From Common Prayer, we are reminded of the sacrifices of many who stood for their faith. One such ordinary radical was Jan Hus (1372-1415)

“Jan Hus was born in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). He helped launch a vigorous reform of the church in a particularly difficult time in our history known as the Great Schism. Amid highly politicized divisions of God’s people, Hus pursued a mystical and evangelical approach, insisting that Christ alone is head of the church. To partisans on both sides, his views seemed idealistic at best, and at worst a dreamy anarchism or heresy. Hus maintained a creative loyalty to the church while challenging its pathologies. He was burned at the stake during the Council of Constance in 1415, and his death helped give birth to the Moravian Church. As he died, he said this: “It is better to die well than to live wickedly…Truth conquers all things.”

If you changed some dates and some locations, much of what we read could be taking place today. We are in a time where real factual truth has suffered tremendously. We take jabs at the media and their coverage, we seek news outlets which catered to our own views. The church is going through an upheaval as it seems to be losing relevance in the world around us.

What ways are we allowing Jesus to be the head of our lives, directing our speech and actions? Jan Hus was willing to die to speak the truth of what Jesus’ way meant for the church universal. How critical is truth telling for us today? If we embodied the spirit of Jan Hus, what would we be protesting, calling for changes, looking for ways to bring the truth to bear in our world?

In John 8: 31-32 we read, “So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” What is the truth according to Jesus? The truth is God created all that is, and God loves all God created. In other words, there is no one who God does not love. How is it we can treat others as if they aren’t loved by God? We may not always like them, but we are called to love them, just like God loves us. That my friends, is a truth worth dying for.

“Mother Teresa once said, “Our vocation is to belong to Jesus so completely that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. What you and I must do is nothing less than putting our love for Christ into practice. The important thing is not how much we accomplish, but how much love we put into our deeds every day. That is the measure of our love for God.”

“Lord, we are bound to you by grace, grafted into your kingdom by love. Since the beginning of time you have found ways to be present with us, your children. Teach us to embody your loving presence in all that we do this day.

Amen.”

Your fellow traveler on the Way,

Pastor Tom