Passwords

In the recent move from Manzanita, OR to Oro Valley, AZ, if I had lost my shoes or my watch or my favorite shirt, life would go on. Not a catastrophe. But, if I lost the little booklet called Password Journal, now that’s a different story. This would be a major event in my life. The journal holds all the top-secret codes and passwords that are meant to provide me with safety and security. Ha! There really was a day, grandchild, when we didn’t have passwords and layers of security to protect us from each other. But that changed when someone found a way to cheat his neighbor, or embezzle from the company. Passwords are necessary inconveniences in an increasingly insecure world.  Even in the days immediately following the resurrection of The Christ, followers were considered dangerous by Roman authorities and were sought out for punishment. Two examples of early Christian “passwords”. If you and I met, in those days, and you wondered if I might be a Jesus Follower, you would take a stick and draw one-half of the Fish symbol on the ground. If I drew the other half, then you would know that I was a brother.  Or, let’s say that you and I met on the street and somewhere in our conversation I would say: ”Jesus is risen” and I would wait for your response. If you replied “He is risen, indeed” I would know I could trust you as a disciple of The Way. I’m very glad we do not live in a society that forces the use of passwords among Christians. But not all cultures are like ours and many, many Christ-followers must worship and live very cautiously. It has been said that the Church was at its strongest when it was under pressure, when it cost something to be a Christian. That was a theme that ran through the teachings of Jesus. But what does it cost us today to follow his way? What sacrifices do I make day by day? The spiritual fervor that Jesus caused and we inherited does not lead to a country club setting but to “password” places where people suffer from injustice and inhumanity. Our calling is to go there with Christ and care for the needs of our neighbor. Anyone who needs is a brother or sister. Even if they don’t know the password.