‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,”
Luke 4:18
Friends,
I wonder, who do you think the poor, captive, blind and oppressed are? Strange question, but an honest one. Who do you think they are?
We asked the same question this week in bible study, and our answers were varied and yet similar. They are us. They are us in how we may feel poor because we lack something in our lives- maybe it's authentic love. They are us in how we may feel captive to something in our lives, maybe it's the unrealistic pressure to be prefect. They are us in how we may feel blind towards a solution for the systems of oppression all around us.
“They are us” is something that is core to who I am, because we hear in Galatians 3:28 that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” We are one- they are us.
This is on my mind this week because of what we saw at Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday January 21, when the Rt. Revd. Mariann Edgar Budde- Bishop of Washington DC- preached a sermon at a traditional post inauguration prayer service that implored the new president to “have mercy” on those who are scared and isolated in their country. At its core, the Bishop was asking- I believe- for us to never forget who they (those people we choose to other or exclude) are. They are us. They are us. And they, like us, deserve mercy, because in God's Mercy there is always enough for everyone.
click here for the full sermon
There is always enough. This, I believe, is the good news we have to share. A phrase we first heard at my induction in September 2023, as you gave me the bible and asked me to grow alongside you as we proclaimed the Gospel of hope and life together. A gospel way of life I know we are living because of all the ways we choose to love, gather, welcome, challenge, support, doubt and question which always makes room for anyone who come through our doors, especially since we don’t have good parking!
Come Sunday to find out more….
Alex+
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