Category: FaithJustice Blog

Creating Justice out of Chaos

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Creating Justice out of Chaos

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[Sermon, originally titled “Leaping in the Darkness,” given at Trinity Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA on January 10, 2021 – The First Sunday After Epiphany, The Baptism of the Lord Sunday]

“1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good;” 

– Genesis 1-4a (NRSV)

It may have seemed like an instant to God, but it could have been as many as 300,000 years from the time that God said, “Let there be light” to the time that light was able to travel freely in the Universe. Of course, this assumes that God’s commandment was uttered at the time of the big bang, but we really do not know. Creation is typically a matter of theology while the big bang theory is within the study of astrophysics. But if you would permit my progressive mind to harmonize science and theology, we could say that it took 300,000 years from creation to light (when photons could travel freely), 560 million years for the first star to appear, about 1 billion years for the universe to be populated with galaxies and stars, and about 14 billion years, give or take 2,000 for three magi to follow a bright star to where it stopped over the Christ child, on the day we call Epiphany.

A few interesting facts about light… Light is a type of electromagnetic energy, made of tiny photons. Visible light is the segment of the electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can view. Certain types of light are not visible to the human eye, like ultraviolet light. Humans, like all living creatures, produce a small amount of light as a result of chemical reactions within their cells. We are bioluminescent. One could say that we are literally the light of the world.

Thus, it was nothing short of ironic that on the Day of Epiphany this year, Jan 6, 2021, the day of illumination and revelation when we commemorate the light of Christ found by the Magi that we found, our region, indeed our nation plunged into utter darkness. Violent, chaotic darkness caused by insurrectionists who stormed the United States Capitol. Many even waved the banner of Christ, whom we know as “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,” in the words of the Nicene Creed, while they spread darkness and chaos throughout our land. We have seen the images, watched with horror and shock, and wondered how do we emerge from this chaos and darkness.

Creation out of Chaos

Photo Credit: Free-Photoos-242387 from Pixabay, Canva.com

How do we make sense of this during our time of worship? Perhaps it is fitting that the Lectionary readings take us to the story of creation on this first Sunday after Epiphany. Perhaps we need to revisit the creation narrative to learn how we might emerge from the darkness in which we find ourselves.

There are two understandings of creation in Genesis 1. The first is represented by the Latin phrase creatio ex nihilo which means creation out of nothing. In this approach God is believed to have created the world out of nothing. God starts with nothing and creates a world. But another understanding of creation is reflected in the Latin phrase creatio ex materia which literally means creation out of matter, but is more commonly known as the ‘creation out of chaos’ theory. It reflects the belief that at the time of creation, there was matter already present, and God took the dark, formless, chaotic matter and created order out of chaos.

Your understanding depends on how you translate Genesis 1. If you translate it, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” – creation ex nihilo. But many scholars believe that the Hebrew Bible text is more accurately translated as it is written in your bulletin today, “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep….” Matter was there, but it was formless, void, dark. It was chaos. From this dark, chaotic material, God created the heavens and the earth.

What does this have to do with us today? Well, I can’t speak for anyone here but I know personally that today, I need a God who knows how to create order out of chaos. I need the God who took dark, formless, chaotic matter and from that created sunrises and sunsets, mountains and valleys, oceans and streams, redwoods and dogwoods. Because maybe, just maybe, that God can help us take the dark, chaotic material of our present-day existence and create a world that is more loving, more just, more peaceful, more equal, and more beautiful.

What is the chaos? Before I name it, let me acknowledge the limits of this analogy. God never called the darkness bad (as a preacher friend pointed out to me). God called the light good, but God did not call darkness bad. But we are confronting something different. The darkness we have encountered is an evil, chaotic darkness, and sometimes we need to call evil by its name. We have witnessed the chaotic evil named white supremacy, blatant racism, anti-semitism, xenophobia, and obvious racial bias in policing. We have seen the chaotic evil of misinformation, conspiracy theories, racial disparities in healthcare, and a total failure of leadership that has cost far too many lives during the pandemic. All of this combusted last week in a manner that has threatened our very democracy.

Seeing the Image of God in Everyone

Photo credit: Redrecords from Pexels at Canva.com

How do we move from chaos to creation? I can think of two ways. The first answer is found in another aspect of creation narrative. It is reflected in the Latin phrase imago dei which translates the image of God. It reflects the belief, based on Genesis 1, that humanity was created in the image of God. All of us were created in the image of God. Herein lies the rub. This applies to everyone – those who protest against racial injustice and those who perpetuate it, those whose candidate won and those whose candidate lost, those who were charged with crimes, those who were victims of crimes, and those who are prosecuting crime. This may not be what we want to hear, but we cannot lose sight of this if we want to emerge from this darkness. All of us were created in the image of God.

