Leading or Following: It’s A Point of View
A 2×2 reader sent us an image today. It’s the image that appears here. It had the caption:
Never give up, no matter what.
I, like most viewers, first saw a defenseless pawn, surrounded by the mighty — kings, queens, knights and bishops, protected by a line of pawns just like the one standing alone — each of them vying for a position of power, ready to take the lonely pawn as proof of their might.
The image was one of foreboding no matter what the caption read.
I viewed this image just as I returned from Redeemer’s monthly worship. We still can’t meet in the church our ancestors provided for us. It stands empty. Locked. Paint peeling. Unused for mission—despite all the rhetoric of the mighty who claimed our land. “We are dedicated to Word and Sacrament,” they told people.
Yeah, sure.
It’s been nearly five years. We are still locked out of God’s house by a bishop and a host of followers— all of them willing to forsake the gospel to secure their position by Christ’s or the bishop’s side.
Suddenly, I saw this image differently. What if the pawn was not staring down those who would attack? What if that faceless pawn was actually turned away from the forces bearing down, looking us, the viewers, in the eye? What if the pawn was leading the mighty of the world? What if the mighty—in their designated positions of power— knowingly or unwittingly are following the lowly, the defeated, the undesirable, the scorned.
And suddenly, the world looks a little brighter.
It will soon be Holy Week. Easter is not far behind.
Never give up, no matter what.