Beloveds, last Sunday we meditated on the “Beatitudes” of Jesus and I have not been able to forget the fact that Jesus was preparing his disciples to be called names and insulted and rejected when they will do what Jesus was preparing them to do -- to feed the hungry, to care for the needy, to tend to the sick, to speak against the injustices of the empire and to stand with the least, the last, and the forgotten.
Beloved -- as disciples of Jesus Christ in this day and age -- we too are called to stand with the marginalized and the powerless -- even when the system works against us, we are called to support the voiceless even when it means speaking alone, we are called to stand on the side of love even if it means we lose some of our friends.
All the activists who have gone ahead of us have prepared the way for us to not be afraid but to continue the work of justice -- knowing that the road will not easy and the path filled with obstacles.
I am also thinking of it as we prepare for the upcoming General Conference. There are so many plans that are out there -- but many are working towards maintaining the status quo. The plans are presented in ways that seem helpful and hopeful. But looking closely we can see they are just fluffy words.
The newest plan called the Protocol came out today. I invite you to read and ask questions -- and let us have conversations about them so we as Broadway can be fully informed and make educated decisions about our future. I will be calling all-church meetings soon about our future. In the meantime feel free to ask me questions and have conversations with me.
Beloved, Broadway has a reputation of standing up for justice. We will continue to do so in faith. Let us follow Jesus and remember that there are always struggles on the path of justice.
I hope to see you at church, and I pray that God will give all of us the strength we need for each day to do the work that we are called to do. And remember, I am always your partner in justice.
