Twenty-six years ago, last month I was ordained to the priesthood. It was a turning point in my life as I answered the call from Isaiah of “Whom shall I send?” I answered like Isaiah, “Here I am. Send me.”
Little did I understand at the time what would lay in store for me. Like Isaiah, I feel like an unprepared and unworthy servant of our Lord. Yet, he has called me and many of my brothers and sisters in ministry to be a prophetic voice to the world around us. And let me tell you, that is not as exciting as it sounds.
Sometimes being a prophetic voice in the world means that people will hate you. They will threaten you, abuse you, and might even throw you down a well like they did Jeremiah.
And standing up can get you into trouble.
But that is not a reason to back down. Rather, it is the time when we must stand up, no matter the cost. We must fight for justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in our society. We cannot rest until the marginalized are treated with respect and dignity, the oppressed are free, and the abused are no longer mistreated.
Jesus calls us all to be the light, peace, and love in the world. Yet so many Christians believe that his message of loving everyone is too weak. They want the strong, AR-15 carrying, muscle bound, white, blond hair, blue eyed Jesus. The real Jesus, a Palestinian Jew, dark skinned, dark hair, likely brown eyed, carpenter living under an oppressive Roman occupation who taught us to love our enemies and to do good to those who persecute us is considered heresy.
Yet the real Jesus calls us to live a different life. One in which we give to others in need, care for those who are sick or hurting, and welcome the immigrant and refugee among us. He calls us to put ourselves in their place and to treat others the way we would want to be treated.
We hope you will join us this Sunday as we work to follow the real Jesus!
Pax et Bonum,
Bishop Greer