedom in our country. We seek to be ever more free, whether it is to do something positive or be free from something negative. We honor those who fight for our freedoms. In our country, we enjoy a freedom of conscience and a freedom of religion. Rarely do we feel chained by society because of our faith.

Now, as Christians we do not live in countries like North Korea or Afghanistan where Christianity is outlawed or heavily suppressed. But I still feel like we are in chains. I do not want to join the band wagon that thinks that Christians are the ones really oppressed in our society, but the truth is that the influence of Christianity, especially outside of regions where evangelical Christianity is dominant, is waning. There is less we can do to help our communities, and increasingly congregations focus on their own survival more than living out the word of God.

I certainly worry about what the future of my denomination and others like it will be. But one thing I do not worry about is the future of Christianity as an idea. And that is because even if Christians are silenced actively by oppressive governments or implicitly by a secular society, the truth of the word of God persists.

The Second Letter to Timothy was written during a time of oppression for Christians, where they were seen as blasphemers by their fellow Jews and dangerous radicals by the Roman authorities. The apostle Paul and many of his successors were often thrown into prison for preaching. Some prisoners were held under house arrest, while others were held in chains awaiting flogging or execution. Yet despite all the effort to silence them, Paul and the others never wavered in their faith that the Holy Spirit would bring the truth of Christ into the world in some form or another.

Let’s imagine a scenario where most of our congregations close. Will Christianity disappear? No! People will still thirst for a spiritual connection that is more than just the ethic that reduces people to individual consumers, or worse, products themselves. People will seek a connection to God and will discover the ancient traditions of the Church that are more than just a history of their worst accomplishments. People seeking the God of love, justice, and mercy will want to band together to share their lives and work in faith together. Isn’t that the church? Now, this may not be in million-dollar edifices of stone and stained glass, but the Spirit will be with them. Much of their easy social status will be gone. They will be chained, if you will, by a lack of opportunity, but the word of God will never be chained, for God’s will is always greater.

This is not a scenario that I think will come to pass. But if we let go of the fear that it will, we can better feel the stirrings of the Spirit and live out the calling that Jesus gives to us all.

Prayer: God, silence my fears and free me from my chains, visible and invisible, so I may love as you love. Amen.