Alex Zuber–Harrisonburg, VA

Warm-up Question

How do you respond to authority figures?  What does authority mean to you?

Chaos and Authority

On January 20th, 2021, Joseph R. Biden Jr. became the 46th President of the United States and Kamala D. Harris became the first ever woman, black woman, and woman of South Asian descent to be Vice President of the United States.  Inauguration Day is central to the peaceful transition of power in the US and showcases the authority to lead the nation.  In the midst of this historic day, a powerful voice rose above the rest, as Amanda Gorman became the youngest poet laureate to share her work at a presidential inauguration. 

In her poem Ms. Gorman reflected powerfully on the stark juxtaposition of this inauguration day and the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol just two weeks prior.  She said, “We will not march back to what was / but move to what shall be /A country that is bruised but whole, / benevolent but bold, / fierce and free / We will not be turned around / or interrupted by intimidation / because we know our inaction and inertia / will be the inheritance of the next generation / Our blunders become their burdens / But one thing is certain: / If we merge mercy with might, / and might with right, / then love becomes our legacy / and change our children’s birthright”

Ms. Gorman reminded us that we have witnessed the chaos of January 6th transformed into the authority of January 20th.  It was a powerful transformation, and if we hope to avoid again descending into chaos, authority must be rooted in mercy, goodness, and love.  We are moving past the pain of January 6th, but there is still work to do if we truly wish love to be our legacy.  This hopeful future hangs in the balance between chaos and authority.

Discussion Questions

• Who are authority figures in your life whom you trust?  Why do you trust them?
• Have you seen examples when chaos overcame authority?  Why did authority fail? 
• How do you think people of faith are meant to respond to chaos in our world?

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Mark 1:21-28

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus enters the temple to teach.  He teaches with authority in a way that amazes the people.  But what is the source of Christ’s authority?  What  about his teaching is so incredible to his hearers?

Before we get an answer, a man suddenly appears who has been afflicted with an unclean spirit; in other places in scripture it is called a demon.  In many other places in the gospels we see that unclean spirits and demons are chaotic forces, driving a deep separation between people and their communities, seeking to dominate and destroy.  They are powerful forces, but seem to tremble in the presence of Christ.  This demon attempts to establish its chaotic power over Jesus by calling him by name—an ancient way of gaining power over another—but calmly and firmly Jesus casts the demon out of the man.

It is a dramatic scene, and the people once again rejoice at this “new teaching—with authority!”  But the heart of this story is in the foundation of Christ’s authority.  His authority is not found in being the biggest, baddest, most powerful force of all.  His authority is found in humility and mercy.  Christ sides with meek and humble humans, overwhelmed and cut-off from their community.  Jesus’ power lies in humility and his work is in restoration.  His merciful reign is not about asserting dominance, but about creating hope and restoration.  He is the redeemer of the people, subservient even to death on a cross, and it is this humility which  topples even the greatest evil forces.

There are plenty of demons in our world.  Seemingly insurmountable forces of demonic division like racism, white-supremacy, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and transphobia, seek to gain power over us each day and divide us from one another.  But through our baptisms we are one body with Christ. God makes us the priesthood of all believers.  Christ’s authority is rooted in hope, mercy, truth, and equity; in response to the grace we have received through Christ, God sends us out as disciples to work for these things.  Through our baptisms, we renounce the demons of our time and build up the Kingdom of God.  Christ shows us that we won’t defeat these forces through coercive power, but through his authority, rooted in his humility and love.  Through God’s grace, we’ve received the promise that this struggle is already won.

Discussion Questions

• Have you experienced “unclean spirits” or demons, i.e., forces which seek to divide, isolate, and diminish through chaos?
• What are ways we can take up Christ’s authority to resist the demons of our day?
• What kind of world would it be if all persons with authority took seriously the call to love, mercy, humility, and equity?  Is this world possible?

Activity Suggestions

• Read through the news this week.  Where do you see demons?  Where do you see the powerful dividing rather than working for equity?  Pray over these divisions and talk with a friend about the ways that you might work for peace.
• Visit the ELCA Advocacy, ELCA World Hunger, and Global Church blogs on the ELCA website to look for ways we are working together against injustice today.
• Read over the Baptismal Covenant (pg. 237 in ELW) and discuss with a friend what it means to live into these promises.

Closing Prayer

God of reconciliation, where unclean spirits still seek division, you knit us together into one body of believers through grace and mercy.  Send us out with the authority of your Son to work for justice, equity, and reconciliation in his name.  Amen.

 

By Ruth Ivory-Moore, ELCA Program Director for Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility

President Biden’s decision to re-join the Paris Agreement cannot be overstated in its importance for the United States and internationally. The detrimental effects of climate change resulting from global warming impact every corner of the world, impacting all sectors, putting a strain on existing social, environmental, health and economic systems, and negatively impacting sustainable development in every country.

“Instead of being stewards who care for the long-term wellbeing of creation, we confess that we have depleted non-renewable resources, eroded topsoil, and polluted the air, ground, and water. Without appropriate environmental care, economic growth cannot be sustained” from the ELCA social statement Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All (p. 15).

In Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice, the ELCA social statement reads, “We of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are deeply concerned about the environment, locally and globally, as members of this church and as members of society” (p.1). The following shares some background about what the Paris Agreement (Agreement) involves. While the language of the document uses references like “civil society” and “NGOs,” it means “all hands on deck.” People of faith and our congregations and communities are invested in caring for creation, and we will demonstrate our concern locally as well as in policy advocacy to face changes needed to confront the trends bringing us to this climate crisis which our nation and world must address. “We see the despoiling of the environment as nothing less than the degradation of God’s gracious gift of creation” the statement continues (p. 2).

 

Aims of the Paris Agreement

The Agreement is a product of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). For the first time in 2015, all nations came together “to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries… As such, it charts a new course in the global climate effort.” The Agreement strengthens the collective global effort to keep the global warming temperature below 2oC above pre-industrial levels. Global warming is causing significant environmental degradation. Climate change impacts lead to more severe and frequent weather patterns and melting ice caps resulting in sea level rise to increased flooding.

The Agreement aims for all countries to make commitments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation), financial resources, reporting, and review to increase its commitment (ambition) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning the world economies to zero carbonization by 2050 is paramount under the Agreement and is essential for sustainable development. But as recent as 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) commissioned by the UNFCCC found that the temperature needs to be 1.5°C or lower through its research.

The year 2020 was to be a time under the Agreement when the U.S., along with other countries of the world, raised ambition to address climate change. That is, each country should have been increasing its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But instead, the U.S. found itself withdrawing from this vital pledge.

