Syncopating, Improvising and Responding to the Call of a Love Supreme (p5)

How do you follow strange fruit?

We must know the answer to that question.  It was Robert Lewis who wrote that, "We could not make sense of the New Testament in particular, or Christianity in general, without its central figure--Jesus Christ.  Christianity is not a philosophy or an ethic, but a person:  Christianity is Christ.  But neither can we make sense of Christ himself without his cross."

Christ was strange fruit indeed as he hung on the cross formed tree.  I was Paul who said, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it was written:  'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."  The cross was a scandal--the ultimate in degradation.  The Romans didn't invent crucifixion but they perfected it through practice.  They had crucified untold thousands of victims but Jesus, as he hung on that tree was different, odd...a strange and better crop.

How do we follow strange fruit?  By becoming strange fruit ourselves.  To be a disciple of Christ is to follow Jesus, even to the cross, for the cross is core to knowing Christ.  The goal is for us to be able to say, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

Comments

[Jenna Lin]

Dear Pastor Robert,

My name is Jenna Lin and I attend Church in the City. I was discussing my passion and urban ministry with one of your church members, Laurie Sampson, and she felt confident that you and many of your members would share in the vision I have. She suggested that I post on your blog and tell you about my ministry. (By the way, thanks for sharing the history bit about Ida Wells; I now want to read about her and read some of her works.) Anyway, I am a mathematician/stay-at-home mom of five and for the past few years I have run a math and science camp at my church. I tired of the traditional basketball camps and music camps we always held for the underprivileged kids. I felt like the Church should play a very large role in improving the education and therefore the welfare of the poor. I felt led to finish Dr. King's and Thurgood Marshall's work - to increase the equality of education in our country, particularly in math and science, so we no longer have the equivalent to the South African apartheid mentality in our schools. The Apartheid made it illegal to teach blacks math and science so they would aspire to little more than to be laborers and farmers for the whites. Our country inspires little and teaches little in math and science to blacks and therefore in general blacks aspire to do little more than to be laborers or sports stars.

Also, once our worship leader said he wanted to take back the arts from the devil and I thought to myself, I want to take back the mathematical sciences from the devil as well. Math and science is God's and they demonstrate His Glory; I want the kids to see that. Well, that is a glimpse of what I do. If you and or your church members would like to learn more and/or are interested in joining my struggle, I would glad to share with you all. Thanks for your audience.