Dear Incarnation,
Perhaps it's the former homeschooler in me, but I feel a certain civic duty to expose my children to historic events (and to great art, beautiful music, and all the birds in the Mid-Atlantic . . . ). So on Monday, I dutifully turned on the presidential inauguration.
As I watched, I thought of those of you who work for the federal government; who love and serve populations impacted the flurry of executive orders; and who help develop and advocate for policies that promote human flourishing. I am so thankful for your service, your sacrifices, your care for the common good, and your faithfulness even as you face an uncertain future. I'm praying for you.
And I'm praying for all of us as we walk through the transitions of the coming days. The temptation to dehumanization, hubris, contempt, and idolatry in our politics is strong. But we must resist it. That is not Jesus' way.
On Tuesdays, our preaching team (me, Katie, Russell, David) meets to read, discuss, and pray about the week's scriptures in preparation for the Sunday sermon. We talk about how these texts are speaking to each of us, as preachers and pastors and unique individuals. We talk about how the texts speak to the events of our world and the needs and hopes of our congregation. I always love these conversations.
This is our gospel passage for Sunday, which we read together yesterday. There are so many echoes of inauguration language in this passage, they hardly need mentioning:
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:14-21)
Many things were said on Monday about the will of God, the identity of his enemies and allies, his purposes in current events, and whose political agenda he endorses. But those are matters beyond our knowledge, at least with any measure of certainty. I am reminded of Augustine's caution against claiming to understand the mind of God:
"We are speaking of God; what marvel, if you do not comprehend? For if you comprehend, he is not God. Be there a pious confession of ignorance, rather than a rash profession of knowledge."
I pray that we would be a community with the humility to make a "pious confession of ignorance" about the mind of God. And at the same time, I pray that we would be a community with the courage to hold fast to what we do know: the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ. As the gospel text makes plain, Jesus alone is the fulfillment of God's promised liberation — not any leader, party, government, or nation.
There is so much we cannot possibly know about the will and ways of God, how he will ultimately make good on his promised renewal of all things. But we can know Jesus. And in all of our not-knowing, we can pray, seek, lament, work, trust, and hope for a fuller revelation of his kingdom in our midst.
One practical area in which many of you are working and praying is immigration. Monday brought many executive orders around immigration, and we do not yet know their impact. I'm so grateful for the steadfast work of our outreach partners who support immigrants at the border (Abara), in our neighborhoods (Casa Chirilagua), and in navigating our legal system (Restoration Immigration Legal Aid) — and to all of you who volunteer and support them.
I recently attended an excellent webinar hosted by RILA on "caring for our immigrant neighbors," which brought to my attention the Community Resources page of their website. This page is being regularly updated with Spanish-language resources to help immigrants navigate the rapidly changing landscape. You may find these resources helpful in passing along to the immigrant neighbors in your own lives.
Finally, I invite you to pray. If you don't know what to pray (I often don't!), our prayer book gives us helpful words that Christians have prayed through the rise and fall of empires over the centuries. At Tuesday midday prayer, Caroline led us in this helpful collect from the "Occasional Prayers" section near the back of the book:
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Amen. I am so grateful for the ways you seek Jesus and his kingdom in your homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods. I am so grateful to be following Jesus together. And I am praying for us all.
Piously ignorant,
Amy
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