 

Sustainable development aims

Sustainable development cannot occur until a transition to a net-zero carbon economy is a reality. The IPCC reported that “limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.” Specifically, “Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) would need to fall by about 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching ‘net zero’ around 2050.” This transition requires financial mechanisms and innovation in all sectors.

For example, measures should be in place to address energy efficiency in buildings in all businesses and nonprofits and in residential facilities in addition to all equipment and appliances. This is one of the places our congregations can demonstrate mindfulness of the ripples of our decisions in the bigger picture. Implementing energy efficiency measures can help a congregation reduce its operating expenses as well as improve sustainability.

For new construction, state and local governments should adopt construction codes that adhere to stringent energy codes. There should be a national just transition program that allows individual states and localities to develop their implementation plan to reach net-zero by 2050 without leaving anyone behind. The federal government should spur the transition to renewable energy by continuing with tax incentives. Congress should pass comprehensive infrastructure legislation that improves, revamps, and constructs new (where needed) electric transmission, distribution, and storage, providing for the necessary integration with state and local officials’ inclusion. Rural America must be included, focusing on broadband accessibility, and identifying agriculture sustainability. The incorporation of nature-based solutions is crucial.

 

A special responsibility

Human capital and participation are essential for reaching real sustainability. There must be urgent and assertive action by all to eradicate any barriers to participation, including but not limited to biases, whether race, gender, generational, or disability. Policy development must include diversity in participants and in disciplines such as impacted persons, lawmakers, civil society, and corporations, to name a few. Provisions and procedures must ensure that civil, environmental, and human rights are protected. Additionally, the U.S. must re-engage in the climate action process at home and globally. President Biden’s decision right after taking office to re-join the Agreement was a crucial step. The U.S. must be at the table leading and working alongside our international neighbors, for we are all interconnected and must be part of the solution.

The challenges are daunting. But we have inspiration, commitment and creativity. “God’s command to have dominion and subdue the earth is not a license to dominate and exploit. Human dominion (Genesis 1:28; Psalm 8), a special responsibility, should reflect God’s way of ruling as a shepherd king who takes the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7), wearing a crown of thorns” (p. 2-3).

“With the start of the 117th Congress and a new administration, and as the devastating COVID-19 pandemic influences our lives and shapes our concerns, we face pressing need for national policy action. Yet even with changes, as Christians in the world our engagement is consistently shaped by our love of one another as God loves us.

‘Over time Lutherans have learned that energetic civic engagement is part of their baptismal vocation, both as individuals and through the church’s corporate witness. Such civic participation is not simply voluntary, idealistic, or altruistic. The ELCA holds to the biblical idea that God calls God’s people to be active citizens and to ensure that everyone benefits from the good of government (Jeremiah 29:7, Romans 13:1-7).’ from the ELCA social message on “Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy”

“Presented here are federal policy priorities for ELCA advocacy activity in 2021. As our nation and world face unprecedented challenges, we expect the first part of 2021 to be a flurry of legislative and regulatory activity. In this arena, Lutherans will express our commitment to addressing heightened hunger, climate changes, poverty, economic hardship and racial and gender disparities in the U.S. and globally. We look forward to working with the new administration in promoting unity and healing in our country. And we look forward to working together as your ELCA advocacy staff and in a network of engaged people of faith.”

– the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Director of ELCA Advocacy

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2021 ELCA FEDERAL POLICY PRIORITIES

In the ELCA we believe that, through baptism, God is calling us into the world to serve together. Shaped by the ELCA’s social teaching documents and the experiences of its congregations, ministries and partners, we advocate to end world hunger and stand up for policies that create opportunities to overcome poverty, promote peace and dignity, preserve God’s creation and promote racial and gender justice.

You will find ELCA faith-based advocates building relationships with policy makers, taking joint action with values-sharing issue partners, writing letters, making public comments, talking with neighbors, asking questions in town hall meetings — listening, learning, educating and visibly and skillfully asserting policy considerations guided by faith foundations.

In addition to faith-based advocacy organized by local congregations and synods, by Lutheran state public policy offices and by Lutheran Office for World Community representation to the United Nations (UN), the ELCA is active in Washington, D.C. Following are policy priorities on the federal horizon for 2021 (also available as printable pdf).

DOMESTIC POLICY | DOMESTIC POLICY: HOUSING | ENVIRONMENT POLICY | INTERNATIONAL POLICY | MIGRATION POLICY | MIDDLE EAST POLICY | CIVIC ENGAGEMENT | GETTING INVOLVED

 

DOMESTIC POLICY

Hunger and poverty – Urge nutrition investments in COVID-19 legislation and address racial and ethnic disparities in food insecurity nationwide. Restore, protect and adequately fund child nutrition programs, ensure access to paid family and sick leave, and advocate to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for low-income families. Urge increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour so that working families can meet basic and fundamental needs.
Criminal justice reform – Address racial bias in criminal legal and carceral systems by promoting fairer sentencing; and support restorative reentry programs in our communities through federal and state funding and reforms. End mass incarceration, address racial bias in criminal legal and carceral systems, promote fairer sentencing and support restorative reentry programs in our communities through federal and state funding and reforms.
Civil and human rights – Safeguard and promote protections for communities who face barriers, unjust treatment, violence or inequalities on the basis of race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation or class. Support action to address historic injustices, including a Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans and a Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policy.
Healthcare – Expand healthcare access to poor- and low-income families and remove race-based barriers to healthcare for communities of color to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Monitor and engage with policy response to opioid addiction and COVID-19 public health crises, including equitable access to vaccines that doesn’t replicate systemic racism and other cultural inequity.

• • GROUNDING – ELCA social teaching resources include the social statements Caring for Health: Our Shared Endeavor, Freed In Christ: Race, Ethnicity and Culture and The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries.

 

DOMESTIC POLICY: HOUSING

Budget concerns – Increase shelter, housing and development budget resources with a special focus on rural development, HIV/AIDS housing assistance, and affordable housing for seniors.
Infrastructure – Advocate in anticipated infrastructure overhaul planning inclusion of low-income household considerations and housing development.
Fair housing and civil rights – Reverse implementation of harmful regulation policies that enable racial and gender discrimination and promote policies that further address disparities in access to safe housing.
Disaster response – Improve federal programs that manage community rebuilding after natural disasters and uplift recommendations of impacted churches and ELCA ministries in public policy consideration.

• GROUNDING – ELCA social teaching resources include the social message “Homelessness: A Renewal of Commitment” and the social statement Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All.

 

ENVIRONMENT POLICY

Creation care – Advance policies geared toward bridging ideological divides while addressing the impacts of environmental degradation. Advocate for comprehensive energy, greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and adaptation legislation for reaching carbon neutrality.
Climate and environmental justice – Promote policies addressing the interconnectivity of environmental, economic and social issues that advance strategies for remedying historic and eliminating future systemic biases and injustices impacting vulnerable communities.
Sustainability – Advance policies and legislation calling for a better quality of life today without shortchanging future generations. Incorporate build back better principles associated with environmentally caused disasters. Promote best practices in rural and urban communities and agriculture sustainability. Advocate for climate finance and migration policies, infrastructure upgrades and development choices providing thriving energy choices and smart technologies.

