Who do you say that he is? And how does that change how you live?
Dear friends and members of St. Matt's,
On Monday, the country will celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We describe him in many different ways: spokesperson, leader, activist, minister, and prophet, to name only a few. In the Episcopal Church, we remember him as both pastor and martyr. Pastor is a word we use more often - it tends to refer to someone who leads a church, or someone who is responsible for the spiritual care of souls. Martyr is a different word. A martyr is someone who suffers even unto death instead of renouncing their religion, someone who undergoes suffering because of their belief, someone who's belief is so strong they are willing to give everything for it. It is a powerful word. And it should be.
I've always loved that this day of remembrance and celebration of Dr. King's work falls so close to the feast day the church remembers today - the Confession of St. Peter. In the Gospel for today, Jesus first asks the disciples who the crowds are saying he is. And then Jesus asks the disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter accurately names Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. What's special about this confession of faith is that it is so precise. Peter doesn't hesitate and he doesn't equivocate. We know Peter as someone who is human and often gets it wrong - but in this moment, he is crystal clear. And his ability to see Jesus clearly eventually leads him to see the world around him clearly. As we heard last Sunday, Peter comes to know that God shows no partiality - meaning that there are no boundaries to God's love - not boundaries of race, ethnicity, religious practice, nationhood, or any other difference we invent.
Dr. King's faith is equally as clear. When we listen to him preach (which you can do easily on YouTube!), it's evident that this is a man who knows precisely who Jesus is. And the call to justice, the hunger for change, the urging toward racial justice and reconciliation that we hear in Dr. King's springs from his transformational relationship with Jesus.
On November 4th, 1956, Dr. King delivered a sermon at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In it, he recreates Paul's voice from the Epistles, as if he's writing to American Church in that moment. It’s entitled “Paul’s Letter to American Christians.” Among a great many keen insights and sharp challenges, he says:
"I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world."
For Peter and for Dr. King, this truth is that all people are made in the image of God, all people are deserving of justice, and all of us are called to build a world where everyone is equal. The lives of both men would be defined by their vision of Jesus, their clarity of faith, their refusal to renounce their belief. This defines the life of every believer, everyone who follows the way of Jesus: our ability to see him clearly, and the way that this clarity changes how we live and move and have our being. And for us, it's prominent in our Baptismal Covenant, when we promise to respect the dignity of every human being.
If like me, you benefit from privilege, then I invite you on Monday, to see this remembrance as an invitation to reflection and action. Because while Peter and Dr. King have raised their voices along with the prophets of many generations, calling us to see and work for God's justice, we still have so much work to do. May the building of this justice and our insistence on this equality be part of our religion - a belief we are not willing to yield. May our faith lead us to a place of recognition of the work still to do: to balance the scales, to undo systems of oppression, to root out the sin of racism and white supremacy.
The good news, of which Dr. King reminds us in many places, is that we never have to do this work alone. God is always with us in the midst of the search for justice. And God calls us into communities of faith so that we might build this justice together. In fact, the Episcopal Church in Connecticut has declared this a Season of Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation. Throughout this season, every parish in ECCT is to engage in study, prayer, and specific actions. And as someone who is actively learning and working on this in my own life and formation, I would be glad to be a conversation partner for you, to share resources, to learn together.
On Monday, I invite you, in the name of the Church, to consider what specific actions you will take this year to seek and serve Jesus in your neighbors, work to which all of us are called. And if you, like me, have benefitted from privilege, then I invite you to think with me about what specific things you can do - and we can do - to dismantle racism. How will you listen? How will you learn? How will you act in love to lift the burden of this oppression off the shoulders of our brothers and sisters? Who do you say that he is - and how does that change the way you live in this world? May standing up for God's truth be our deeply held intention, our hopeful desire, our willful insistence.
Faithfully,
--Marissa +
Resources
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s feast day in the church is April 4th. You can read about more about him in our Lesser Feasts and Fasts by clicking here and scrolling to pages 214-216.
The Episcopal Church in Connecticut is in the midst of a Season of Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation. We are working hard to contend with the legacy of racism and privilege among us and to seek after God's justice for all people. For more information and to look at resources for learning, click here.
Curious about Dr. King's preaching? Start with the sermon referenced above by clicking here, or read a transcript of it, here.
Tags: Welcome from the Rector