Words matter.
Words set a tone.
Words create a lens through which we receive the world, the
truth, our reality.
Words matter.
So right now, when I hear many people telling me that it
isn’t important what the President says or that it is just rhetoric or that we
need to assess our political leaders simply by how much money we are able to
keep in our pockets, I cannot remain silent.
Oh, I would like to.
And frankly, I am not really sure how to respond and react to what is
unfolding on our national scene. There have been so many words. Words spoken at
a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. And Words left unspoken. Words
declaring that one can simply grab a woman because one is a celebrity. Words
slinging horrible slurs about our neighbors in Mexico. Words continue to pour forth
that malign and misrepresent our brothers and sisters and words that declare
somehow we are better and more worthy simply because we are white and we are
American.
All these words have left my head spinning and my heart
broken. But what I feel certain about today is that to remain silent is to be
complicit with the evil that has been unleashed.
Because it is evil. Words matter. And we know from past experiences that when
we remain silent in the face of evil, when we shrug it off because it doesn’t
personally inhibit or impinge on my personal life, the very deep darkness of
humanity rises to the top.
When Nathanael asks: What good can come out of Galilee? He is
implying that Galileeans have no worth or value when it comes to the work of
God, the expectations of the Messiah.
But then, because of his relationships, his connections with John the
Baptist and Simon and Andrew and Philip, Nathanael encounters Jesus and
Nathanael’s understanding is snapped into focus. His worldview shifts. And he
believes. And then follows.
Because what comes out of Galilee is the Body of
Christ. Yeshua. Jesus who saves by establishing
relationships, by being present and making connections. Jesus whose entire
ministry is about building bridges between people, deeply listening, healing
through restoring the marginalized back into the community. The very work we
are called to do. Called to do with all
people and in all situations.
And beloved, when we do this work of connecting and building
bridges between all people and in all situations---like the work that is
happening here within the Beloved Community between our two churches, the work
that is happening as we engage in relationship building through our Extending
the Table ministry at Franciscans Downtown, the work that is happening as we
invite people to come and see, as we encounter folks who need someone to
listen, to care, to share their time and resources---as we hear and see God
moving and join in God’s work, then the heavens are opened and the angels of
God ascend and descend on the Son of Man.
This work is the light of God shining into the darkness of
our world. The light that dispels evil in our midst.
Evil is any force that works against God’s truth and God’s
movement. Implying that any human, Haitian, African, El Salvadoran or
otherwise, that any human is somehow inherently unworthy or without value is
evil. Because God’s truth is that all of Creation is very good.
This evil must be denied by the People of the Light. White supremacy and racism have no place in
God’s Kingdom. And as citizens of God’s Kingdom, as members of the Beloved
Community, we are called to do more than disagree with these words. We are to
do more than be bothered by them. We are to vanquish them.
By following Jesus. And building relationships. And like
Jesus, intentionally building relationships with those on the edges: economic,
social, health, status and vulnerable edges.
Restoring and reconnecting all people to unity with God and one another
in Christ.
For we know what comes out of Galilee. We know what comes
out of Haiti, out of Africa, out of El Salvador. Our brothers and sisters. The
living, breathing Body of Christ. The Beloved People of God.