• • GROUNDING – ELCA social teaching resources include the social statements Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice and Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity and Culture.

 

INTERNATIONAL POLICY

Foreign assistance – Include budget funds and appropriations for international development, humanitarian and health programs, including international COVID-19 relief and vaccine access, and encourage efficient and effective program implementation of U.S. aid for our global siblings. Expand debt relief and encourage investment in human needs.
Conflict prevention/peacebuilding – Promote critical investment in civilian conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities, and support prohibition of U.S. arms sales and oppose proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Gender justice and human rights protections – Advocate for policies that promote gender justice and rights-based implementation of international programs to meet the needs of women, girls, and other marginalized populations.

• GROUNDING – ELCA social teaching resources include the social statement For Peace in God’s World and social message “Human Rights.”

 

MIGRATION POLICY

Rights of migrants and refugees – Advocate for an immigration system that prioritizes human rights, justice, family unity and reunification. Promote access to domestic programs, as well universal COVID-19 relief and vaccines. Strengthen Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and temporary protected status (TPS), in addition to pathways for gaining permanent legal status and citizenship.
Enforcement and detention – Advocate for immigration detention and enforcement reforms and support community-based alternatives to detention. Denounce the militarization of the border and externalization of policies that exacerbate the risks and discrimination faced by migrants.
Asylum and refugee systems – Reverse regulations that prevent those fleeing violence and persecution access to protection. Strengthen protections for migrants at high risk of violence and trafficking. Advocate for restoring and rebuilding the United States’ historic leadership in refugee resettlement.
Foreign policy and climate threats – Insist that trade, development and disaster-recovery projects proceed with meaningful consultation with affected communities. Coordinate with local stakeholders on climate resiliency strategies to address climate migration.

• GROUNDING – ELCA social teaching resources include the social messages “Immigration” and “Gender-based Violence” and sanctuary denomination action of the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

 

MIDDLE EAST POLICY

Inclusive approach – Ensure that all parties to the Israeli-Palestinian are respected and included in negotiations towards a just and lasting peace based on international law. This means reengaging with the Palestinian Authority, allowing for a reopening of Palestinian representative offices in the United States as well as the U.S. Consulate in East Jerusalem and ensuring unimpeded access to consular services for Palestinians.
Settlements – Restate the U.S. position that settlements are illegal under international law, halt further Israeli settlement construction Clarify that U.S. policy does not recognize illegal Israeli settlements. Impose consequences on the Israeli government for future settlement activities it authorizes or undertakes.
Humanitarian actors – End politicization of humanitarian aid. Resume funding to the Palestinian Authority, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and other UN and humanitarian actors working in the West Bank and Gaza. Work with Congressional leaders and the Administration to ensure funds appropriated for humanitarian programs in the West Bank and Gaza (e.g., Augusta Victoria Hospital) are obligated.
Ensure accountability – Hold the Government of Israel accountable for use of military assistance that violates the human rights of Palestinians, such as the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, the detention of Palestinian children in military prisons, the violent repression of peaceful protestors, and demolitions of Palestinian homes and communities. Calls will be made for ensuring that no U.S. funding to Israel is used for these purposes. Call for re-evaluation of military aid to the Middle East region which does not need to be more heavily militarized. Urge an end to punitive visa bans, family entry bans, and asset freezes on select officials of the International Criminal Court. Stop similar actions against those participating in investigations of Israeli government practices that deny human rights.
Occupied territories – Reiterate the U.S. position that the occupied territories are subject to international law and are not recognized as parts of Israel. Reverse U.S. government policy which recognizes Israel’s annexation of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights and occupied East Jerusalem and has supported Israeli annexation of significant portions of the West Bank. Establish policy to ensure that products made in Israeli settlements and industrial zones in the occupied territories cannot be labeled, “Made in Israel.”
Freedom to speak and act – Make clear that criticism of the Government of Israel, including support for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions actions, is constitutionally protected and legitimate speech. Oppose anti-Semitism as well as efforts to conflate it with prohibitions on speech critical of Israel and other actions making it illegal to speak in support boycotts, divestment and sanctions.
Other regional issues – Support efforts to respond to other regional issues, e.g., ensure humanitarian aid to Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen and stop the war in Yemen. Support the U.S. rejoining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, the Permanent Five UN Security Council Member States, Germany and the European Union.

• GROUNDING – ELCA Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine (2005) and subsequent Churchwide Assembly actions; ELCA social teaching resources include the social statement For Peace in God’s World and social message “Human Rights.”

 

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Dialogue in the public sphere – Raise awareness of presence and priorities of houses of worship and social ministries situated in every congressional district and county across our nation wherein Lutherans are free to serve with and for our neighbors in vibrant civic life.
Election security and voter access reforms – Uphold pressing voting rights and share civic engagement tools such as holding registration drives, aware of historic and contemporary voter suppression in electoral process participation.

• GROUNDING – ELCA social teaching resources include the social message “Government and Civic Engagement: Discipleship in a Democracy” and social statement Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective.

 

How can you get involved?

Become part of the ELCA Advocacy network at ELCA.org/advocacy/signup! You will receive monthly updates on policy activity and be invited to take action at moments when your voice and experience will have an impact. Middle East policy information and networking is available from ELCA.org/peacenotwalls.

Find resources for your advocacy efforts at ELCA.org/resources/advocacy and a community with which to engage on social media at @ELCAadvocacy. Together we endeavor to live into our baptismal covenant to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.

 

By Taina Diaz-Reyes, ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow*

Paul, as described in Acts 21, arrived in Jerusalem to some strong responses. Buoyed by a crowd incensed by rumors that he was encouraging Jews to no longer observe Jewish law, a Roman tribune arrested and interrogated Paul to determine his crime. Following the Jewish law was central to the life of those identifying as God’s chosen people, and this man was accused of overturning the practices and covenant of their ancestors. (I probably would have been similarly roused. In fact, as I learned more about the history and present-day legacy of colonialism among communities with which I identify, I was roused – but I digress.)

We’ve heard a lot of rhetoric about our laws recently – from politicians, from pulpits, and most recently, from angry mobs of people rallying around a cry to hold fast as a country to tradition or law and order. The Constitution, the source document from which the laws of the U.S. came to be, is considered by many to be the ancestral heritage of the U.S. To many it’s what makes this country unique, and identity as “Americans” is marked by adherence to following law. As in Paul’s day, it becomes a problem now too when someone is accused of attempting to disregard the law for their own purposes.