But this is also a challenge. In every situation of darkness, we have a choice, given to us from the beginning, of whether to contribute to chaos or to contribute to creation. Each of us bears the very image of God and free will, and each of us can choose whether to be chaotic or to be creative. Mary Daly, the great feminist theologian, once said, “It is the creative potential itself that is the image of God.” We possess that creative, luminescent, spark of divinity that allows us to take the dark, chaotic materials of our existence and together create a world that is more just, more loving, and more beautiful.

Ask yourself in every situation, am I contributing to chaos or to God’s creation.  On social media, in political discourse, in my family, community, or world – am I choosing chaos or creation. We must persist in our pursuit of justice. We must insist that people be held accountable. And as people of faith, our added responsibility is that our work for justice must be framed by the loving, creative power of people who reflect the imago dei and look for it in everyone we see.

Remembering Our Baptism; Striving for Justice

Photo Credit: Zelenka, Dave. Baptism of Christ, from Art in the Christian Tradition, Vanderbilt Divinity Library. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56385

This brings me to my second point. Not only are we part of a human family created in the image of God, but we are also part of the fellowship of believers. This first Sunday after Epiphany is also the Baptism of the Lord Sunday. On this day we remember our baptism. We remember the words of the baptism covenant to, among other commitments, “persevere in resisting evil,” “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself,” “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.”

The baptismal covenant was first initiated by John the Baptist, who preached a baptism of repentance. I believe we are called to follow the prophetic example of John the Baptist and be willing, if necessary, to be the lone voice of one crying in the wilderness. We may need to boldly speak truth to power, call evil by its name, and call our nation to repentance over what it has allowed to transpire.

When we remember our baptism, we follow the example of Christ and love one another, love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us. These ideals seem difficult even in times of relative calm, but in times of chaos they are even more challenging and even more necessary. As Bishop Michael Curry has eloquently challenged, “Love is the way.” It really is.

These tenets form the building blocks of the principles of nonviolence as seen in Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr., whom we also celebrate this month. In his final book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, Dr. King states, “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” He concludes that book by saying, “We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. . . This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos or community.” I, too, believe in the fierce urgency of now. We must prepare to use the power God has given us to find loving ways to transform chaotic evil into a creative good and to create justice out of chaos.

Leaping in the Darkness

I conclude with a reminder and a hope. This isn’t the first time we meet John the Baptist. We first meet him in the Gospel of Luke when pregnant Mary visits pregnant Elizabeth. The text says, when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. In the darkness, John leaps. In the place of uncertainty and fear, John leaps. In the place of creation, John leaps. As we worship today, more than anything, I hope that you will find a reason to leap in the darkness. Leap as a sign of hope in a God who can take darkness and turn it to light. Leap with the promise of Emanuel, that even in our darkest days, God is with us. Leap in the spirt of my grandmother’s faith, which said that I may not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future and I know who holds my hand. Leap with expectation that it may seem dark today, but there is light that we cannot see with the human eye. Leap because the very God who created light and caused it to persist for billions of years to guide us on our journey, that God is present with us to light our way and to help us create justice out of chaos.

Contemplation and Action For Social Justice

Creative Living FaithJustice Blog Spiritual Growth Vocation+Purpose

Contemplation and Action For Social Justice

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[Note: This post first appeared on the FaithJustice Foundation blog]

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“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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

– Luke 4:18-19

[What can the season of Lent teach us about social justice? This re-post was the first in a series of reflections based on Luke 4:18-19. To find an answer, I believe we can look to these words of Jesus found in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Luke. The text is found immediately following Jesus’ forty days in the desert, the passage most associated with the 40 days of Lent. Jesus uplifts these words, read from the prophet Isaiah, as an introductory statement of his public ministry. In the passage, Jesus speaks words of anointing, of good news, of release from captivity, of recovery from blindness, of freedom from oppression, of favor, hope, and justice. After reading, he proclaims “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”]

The fourth chapter of the Gospel of Luke begins with Jesus, “full of the Holy Spirit… led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”  For six weeks, he spent time in solitude – fasting, praying, and preparing for the work that was ahead. After this period, he returned to Galilee, again “filled with the power of the Spirit” where reports of his ministry spread throughout the country. To introduce his ministry, Jesus enters a synagogue and reads from Isaiah 61, a post-exilic text written during a time of suffering and disenchantment. In Isaiah, the prophet proclaims that he is anointed by the Lord to bring good news to those who are oppressed. Jesus announces that today, this scripture is fulfilled in him. In making this announcement immediately following his time in the wilderness, Jesus offers a master class on the connection between contemplation and action. We who follow Jesus are invited to take note.

Beloved, I have a concern about our social justice activism. I fear that we have come to associate social justice with action only. Our rhetoric that challenges us to “get out of the pews” and “go outside of the four walls of the church” is well intended, but it risks separating the inner spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, and solitude from the outer ones of service and action.* This bifurcation leads to a few unfortunate tendencies.

