
Grace & peace to you, my siblings in Christ!
This week has been a stressful one for so many of us and for so many reasons. There are "stomach bugs" and other viruses running rampant. Friends and family face difficult diagnoses. A lot are losing sleep as the watch changes, so to speak.
And ministry has been cast into the spotlight.
Earlier this week, one of my colleagues preached a sermon on unity, touching on many of Jesus's own key teachings, along with what all humans seek in their lives - dignity, love, flourishing, and peace. The interfaith service called all in attendance to prayer for one another and our nation. And the right reverend invited us to have mercy for the marginalized.
None of this is partisan. Having life to the fullest and protecting our vulnerable neighbors are both within the creeds of every major faith and a part of our nation's founding principles.
And yet, recalling the central tenants of Jesus has caused offense to many.
Why?
Because Jesus is offensive. He was scandalous and shocking even in his own time and to his own people. Loving our enemies and saying that those who do not care for the last and the least will be thrown into the fire are not easy teachings, however simple they may be.
In the midst of the bloodthirsty cries for vengeance, there are several important reflections that come to mind.
First, our congregation is one who has decided to affirm and hold up the teachings of Jesus as a Matthew 25 congregation. To quote Jesus from this late period in the gospel story, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory... all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats... And he will say to them, I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me...Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these siblings of mine, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:31-46). To be a Matthew 25 congregation affirms our special calling to build congregational vitality, to dismantle structural racism, and to eradicate systemic poverty - all things Christ has called us repeatedly to do.
As a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), we hold to Confessions & Creeds from throughout history, when faithful people have codified how they felt Scripture speaking to their own life and world. Two in particular come to mind.
The first is the Theological Declaration of Barmen, adopted in 1934 in Barmen, Germany by the Lutheran, Reformed, United and Free churches. Many people who signed the document lost teaching positions and pulpits, a few even their lives. However, they still strongly stated, "Precisely because we want to be and to remain faithful to our various Confessions, we may not keep silent, since we believe that we have been given a common message to utter in a time of common need and temptation. We commend to God what this may mean for the interrelations of the Confessional churches. In view of the errors of the “German Christians” of the present Reich Church government which are devastating the church and are also thereby breaking up the unity of the German Evangelical Church, we confess the following truths..." and they went on to affirm that there no source for our proclamation except Jesus Christ, the only true and perfect Word of God.
The second creed that comes to the fore is the Belhar Confession, adopted in 1986 by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa, in response to those churches that upheld the unholy and abominable practice of apartheid. In it we affirm, "We believe that God has revealed God's self as the one who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people; that God supports the downtrodden, protects the stranger, helps orphans and widows and blocks the path of the ungodly. We believe that the church must therefore stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which implies, among other things, that the church must witness against and strive against any form of injustice, so that justice may roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." For reference, this will be a part of our Affirmation of Faith this weekend in worship.
And just as the Confessions drip with the sweet honey of Scripture, so the final thought overflows with God's truest self. In the gospel of Luke, when a lawyer tries to trick Jesus by questioning him about the heart of the Law, Christ tells a parable that scandalized his listeners. In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus speaks of how the priest and the ruling priest (insiders in the truest sense) both intentionally ignore their neighbor in need of help. It is the Samaritan, a dirty foreigner, who actually helps their fellow child of God. And the lawyer from the beginning is so embarrassed that he cannot even name the helper. Only a simple and general designator is given in response.
We, who would follow Christ, are claimed as God's own and commanded to do everything in our power to tangibly have mercy for our neighbors. Tenaciously seek justice and equity for all our fellow humans. To advocate for the afflicted and marginalized. To show love with radical and reckless abandon, as I say every Sunday. For that is how much God has loved us - and the whole world.
Blessings,
Rev. Janie
Comments