But what was Paul doing, if not what he was accused of?

 

A moment of confusion

TEXT Acts 22:1-16 – I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’ (v. 10)…

Acts 22 is known today as the account of Paul’s conversion. He was in Jerusalem because he had been given explicit instructions described to go (v. 10) and to do (v. 16). He attempted to convey this to the angry crowd, saying he lived “according to our ancestral law” (v. 3), saying it was as precious to him as it was them. He had dedicated his life to the law, to tradition, to persecuting those who sought to preclude the law with a new Way (v.4). Jesus, when addressing Paul on the road, anticipated the uproar when Paul testified to his encounter on the road.

When Paul tells of his conversion, he’s been confronted with his sins. Like many in the crowd, pre-conversion Saul had used the law and tradition to persecute and oppress others (even though many had heard of Jesus’ making an entire speech in Matthew 25 about how any treatment of the oppressed and marginalized among us is done as though it were being done to Jesus Himself… again, I digress). He asks Jesus, “What am I to do, Lord?”

The interesting thing about what Jesus says? He doesn’t tell Paul anything. He just says to go.

“What am I to do, Lord?” is a question we must ask ourselves daily. It is a question I ask about my work in advocacy. The response is always the same: Go.

 

Going it alone

After his encounter with Jesus, Paul tells us, “those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus” (v. 11). Like Paul, we need accompaniment in our mission. The task of pursuing God’s call on our lives as believers is a charge made possible by the indispensable resource of community. As we “go,” we do not journey alone. In the work of advocacy, we do not labor for justice alone. The work of advocacy is a journey to join God in restoring all things to Godself. The work is urgent, as we strive to ensure the needs of those made vulnerable to suffering are met.

 

A refreshed beginning

As it was with Jesus’s, Paul’s baptism (v. 16) marks him as a member of the Christian community and as at the beginning of his work. And as it was with Paul, our baptism marks us as members of the Christian community and the beginning of our work. As Lutherans, our commitment to advocacy comes in response to our baptismal covenant, just as Paul’s faith and mission were confirmed by his baptism (v. 16).

Paul was forgiven his sins of persecution in order to be proactive in his commitment to Christian community and faith. We must repent of the sins in which we unknowingly (and sometimes knowingly) participate. Judgment. Discrimination. Apathy. Inaction.

Forgiveness leads us to repent of our sins and move forward in faith. A recent example of repentance is the commitment to anti-racism that individuals and organizations have made to turn away from discrimination and become proactive in using anti-racist language, behavior, etc. To repent of racism is to live out anti-racism.

 

Timeless and timely advice

Ananias tells Paul, “And now, why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name” (v. 16). Ananias’ words to Paul reinforce what Jesus said to Paul on the road: get up and get moving – why do you delay?

And it is a sending I take with me, along with you, in advocacy action.

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* This New Year Devotional Series has been composed by the three ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellows serving in 2020-2021. “The ministry of ELCA World Hunger involves young adult engagement in conversations and formulating solutions to this systemic and universal obstacle to physical and spiritual well-being. Hunger is one of the key issues we must address as a church, for injustice and inequity are consistent themes across our local and global food systems. One way to address hunger and ensure young adult involvement in the ELCA and in World Hunger’s faith-based work is by funding the Hunger Advocacy Fellowship (HAF) position, a year-long contract position designed to cultivate the leadership of individuals looking to halt the expanding reach of hunger through advocacy,” describes Taina Diaz-Reyes, Hunger Advocacy Fellow in D.C.

Taina Diaz-Reyes‘ placement is with the ELCA advocacy staff in Washington, D.C. She says: “I am a ‘Lutheracostal’ originally from Tucson, Ariz. but raised in the D.C. area. It was here I was exposed to the power of protest and political movements present in the city over the course of my youth. I graduated from the George Washington University with a BA in Geography and Sustainability, then completed the MDiv/MA in Sustainability dual degree program at Wake Forest University in December 2019. My personal and professional interests lie in the food-climate-policy nexus and the theological frameworks that help Christians determine points of action for racial equity, food security, climate justice and decolonization. My hope is to gain skills that will help me advance the pursuit of food justice via theologically-informed advocacy.”

Heather Hansen, San Antonio, TX

Warm-up Question

When have you had success getting someone to change their mind, selling them something, or convincing them of a new concept.  What helped you do it?

Inviting Not Selling

Relevant Magazine online recently reported a list of 11 statistics that paint a striking picture of US consumerism.  Here are a few of the 11, but to find the whole list, you can use this link:

1.  Nearly 40% of food in America goes to waste.

2. Nearly half the world’s toys are in America.

3. The average American household has more than $7,500 in consumer debt while the median household

income in the global population is just over $9,700 (as of 2013, according to Gallup).

In a 2008 video called “The Virtue of Kindness,”  one of the narrators shares a statistic which remains fairly unchanged 12 years later:  The US is 6% of the world’s population and we use about 23% of the world’s resources.

Just coming out of the Christmas season, how do you feel about consumerism?  Has Christmas become primarily a consumer cultural?  Is it hard to stay focused amidst all the advertisements and marketing?  I noticed this year that many commercials are about treating yourself, or at least treating yourself after you treat others.  But isn’t giving someone a gift at Christmas supposed to be a meaningful show of love, like God’s gift of Jesus to us or the wisemen’s gifts to Jesus?

In 2018, the top 200 advertisers spent a collective $163,000,000,000 on marketing, according to businessinsider.com.  Yes, you read that right.  One-hundred-sixty-three BILLION dollars on marketing in ONE year.  It’s no wonder we are such consumers.  We are bombarded with verbal and visual ads everywhere we look— social media, TV, radio, billboards, and print.  Consider what we could do with billions of dollars to care for the poor, the sick, or the stranger.  We could develop better care and programs for the mentally ill or persons with disabilities, or boost education…the list goes on and on.

Because of our consumer culture, it’s not surprising that many people look at participation in a faith community or church the same way:

-Which church fits MY needs or the needs of my family?

-Which church has a coffee bar?

-Does my church worship at a time that I would like to worship, or should I find a new one that does?

-We are “church shopping.”

Of course, none of these things are necessarily bad.   But how can we also make sure we aren’t merely “consuming” faith too?  How can we be sure that our churches are not “selling us” an experience, rather than inviting us to be disciples?  What does it mean to be a disciple?  How do WE invite others into a relationship with God and with our neighbors without manipulation or a sales pitch?  Because ultimately, Jesus isn’t for sale, and neither are our relationships.

Discussion Questions

• Based on these statistics, how do you feel about consumerism in America?
• Given what Jesus says in Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” what is God teaching us about consumerism?
• When is going to church a faith practice and when is it consuming?  In other words, how is participating in a faith community or church more than just filling satisfying our wants.  Is there a difference between what we want and what we truly need?  Is that difference important?

