http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3026245.ece
In protest against the cruel dictatorship of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Anglican Archbishop of York, Dr. John Sentamu, has publicly cut into pieces his clerical collar, refusing to wear it again until the tyrant is deposed. His reasoning: Mugabe, with his murderous policies has cut the identity of his people into pieces; because a clergyman’s identity is symbolized by his collar, the Archbishop will not wear one until the crisis ends. This action on the part of the Archbishop, placing himself in solidarity with the oppressed people of Zimbabwe, is far more than political. It is prophetic. It is indicative of the sort of call to justice and freedom the world should expect from the followers of Jesus.
During Advent in particular we recognize that the world is shrouded in darkness, that the Light of Christ has not yet dispelled the shadow of death. We who have received that light are to revile the darkness, announcing that its sway is indeed temporary, will be subject at last to the dawning Light. Christ has come, you see, and Christ is coming again. In the meantime we are called to prophetic protest against the forces of spiritual wickedness still in operation around us. We are to take on the breastplate of righteousness and belt of truth (Isaiah 11, Ephesians 6) on behalf of those who are victims of wickedness or held in the grip of deceit. We are not to vaunt ourselves as superior to those who are perpetrators of sin, but to humble ourselves in identification with those who are its victims. Is this not the posture taught us in the example of our Lord?
We are not all of us Archbishops, able to take international stands against the most powerful of the world’s perpetrators, are we? But we are all of us players within certain spheres of influence. We are all of us members of families, employees, friends, citizens. How is Christ calling us to witness to the temporary nature of the surrounding darkness in prophetic hope of the Kingdom to come? How are we called to respond to the tyranny of evil present in the lives of those around us? How are we to identify with the oppressed?
One important step in becoming disciples is to recognize the extent to which we all have given ourselves over to the lies of the enemy as they have been presented to us in the events of our lives, the culture in which we have been raised, in the sinful patterns of our lives in resistance to Christ. Recognition of these lies is a gift of God’s grace that happens by the help of the Holy Spirit. As we reject the lies we have held to, the Spirit is able to present the truth that is in Jesus. We are able to live out of the truth rather than in response to the lies. Christians are not sanctified by their efforts to change their lifestyles; this is a crucial point to grasp if we are to avoid arrogance and self-righteousness in the Church. Christians become able to live holy lives because they are being set free from the tyranny of selfishness and sin and deceit. They live out truth because their hearts are experiencing ahead of time the Christian hope for all the world: Christ reigns over everything, deposing every dictator in order to establish righteousness, freedom, and peace. Whether the dictators of darkness are set over nations or over individual hearts, the people of God must testify to the coming Kingdom of Jesus to liberate, to save.
The Archbishop of York has cut up his collar. To what gestures of prophetic protest are WE being called?