“Social justice action, when rooted and grounded in contemplation, can be more meaningful, more inspired, and therefore more impactful.”

Firstly, those among us who crave action may lose sight of the self-care offered through contemplative practices. At a time when we have a 24-hour news cycle that depicts injustices meted out daily, our need for rapid responses can result in burnout for social justice advocates. In times like these, a rich inner life can offer balance through prayer, silence, Sabbath-keeping, and mindfulness as opportunities for rest and refreshment. These contemplative practices offer balance that can strengthen us for the long haul needed to create systemic change.

Secondly, we social justice activists prioritize action over inaction; therefore, contemplative practices tend to get lost among those of us who want to just “do something.” However, there are many great spiritual leaders who have taught us that an inner life of contemplation provides a solid foundation for an outer life of action. Our greatest social justice advocates across religious traditions have been a living witness to this, from Mahatma Ghandi to Thich Nhat Hanh and from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Social justice action, when rooted and grounded in contemplation, can be more meaningful, more inspired, and therefore more impactful.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thich Naht Hanh – Their meeting inspired King to take a stand against the Vietnam War.

Thirdly, we tend to categorize discipleship as study while categorizing mission and social justice as service and action. We see these categories in our church ministries and committees. We make this distinction despite the fact that study needs to be a first step in preparing to help the communities and issues for which we want to take action. Sometimes we are ready to take action without adequate information, create slogans but not strategies, join protests without policy demands. As a result, sometimes our help isn’t truly helpful, offering band-aids to communities that need surgery to stop the bleeding. By contrast, a more complete approach recognizes that we need to be disciples/students of social justice in the same way that we are students of prayer, bible study, and other spiritual disciplines. Then we can be prepared to take action that is informed, strategic, and can produce the change we seek.

What if instead of only taking action outside of the church, we are called to also bring social justice into the church? What if we are called to treat social justice as an integral and integrated part of what it means to be disciples, to incorporate social justice in prayer, worship, meditation, as well as study, and then engage in social justice ministry and action? I have said elsewhere that the biblical vision of social justice should be included in any complete and comprehensive discipleship program. This was a major reason for my decision to start the FaithJustice Foundation.

“What if instead of only taking action outside of the church, we are called to also bring social justice into the church?”

The season of Lent offers us the chance to return to the solitude of the wilderness in order to tend to our inner lives, to confront our own demons, to contemplate our calling, to draw deeply from the oasis of the Spirit, to prepare for the work that is ahead. Through the inner life, we are reminded that we have been anointed for a purpose and that preparation is necessary to fulfill that purpose.  The Spirit of the Lord anoints us through an inner life of contemplation that prepares us for an outer life of action.

Blessings,

Rev. Cynthia Johnson-Oliver, JD
Founder and President
FaithJustice Foundation

*My views on contemplative practices and spiritual disciplines have been influenced by the writings of Richard Rohr, Richard Foster, Thich Nhat Hanh, Parker Palmer, and many others.

**To learn more about the FaithJustice Foundation, visit www.faithjusticefoundation.org.

Prophetic Ministry

FaithJustice Blog

Prophetic Ministry

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“But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

– Amos 5:24

 

LorraineMotelThe very moment is preserved in history. The pillows are on the bed, covered with slightly disheveled white sheets and a tan bedspread. Dishes are on a side table, cleaned but returned to their location at the very time. Outside in the adjacent parking spots sits a 1960’s Chevrolet next to a Buick of the same era. A large wreath is above them, hanging on the outside of the balcony. Today, the sign out front reads National Civil Rights Museum. But the original sign is also out front; it reads, “Lorraine Motel.” It is located in Memphis, TN. It is the place where Dr. Martin Luther king lost his life to an assassin.

Recently, my family and I were visiting the city of Memphis during our summer vacation. We were leaving one relative’s home to visit another one, and we decided to stop by the National Civil Rights Museum on the way. We wanted our daughter and our au pair to see this historic site. They have both studied Dr. King to varying degrees, but this visit would provide a visual context to their education.

Our visit led to a discussion about civil rights, including those of the sanitation workers which led Dr. King to Memphis. We discussed his prescient “mountaintop” sermon and the prophetic way that he envisioned a more just world than the one that he and his contemporaries inhabited. A reverent silence filled the car as we acknowledged how different our country is because of his bold efforts and the efforts of countless women and men who have engaged in struggles for freedom and justice.

When I returned to Annandale, I was drawn by the lectionary readings from the prophet Amos. Prophesying during a time of relative prosperity, Amos upbraided the people for their lack of attention to justice for the poor and the oppressed. In the above passage, frequently quoted by Dr. King, Amos declares that God despises festivals and takes no delight in solemn assembles, songs, and melodies if the people neglect justice and continue oppression.

