Speakers’ Corner

“That utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:19-20).

We lived in London, England from 1992 to 1995, and during that time we visited “Speakers’ Corner” multiple times.  Speakers’ Corner is located on the north-east corner of Hyde Park in London and was originally a spot for public execution by hanging, and a place where the convicted could speak their “last words”.  It was established in 1872 as an act of parliament for the demonstration of free speech.  It is recorded that many historical figures have spoken using the platform; figures such as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and George Orwell spoke freely of their beliefs and philosophies.  

According to the Royal Parks website, “By the 1930s ‘soapbox’ orators were to be found in marketplaces, street corners and parks across the country.  Of the estimated one hundred speaking places found weekly in London between 1855 and 1939, Speakers’ Corner is the last to survive.” 

The speakers who choose to address the wandering crowds on any particular Sunday do so because they have deep and determined convictions on a given subject.  Speakers are allowed to talk about any subject, as long as the police consider the speeches lawful, and the speaker is lifted off the British soil by a box or make-shift structure.  

I found my afternoons well-spent observing the display of conviction that takes place each week in this corner of Hyde Park.  Surely, for Christians to be a spectator at such a place demands our own examination of the boldness with which we are willing to share our treasured gospel message.  One thing is without doubt, people with conviction about any subject are moved with the desire to convert and convict others.  It was not important to me really what philosophy was being addressed, what was of interest to me was the boldness and unwavering focus of each speaker, even among jeers and insults from the crowds.

Often, during these days in Hyde Park, I would think of Paul on Mars Hill, in Athens, Greece.  As he approached the philosophers and academics who did nothing but think of new ideas and contemplate new ways to think and learn.  

Acts 17:16-17 tells us that while Paul anxiously waited for Silas and Timothy to join him in Athens, “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.  Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.”  Later, when those who heard him teach brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?  For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean,” Paul stands in the midst of the Athenians and foreigners to proclaim what would seem a strange and arguable truth.  With confidence and conviction, Paul will provide these people, for the first time in their lives, the ability to know the one true and living God.  While it is clear, Paul would prefer to be somewhere else or at least have others with him, he is able to speak truth simply because he has it, and they do not.  The truth has nothing to do with him, his ability, or even his own knowledge; it is just about sharing his treasure with others who have not had access to it.  Isn’t that why we speak boldly?  Isn’t that what the sharing of the gospel message is all about.  

So, what drives the courage, desire, and commitment to proclaim belief?  We are told that Paul’s “spirit was provoked within him” when he observed the emptiness of the religious state in Athens.  Paul understood the one they desired to know – the UNKNOWN GOD was not unknown to him at all.  “Therefore” he actively spoke with boldness, sharing the treasures of his confidence, lest he deny others of what he, by grace, had been given.  

Here is the good news for us, lest we begin to think of ourselves as failures because we are not on a street corner.  I like to think of the sermon in Matthew 5-7 as my great commission for this very principle in my life.  Jesus tells us what his true disciples will need to do to teach others of Him, to speak and live with boldness for others to see Him in us:  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt 5: 13-16).

You see, salt preserves and impacts slowly and consistently, but no doubt boldly, by simply being what it is.  A light is boldly exposed by its very nature when it encounters darkness.  The disciples of Christ will proclaim with boldness what they believe - on a street corner, at a dinner table, in a brief encounter with a neighbor, in their daily words and actions that others see and hear.  Just as Paul and those on their soapboxes - sharing, teaching, and proclaiming truth comes from the deep stirrings of the heart.  

We proclaim daily the things we know and love.  Whether in words or actions, our lives boldly reflect what we believe, sometimes even when we are unaware of what others are hearing and seeing.  We speak boldly with words and actions about politics, nutrition, sports, hobbies, children, our work.  Jesus tells us that His disciples will impact with great influence the lives of those around them, as salt and light.  We are then encouraged not to hide our light under a basket, but to let it shine, in words and deeds to proclaim boldly the great and glorious gospel message of the UNKNOWN GOD and His Son.  Unfortunately, this type of boldness will not ensure that we escape the jeers, heckling, and opposition of others that the speakers in Hyde Park encounter.  In fact, opposition can inflict more pain coming from those close to us; our families, those we teach, those we work and go to school with.  Therefore, our spirits must be “stirred within us” as our light responds to darkness and our salt impacts and preserves.