When We’re Accused Being “Too Woke”

I once heard Dr. James Forbes preach on the Luke 15 parables: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, and The Parable of the Prodigal Son. He reminded us which character was God in these parables:

• In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, God’s the shepherd.
• In the Parable of the Prodigal, God’s the father.
• And in the Parable of the Lost Coin, God’s the woman.

“Maybe you don’t believe that women are created in God’s image, or you don’t believe that God calls women to ministry, or you don’t believe that the Bible includes female imagery of God,” Forbes said. “I’m not going to argue about that with you today. You can take that up with Jesus.”

Preachers everywhere are being accused of being “too woke” today when we proclaim God’s Word about caring for the poor, the imprisoned, the stranger, the lonely, the sick. Well – to quote Dr. Forbes – I’m not going to argue about that with you. You can take it up with Jesus.”

“Liberal Preachers” who are criticized for lifting up the blessings of being meek, merciful and peacemaking, can take that up with Jesus. When “liberal preacher” Bishop Mariann Budde asked the President to consider mercy for the vulnerable on January 21st, she faced subsequent death threats. She was quoting Jesus when she preached those words.

Nevertheless, there are some Christian leaders who claim that:

Woke Christianity isn’t Christianity at all. It’s a fake version of Christianity that denies or misuses the Word of God in favor of making sure no one gets their feelings hurt.

Actually the Gospel of Jesus is not about hurt feelings. It’s about the fulfillment of God’s Word:

(Jesus) unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
     to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
     to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

If we don’t believe that Jesus himself was and is about justice, compassion and mercy for the vulnerable, we can take it up with Jesus.

Image of the pulpit in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. designed under the direction of British architect W. D. Caroe. This was the pulpit where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached his last sermon in a church sanctuary.