Jesus gathered his “People of the Way” (Acts 9:2) and began
teaching them what’s called the Sermon on the Plain.
The sermon taught what one should do to live the lifestyle
of his followers: Love your enemies; Don’t Judge others.
While this seemed like a basic biblically grounded code for
living, the world of the People of the Way” lived in violent, evil,
circumstances of a structured society.
Justice was unfairly carried out, as Jesus’ trial and
crucifixion indicate.
This is 2025 and we live in a violent world different only
from the forms of evil around us.
How, then, can we seriously practice what Jesus taught about
resisting the evils around us?
Resisting evil is not something one does alone
The life-code given by Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, is spoken
to a group; the People of the Way.
This group is intended to care for each other as they carry
out Jesus’ life-code while resisting evil.
A contemporary example for Methodists is John Wesley’s
“classes” formed for mutual support while attempting to renew the Anglican church.
In 2025 as we continue to resist the social and unjust evils
around us, living as contemporary People of the Way must include gathering for
worship and prayer.
During this time of gathering for mutual support, we receive
support from others, empowering us to face the evils around us once more.
As someone said to me: gathering for worship and prayer is renewing my spiritual batteries for the coming week.
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