As I considered the words of these two prophets who lived during very different times and places in history, I martin-luther-king21began to ponder the role of prophetic ministry in the church today. I began to ask, is God satisfied with our solemn assemblies, songs, and melodies? Do we neglect justice? Are we willing to boldly stand and speak out, in counter-cultural ways, against the injustices we observe in our society? As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, I wondered, do we need prophets today?

This led to a sermon on prophetic ministry which I delivered at Annandale UMC. Prophetic ministry, both in the Hebrew Bible and throughout history, is ministry that proclaims “thus says the Lord” to contemporary societies, and does so even when it is unpopular. Prophetic ministry “speaks truth to power” and boldly challenges the norm in the faces of kings and commoners, presidents and peoples. Prophetic ministry proclaims good news to the poor, release to the captives, justice for the oppressed, welcome to the stranger, and God’s favor to all humanity.

In my sermon, I made four observations on prophetic ministry:

  1. Prophets typically arise in times of conflict or injustice.
  2. Prophets represent the voice of God
  3. Prophetic speech names injustice and challenges those in power to correct injustice
  4. Prophecy is one of the spiritual gifts, the only one in all of Paul’s lists of gifts

Today, there is still a need for prophetic ministry. Injustice persists in our society, whether poverty, homelessness, mass incarceration, human trafficking, racism, sexism, heterosexism, and many other challenges. God still needs prophets to boldly declare what is right and just and good. As people of faith, we must engage in prophetic ministry until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Reflections on Faith and Justice

FaithJustice Blog

Reflections on Faith and Justice

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“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” – Micah 6:8

CJO transparentWelcome! Thank you for visiting my new blog.

I am excited to share with you my thoughts on matters related to faith and social justice. There are many important issues confronting our society today. Among them are poverty, violence, racism, sexism, homophobia, and many others. These issues are currently being addressed in policies related to voting rights, immigration reform, affordable health care, marriage equality, gun control, gender equity, and other topics being debated in the public sphere.

I believe that it is important; indeed, it is imperative for people of faith to participate in these discussions.  We have a moral imperative to call people of faith to action based on a prophetic tradition that challenges us to care for the poor, seek justice for the oppressed, aid the widow and the orphan, and build communities in which all are welcome at the table.

Thus, we seek to move the discourse beyond the political to the moral, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of our society. It maintains that religious discourse does not belong to one political group or party, but there is a diversity of beliefs and practices. We are called to grapple with the ethical mandates of our religious traditions and determine how best to apply them so that we can do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

I hope that you will join our discussion. I look forward to honest, respectful dialogue that begins at our spiritual center and works outward toward a kingdom of love and justice, toward the Kingdom of God.

 

Blessings,

Cynthia

Thy Kingdom Come

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Thy Kingdom Come

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/jillianaphotography/1236022574/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jillianaphotography/1236022574/

“Thy kingdom come; thy will be

done on earth as it is in heaven”

– Matthew 6:10

Recently, I delivered a sermon titled “Thy Kingdom Come.” It was part of our Name that Sermon series in which worshippers submitted sermon ideas. The request was for a sermon on the kingdom of God. [Click here for sermon audio.]

The synonymous phrases “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven” appear about 100 times in the New Testament, including 68 times in the Gospel of Matthew. The concept of the kingdom of God is a central aspect of Jesus’ ministry and teachings. Jesus exhorts, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In his most famous of sermons, the Sermon on the Mount, he promises “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus even teaches his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The kingdom of God refers to God’s reign in the world as the power behind all that was, is, and is to be.

In the New Testament, however, it becomes clear that Jesus is a different kind of king and God’s kingdom is a different kind of kingdom. This king does not lead with military might, but in meekness, gentleness, and humility. This is a king who comes in, not on a war horse, but on a donkey. Moreover, in the kingdom of God, the smallest seed grows to be the greatest of shrubs. In this kingdom, the stone that the builders rejected becomes the cornerstone. In this kingdom, those who want to be great must be willing to serve.

The kingdom of God is both present and future; it is at hand and it is to come. There is the impression that in the kingdom, God takes what is wrong with the world and makes it right.  In the kingdom, the last will become first and the first will become last. In the kingdom, “let the weak say ‘I am strong;’ let the poor say ‘I am rich.’” The Kingdom of God points to a future in which God’s justice and peace will ultimately prevail. But what do we do until then?

Until then, as followers of Christ, we must live as dual citizens in this world and in the Kingdom of God. We live in various nations subject to their regulatory requirements and societal norms. But we have another king and we are subject to the ethical mandates of another kingdom. Paul says that we are ambassadors for Christ. Our task is to speak, act, and live in ways that cause God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. When we give food to the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, promote equality for the marginalized, and pursue justice for the oppressed, we live in ways that allow God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Then “thy kingdom come” becomes more than a prayer; indeed, it becomes a calling and a way of life.