Third Sunday after Epiphany

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Mark 1:14-20

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

In Mark 1:14-20, Jesus calls and gathers his first disciples.   Jesus tells these men, who are fishermen by trade, that he will make them “fishers of men,” or in other words, “fishers of people.”  It seems like a relatively straightforward deal; I call you to follow me, and you call others to follow me (meaning Jesus).  We use this story as a reference to how God wants us to invite and welcome people into our communities of faith.  We use this story to understand part of the work of being a disciple of Christ.

However, isn’t it a little more complicated than what we hear in the gospel?  Jesus walks up to these fishermen, calls out, “Follow me.”  They lay down their nets and follow.  But WHY?!?!?!  If you were to walk up to someone in today’s world and tell them to just drop what they are doing and follow you, they would probably think you are crazy!  Even if they didn’t think you were crazy, they would not likely follow.  Moreover, in today’s cultural climate of marketing and consumerism, we’ve become particularly tuned in to wondering what people are trying to “sell” us and what’s in it for them.  “Why should I follow you?  What’s the catch?  What’s in it for me?  What’s in it for you?”

I’ve spent a lot of time in recent years inviting young people who do not go to church or have an interest in church to come.  I’ve often heard that they just don’t see the point.  These are exactly the people I feel God is calling me to invite into a faith community.  However, finding ways to invite them and not make it “too churchy” or sound like a sales pitch has proven hard.  Simply asking them to “follow me” doesn’t seem realistic either.

So I look to the gospel story and wonder, what does it mean to be a fisher of people?  And how can I be a fisher of people without becoming a salesperson?  A few things come to mind:

1. Jesus invites the disciples to follow AND tells them he will make them fishers of people.  When we invite someone to come to church, we should be clear about what we are inviting them to and why.  When you want to ask someone to share a special thing in your life, how do you ask them?  What do you say?  Developing a relationship with God different than just coming to church–and people need to know why.

2. The story doesn’t tell us is why these men just dropped their nets to follow.  Did they KNOW Jesus?  Was he an acquaintance?  A stranger?  Did they hate their jobs and see that Jesus offered something better?  Had they heard that Jesus was proclaiming the good news of God?  What would make someone in today’s world hear that the gospel is good news?  Does knowing a person and hearing about what they are doing that is unique or special make a difference in whether someone follows?

3. Jesus doesn’t make a big fuss or spend a lot of time on the invitation.  It’s simply an invitation.  Sometimes, when we work too hard to convince someone, we begin to sound like a salesperson trying to sell something instead of simply inviting.  Keep it simple.  Just invite.

4. Finally, a fisherman knows that some days you catch a bunch of fish, and some days you don’t.  And when you pull in the nets, some get away or never get caught in the first place.  If we apply this to fishing for people, we remember that fishing for people isn’t about catching everyone or catching anyone in particular.  It’s about the fishing itself, the inviting. God asks us to be faithful disciples and  fish, but God doesn’t expect us to always make a catch.  Additionally, if we get too caught up in trying to catch the fish we missed, we lose sight of those we’ve caught—and they may then slip away.  Fishing for people is not about making a catch or a sale.  It’s about  extending an invitation to something which is life-giving, nourishing, sustaining, and filling.  It’s about inviting someone deeper into a relationship.  It’s about sharing the opportunity to experience God’s love with others.

Fishing for people is not about selling something.  It’s not even about making a catch.  The point of fishing for people is to throw out the net and gather people in who want to know how God is part of our lives.  It’s about inviting people into hard, beautiful, merciful, forgiving, filling, comforting, beloved relationships; the things that being a disciple are all about.  In our consumer world, fishing for people can sometimes feel like just another marketing scheme, but it doesn’t have to be that.  After all, an invitation to a party is way better than an ad for another thing to buy.

Discussion Questions

• What’s the difference between inviting someone to follow Jesus and marketing your church or faith community?
• In today’s consumer society, why is it important to invite someone into a relationship with Jesus rather than “sell them Jesus”?
• What does it mean to you to be a fisher of people and why does God call disciples to be fishers of people?
• What are some ways you could fish for people rather than “sell them Jesus”?

Activity Suggestion

Role play a way you might “fish for people.”

If you need assistance, follow these steps:

a.  Determine why your faith or your relationship with Jesus is important to you.

b.  Think about a story you could share with others that describes why your faith or relationship with Jesus is special to you.

c.  Practice sharing your story with a partner.

OR

After answering the discussion questions above, you may have come up with some different ways to fish for people yourself.  Try these out in your role play. When you are finished with your role play, have your partner help you fine tune your invitation and explore other ways you might “fish for people.”

Closing Prayer

Jesus, our teacher, You have called us to follow you and made us fishers of people.  Give us the courage to become the fishermen you ask us to be, and the faith to know how to share your love rather than sell someone on why they should believe in you.  Equip us with the tools we need to extend your forgiveness, mercy and compassion to others, and gather in all those who are drawn to you.  Amen.

 

Issue 74 of Administration Matters

Grow giving through the ELCA’s Congregational Financial Assessment
Through the Resourceful Servants Congregational Financial Assessment, your congregation can help grow its benefactors’ confidence by proactively engaging in a review of its financial systems relative to best practices and healthy behaviors. Carrying out these activities signals to donors that your congregation is worthy of donations and conveys that accountability, transparency, professionalism and impact are taken seriously. To learn more about this free resource from the ELCA, visit resourcefulservants.org/congregations. You can also watch this video demonstration of the site and its tools.

ELCA Federal Credit Union increases ministry loans to $100K, offers ministry credit cards
The ELCA Federal Credit Union now offers ministry loans of up to $100,000 to congregations — doubling the previous maximum amount. Ministry loans at favorable interest rates can be used for building repairs, vehicle purchases, small projects and supplemental operating income. The credit union also offers a ministry credit card. With unique benefits, the cost-effective card has no annual fee and is an alternative to standard business cards. Ministry loans and credit cards are another way the credit union assists congregations financially, allowing you to focus on your ministry. Find out more about these financial opportunities at https://www.elcafcu.org/personal/ministry-solutions under “Credit Cards and Loans.”

Journi — reveal your path to leadership
When someone feels God is calling them to make a difference in the world, the sheer number of
questions and options can be overwhelming. Coming in early 2021, Journi is a digital tool for everyone who feels called to leadership in this church. Journi will equip future leaders with tools to discover their gifts, practical resources to learn more about opportunities within the church and next steps to move them forward in their leadership journey. Watch this video to learn more about our vision for Journi, which we are hard at work making a reality. Be among the first to learn how it’s going — sign up for updates at Journi.faith.

