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writing for godot

Powers and Principalities

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Written by Bishop Andrew Gentry   
Tuesday, 17 May 2011 04:58


Beloved Friends,

If someone came up to you and said "my dear sir or madam we are at war" what would you think? Would you think he or she was referring to the war in Iraq or Afghanistan or would you think of the war on terror? What if you said to the person which war were they referring to and their response was "it aint against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities!" Then what would you think? The quote is from Ephesians and it is in Elizabethan English and it came to my mind when I thought of the struggles of the poor and the oppressed, the marginalized and excluded, the immigrant and the minority, the ostracized and the excluded, the worker and the student, the sick and the elderly and the powerless and ignored of this world. We do not in fact "fight" against people ultimately but against the evil that they do and the systems they represent.

Another aspect of this Scripture is that it speaks of "spiritual wickedness in high places" and do we not see the reality of this in the abuse scandal in the Roman Church and the refusal of those in power to admit that there is something fundamentally wrong in the institution that they guard so jealously in the Name of God! Do we not see such "spiritual wickedness" in the extravagant wealth of the churches or in the exclusionary and judgmental attitudes of those in positions of leadership who defend the status quo again in the Name of God! This is not the sole property of institutional religion however one only has to look at the secrecy and evil done by governments and nations.

When we think of the ramifications of this passage it is so clear why we have the conflicts in our society between Love and Hate and Goodness and Evil. It is the reason that we are castigated and ostracized and condemned and excluded when we challenge such principalities and spiritual wickedness.

As children of God we are first and foremost citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. We have an unbelievable freedom to be who and what God is calling us to be. We do not need the approval of structures and committees nor do we require or seek the approval of those in power whether that be civil or religious. We are bound to and by and with the Beatitudes and the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ and if we are faithful to that, which is the Great Commission, we need not fear the day or resist the night.

Peace
Bishop Andrew Gentry
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