Stories of Faith in Action new digital platform
We’re delighted to unveil a brand-new digital platform for Stories of Faith in Action, housed at livinglutheran.org. The new website features content from this annual publication in a modern, dynamic format, mixing video and visual elements with stories to take you further into the work of Mission Support. This site is a fantastic tool to include in your next stewardship communication or as part of your annual meeting materials. Visit now to learn how your offering sustains and enhances ministries that support and lift up God’s people.

2020 IRS mileage allowance
The Internal Revenue Service issued the 2021 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and charitable, medical or moving purposes. Beginning Jan. 1, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) is:

• 56 cents per mile driven for business use, down 1.5 cents from the rate for 2020,
• 16 cents per mile driven for medical, or moving purposes for qualified active duty members of the Armed Forces, down 1 cent from the rate for 2020, and
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations, the rate is set by statute and remains unchanged 2020.

The standard mileage rate for business use is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs. For more information, visit the IRS website.

Avoid frozen pipes this winter
For most of the country, winter brings plummeting temperatures. As the leaves begin to fall, the countdown to the first snow begins. Freezing and bursting pipes are a common and expensive frustration of the winter, but there are steps you can take to prevent ice blockages and freezing pipes as well as protect your water systems. >More

 

As congregations and worship leaders prepare for Ash Wednesday in this most challenging year, the ELCA Worship team offers this set of reflections by those serving the church as scholars, pastors, and bishops. Our hope is that their perspectives will provide thinking points as you reflect and prepare worship in your context.

 

Repentance is at the core of Christian living (the first of Luther’s 95 Theses). During the season of Lent, we all become a “penitent” with ashes on the forehead, looking toward to the cross as a sign of God’s reconciliation with all creation (with the absolution on Maundy Thursday). Ashes appear throughout the Hebrew Bible as a sign of mourning and repentance, but Isaiah reminds us that such practices point to the larger call for justice (Isa. 58:5-6). These ashes are at the very beginning (“dust” in Genesis 3:19) and connect each of us to all of creation and to our own mortality.

Ash Wednesday reflection has taken on new meaning because of the coronavirus. Some may argue that a specific day or season is not necessary since signs of impending death are all around us as the pandemic continues to claim thousands of lives and impacts millions more. But the coronavirus is not only a reminder of mortality but also the result of sins. Let me be clear here – I do not mean that the pandemic is punishment for sin, but rather that the spread of the pandemic has been aided by the sins of “neglect of human need and suffering” and “our lack of concern for those who come after us.”

The popularity of ashes-on-the-go highlights that Ash Wednesday can be commemorated outside the church building. For the sake of safety, the imposition of ashes should only take place with those in the household. Congregations could provide ashes (traditionally made from burning last year’s palm branches), or households could make their own – even all-wood charcoal would work.

When participating in digital worship, those in the household could impose ashes on each other during the appointed time in the liturgy. Those worshiping at home could use the litany of confession as a conversation guide, discussing (and then acting on) how to live into the disciplines of Lent: “self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love.” It is not enough to just remember that “we are dust, and to dust we shall return.” As ones marked as Christ’s own children, we heed the call to repent, to ‘turn around.’

Prof. Kyle Schiefelbein-Guerrero is Steck-Miller Assistant Professor of Worship and Liturgy at United Lutheran Seminary. Prof. Schiefelbein-Guerrero explores “Living the Liturgical Year in Pandemic Times” in a new video series. Look for an entry about  Ash Wednesday in the coming weeks.

 

The power of receiving the cross on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday is in the layering: there is a sign of sin and death traced and layered on top of the tracing in water and oil of the promise of life, rebirth, and liberation from sin and death. On Ash Wednesday, we feel the full weight of the ashy tracing. It does not negate or obliterate the liberating sign it is layered with, but it is a suitably tangible reminder of the reality of grief, loss, and death.

The questions that have helped guide my reflections and exploration of Ash Wednesday this year have been basic: What is Ash Wednesday? What does it do? I’ve found help in the ELW Pattern for Worship (Pew Edition, p. 248; Leader’s Desk Edition, p. 612.) That led me to Welcome to Baptism (ELW Pew Edition, p. 232; Leader’s Desk Edition, p. 592), which led me to conversation with Episcopalian and Roman Catholic folks involved in the ecumenical catechumenate. Michael Marchal, a Roman Catholic writer and educator, and I talked about the ancient origins of Ash Wednesday (more focused on penitence) and creative possibilities for adapting the rite this year. We found common ground in a focus on baptism and the cross. The cross we trace on each other within our households or on ourselves is an embodied reminder that God is where we’d least expect an all-powerful being to be; a connection to both the reality of sin and death as well as to the promise of baptism.

Blessings on your caring and creative approaches to Ash Wednesday this year. It will be different; things are different this year. Christ will meet you there.

Bishop Anne Edison-Albright is Bishop of the East-Central Synod of Wisconsin. An expanded version of this reflection is found on Bishop Edison-Albright’s blog.

 

Most of my personal study and continuing education for the last several months has been focused on trauma-informed care, recognizing that living through the varied events of the last year affects not only our spirit but also our mind and body, and requires adaptations honoring this challenging new space. A best practice for trauma-informed care is to remember that significant stress and trauma are not just intellectual exercises. Our bodies respond to and reflect the events of the day. It may be using prayer beads or a finger labyrinth to make home worship feel more real or wrapping myself in a favorite sweater or soft blanket when I miss the comforting hugs of family and friends. Being mindful of how my body responds to grief and loss and finding ways to care for and comfort it has been both personally and professionally beneficial.

Ash Wednesday is such a powerful experience because we experience it physically. Even when our minds are not fully able to understand the scope of what is to come, when our spirits reject the pain of Jesus’ last days, our bodies remember. Wearing the cross of ashes as a bodily exercise is Jesus meeting us in our body’s anxiety and sadness and being with us there. As an Ash Wednesday discipline, I am encouraging my parishioners to consider ways their body can hold the day’s realities. What rituals, symbols, or actions can help us confront the fragile beauty of these brief, powerful moments of life? How can we remember that we are called to journey with Jesus and pray with him over the next 40 days, knowing what is to come? Our minds may not have the answer, but our bodies carry ancient wisdom.

The Rev. Carla S. Christopher Wilson is Assistant to the Bishop in Charge of Justice Ministries for Lower Susquehanna Synod, ELCA and Associate Pastor of Faith Formation and Outreach at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

 

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a journey when we remember Jesus’ ministry, his ability to heal and care for humanity, and at the same time, his passion, death, and overall, his glorious resurrection. In a “typical” year it might seem too soon to even talk about Easter on Ash Wednesday. However, I don’t know if that’s the case for 2021.

We have been in a sort of Ash Wednesday and Lenten journey for so long already. We have been on a journey in which we have witnessed pain, suffering, and even death. More and more people dying due to COVID-19, political upheaval in the nation, racism, LGBTQIA+ discrimination, violence, injustice, poverty, and many other issues seem endless. We yearn for that Easter moment.

Before Easter happened two millennia ago there was suffering, pain, anguish, uncertainty, fear, and death. Although pain and suffering are not God’s desire for us, they are an inevitable reality in this human life both then and now.

We say or hear on Ash Wednesday the remarkable phrase: “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” This year it can be an invitation for us to talk and grieve with our communities about how awfully painful these days are. We are invited to do so, however, while keeping the other real fact in mind: Those words are said and heard on a day in which we also know that, even in the midst of suffering and death, Easter is also our reality.

May your Ash Wednesday proclamation and celebration this year be a glimpse of realistic hope that will help us to face together these excruciating and painful times. We know that Easter will come. Though tomorrow is uncertain, we do know that Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!

The Rev. Alejandro Mejia is Chaplain Resident at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

 

Image Credits: Pearls of Life. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. Ugandan Risen Christ, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

 

By the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Director of ELCA Advocacy

In the days since the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the words of the 61st chapter of Isaiah have accompanied me as a prayer and as a promise. It is one of the texts I turned to as I fearfully watched the violent mob of President Trump’s supporters, bent on overturning the election results, breach the doors on January 6 and overrun the seat of American democracy. I prayed the words as the fuller horror emerged, including the tragic death of a Capitol Police officer and of rioters, details about the imminent danger to people I care about and destruction in a place that I love. The prophet’s words direct me now in pondering the role of the church in rebuilding, including telling the truth about the forces of racism and white supremacy that lie at the root of the insurrection and whose repudiation and dismantling in church and society are inseparable from our proclamation of the Gospel.

 

Need to look actually

After the attack I kept hearing the refrain “This is not who we are!” from mostly white Americans horrified by the violence that they saw. I understand that tempting assertion. These are not our nation’s ideals or our national myth, and I don’t want this to be who we are either. But nothing will change unless we acknowledge that last week’s violence and ongoing threats are direct expressions of our nation’s deep-rooted white supremacy intertwined with a resurgent Christian nationalism. Neither are new, but both have been given new sanction and virulent life by President Trump’s rhetoric and policies. Saying “this is not who we are” is a lie that abdicates our individual and collective sin and complicity.

Martin Luther said that a theologian of the cross calls the thing what it actually is, in contrast to a theology of glory which calls evil good and good evil. ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod Bishop Yehiel Curry’s blog post, “If It Was Us We Would’ve Been Shot,” and Missouri’s U.S. Rep. Cori Bush’s op-ed, “This is the America that Black people know,” are some of the voices calling issues by name, saying this IS who we are. They are calling out the disparate treatment of the largely white crowd that was allowed to converge on the Capitol despite weeks of threats and plans to violently overturn the election in President Trump’s favor. They and many others are outraged but not surprised by white supremacy at work in the widely contrasting preparations and response to white supporters of the President, and in the privilege operating that could have allowed this insurgency to succeed.

We need to call what it actually is another thing: the fusion of Christian nationalism with violent insurrection. The cross, signs reading “Proud American Christian,” and banners bearing the name of Jesus were carried next to Confederate flags and among people outfitted for violence. Insurrectionists appealed to faith as a justification for their assault on the Capitol, including a “Jericho March” that would bring down the walls of the Capitol. I want to again say “this is not who we are,” but that too would be a lie. This is a face of Christianity in our nation, and although unrecognizable to me, these are our kin, and it is our responsibility to repent and denounce this perversion of the Gospel.

 

Much to do

Where do we go from here? There is much to do to tend to those traumatized by the event. We need to hold leaders, rioters and their supporters accountable and to ensure this never happens again. And for our ELCA, I suggest we go deep and learn from Isaiah about some first steps to address white supremacy and Christian nationalism.

 

Leading rebuilding

The prophet Isaiah’s 61st chapter announces to the returned exiles the anointing of God’s servant and the rebuilding the ruins of Jerusalem, her institutions and common life. This week I noted new learning from this text. Rebuilding will be led not by the elites but by those who have suffered most under the current order – the oppressed, the brokenhearted and the captives. The ones who know the weight of injustice, who have been on the receiving end of violence and whose hearts have been broken by the trauma of loss are charged with raising up the former devastations. They are the leaders for shaping a new and more just nation.

The rebuilding of Jerusalem in Isaiah’s account is informed by the voices of those who can call a thing what it is, informed by their suffering so that the new city will not replicate its former structures but imagine a new and more just design. So at this time, our overwhelmingly white church needs to listen to and follow the lead of those who know best the pain inflicted by white supremacy, those brokenhearted, imprisoned and oppressed by it – even when we want to cry out that “this isn’t us.” We need to hear the pain and follow this leadership on how to respond and raise up the former devastations. We need to learn to identify and preach and teach about the dangers of white Christian nationalism as heresy and violence.

 

Unleashing renewal and repair

The servant of Isaiah 61 came to preach good news to the poor. The servant’s job was proclamation of God’s word of healing and liberation, and then getting out of the way so that the oaks of righteousness could get to work, unleashing their energy and creativity into repairing their society. It is what Jesus did when he stood in the synagogue to read from this chapter. He announced his priorities with these words and then asked his followers to go and do likewise.

This is who we are – Jesus’ disciples who are broken but also blessed. Sinful but also forgiven. Fearful but also called to serve. Called and sent to renew and repair.

by Larry Herrold, ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow*

Believer and non-believer. Educated and uneducated. Rich and poor. Democrat and Republican. Male and female… How numerous are the binaries with which we live!

In many ways 2020 was the year of binaries. The election, the social unrest around racial injustice and a worsening pandemic revealed how deep our divisions have been become. Gridlock ensues in governments, insults fly online, and protesters clash on the streets. Our world seems to be turning-in on itself. Yet we know we are inextricably connected.

TEXT: Proverbs 22:1-9 – A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold…

It’s in challenging times that Scripture can provide comfort and context. Proverbs 22:1-9 shows the continuity in the binaries that we witness, particularly between rich and poor. The rich yield power and possess gold and silver, yet the author makes clear that the humble are blessed and receive honor and life. This passage seemingly depicts a binaried society yet the second verse lays out: “The rich and the poor have this in common: the LORD is the maker of them all.”

The events of 2020 underscore how important it is to keep our interconnectedness in mind in more than just this moment. People lost their homes and jobs, and many went hungry. Countless have lost a loved one to COVID-19. In my own community I’ve seen churches, food banks, shelters, and any person of goodwill take on the weight of supporting those in need, but the response only goes so far.

In my management of my church’s community garden, the produce we donate is nourishing, but it will not sustain the hungry indefinitely. Not only is it not enough, but people often need information and tools to prepare it to eat. Food drives face similar issues, and temporary housing is just that… temporary. The institutions and organizations of my already economically depressed slice of Pennsylvania cannot alone meet needs.

While some struggle and others struggle to care for them, our leaders are slow to act. Aid is minimal and mismanaged. Yet we know that while this is happening, the most powerful have expanded their own wealth and security to unprecedented levels. Our advocacy, as church together, needs to take place. Immediate need must be met, yes, but long-term solutions to the systemic causes of homelessness, hunger, and violence must be made. Our leaders must be held accountable and pressured to act.

Proverbs 22:6 passes along the wisdom: train children in the right way and when old they will not stray. I have fond memories of my grandmother including me in her service to the community. Her faith, which she passed on to me, led her to serve the most vulnerable. That faith compels me to do the same. Yet I, like many before me, live in a turbulent moment. I am called to not only serve in the presence of immediate need, but to also use my voice, inspired by the active faith instilled in me at a young age, to be an advocate for systemic change that brings new and abundant life to people in my community and beyond.

The passage in Proverbs acknowledges binaries of the world and also guides us in considering our identifiers. While the rich are comfortable and powerful, they will lack blessings, honor, and life if they are not humble and “fear the Lord” (Proverbs 22:4). Calamity comes to those who perpetuate injustice, especially as it pertains to the poor.

All people deserve care, justice, and respect from one another, because we all come from the same Creator. In this new year, with new policy makers, and with the hope of an end to the pandemic, let us be strong advocates so that all know “they share their bread with the poor” (Proverbs 22:9).

 

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* This New Year Devotional Series has been composed by the three ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellows serving in 2020-2021. “The ministry of ELCA World Hunger involves young adult engagement in conversations and formulating solutions to this systemic and universal obstacle to physical and spiritual well-being. Hunger is one of the key issues we must address as a church, for injustice and inequity are consistent themes across our local and global food systems. One way to address hunger and ensure young adult involvement in the ELCA and in World Hunger’s faith-based work is by funding the Hunger Advocacy Fellowship (HAF) position, a year-long contract position designed to cultivate the leadership of individuals looking to halt the expanding reach of hunger through advocacy,” describes Taina Diaz-Reyes, Hunger Advocacy Fellow in D.C.

Larry Herrold‘s placement is with the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPa) office in Harrisburg, Pa. A native of Sunbury, Pa., where the east and west branches of the Susquehanna River meet, he graduated from Susquehanna University in 2019 with a BA in History and Religious Studies. He received a MA in Modern History from the University of Kent in England, where he completed a Fulbright Scholarship. Harrold is deeply committed to the intersection between ecclesiastical service and social justice; he even plans to go to seminary to learn more about incorporating justice into ecclesial ministry.

Last Wednesday afternoon, after a day of virtually meeting and planning with Metro Chicago Synod (MCS) pastoral staff, I closed the Zoom window on my computer. Satisfied with our collective work, I took a deep breath, grateful for a wonderfully dedicated and highly competent team.

After a few moments, I glanced at my phone. Immediately, I realized that the notifications and text messages that I had received throughout the day were more than I could count. Friends, family, and colleagues, many of whom are of African descent, had reached out to me, shocked. Many texted me similar words. “They would have shot us,” they said, again and again.

“If it was us, we would’ve been shot.”

I opened the office door, shouting into the empty space, “What’s going on?” Two others were in the office. Neither of them had yet heard the news.

For me, Epiphany, January, the New Year, is a time of vision boards and new beginnings. Hope for something new greets us as we gaze at the child cradled in Mary’s arms. And yet, I saw no hope as I looked at this news.

As the headlines “The Capitol Under Attack,” “Far-Right Mob Attacks the Capitol,” “Mayhem in the Capitol,” and so on appeared on my screen, something happened in me psychologically. For a moment, time seemed to collapse. As I watched white supremacists carrying Confederate flags into the US Capitol, I recalled images of the same flag flown by plane over sporting events in 2020 and carried into Charlottesville in 2018.

Seeing white supremacists walking freely in a place that symbolizes our democracy, I saw, at the same time, the white supremacists who’ve been encouraged at rallies and marches across our nation, year after year, as leadership at our highest levels has refused to call out bigotry, acknowledge systemic racism, or condemn racist violence against people who look like me.

Seeing this crowd in DC receive a pep rally and praise from the president, I recalled images of tear gas released on peaceful protestors on those same DC streets, and I recalled the president posing with our sacred scriptures, blessing violence against the peaceful crowds.

Lastly, as I saw images of men and women, known neo-Nazis, and holocaust deniers holding banners, threatening violence, and carrying weapons, met with very little police presence, I could not help but also see images of Anjanette Young, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray, and countless others, flashing through my mind—one scene, one death, one trauma after another, after another, after another. I could not help but see officers acquitted of the excessive use of force and officers acquitted of murder based on assertions of fear—acquitted because they claimed to be afraid.

“They would have shot us,” I heard again the words of my siblings.

“If it was us, we would’ve been shot.”

Yes, in seeing the events in Washington DC last week, I saw the events not only of the past four years but of much of my life. And this was not my experience, alone. It was also the experience of countless Black people and people of color all across this country, those who reached out to me, and those whom I have yet to meet.

Indeed, Wednesday was more than Wednesday. It was trauma, reopened, flooding back in, and forcing us to relive those moments of pain and oppression, again and again.

For me, Epiphany, January, the New Year, is a time of vision boards and new beginnings. Hope for something new greets us as we gaze at the child cradled in Mary’s arms. But the events of this past Wednesday were nothing to look forward to. Indeed, these events once again highlighted the disparities that exist in our nation, reminding us again that the pursuit of peace, justice, and equity must never cease.

As we search for an alternative future, the future of God envisioned in Jesus’ teachings about God’s Reign of Love, I’d ask that you recommit with me to the work of dismantling white supremacy in our hearts and in the world. Will you do this?

I ask also that you’d pray with me for all those who are currently living with renewed fear and resurfaced trauma and pain.

Of our leaders, I ask that you take this moment as an opportunity to have courageous conversations with your family, neighbors, and community. We trust that when we gather in Christ, God might instigate change in even the most hardened of hearts and that God, indeed, is with us as we work toward a church and a world where nobody has to say, “If it was us, we would have been shot.”

Bio: The Rev. Yehiel Curry is the bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, ELCA. He was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, where he still resides with Lashonda, his wife of 25 years, and their three daughters, Shemiah, Ashirah and Shekinah. Rev. Curry received his Master of Divinity from LSTC. He served as pastor to Shekinah Chapel Lutheran Church until he became the bishop, and office to which he was elected on June 8, 2019.