Rector's Blog: Justice and Love

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Over the last few weeks, we have been focusing on the need – not the desire or the option – but the need for our church to be active participants in the work for justice; and in particular in the work for racial justice. The question is not if we will be involved in the work of making our world, our country, our state, our city, our church a more just place. The question is how. How will we engage in this work?

And I want to say a word about this, because I have heard the idea expressed more than once that a church engaged in justice work is a “liberal church”. I take issue with this, and I want to be clear about that. Our Lord Jesus taught us how to pray. Jesus taught us to say boldly to God, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When we pray this, we are praying that God makes Earth more like Heaven. This means we are praying for justice. Literally. We are praying for a world that embodies the belovedness and belonging of every single person. We are praying for a country that respects the dignity of every human being. We are praying for an earthly reality in which we live in mutual service and care. That’s what justice is. This is not idealism: It is the mission of the Church. We exist as the Body of Christ in order to restore all people to healthy relationship with God and neighbor. That is neither inherently liberal nor conservative. It’s Christian.

Let me go further and be more specific for a moment. The need to fight systemic racism and dismantle white supremacy in America should not be a partisan issue for Christians. To follow Jesus in this time and in this country is to pursue real, measurable justice and equity for people of every race. And in this particular time, we are seeing an obvious need to seek justice and equity for our Black siblings. If Christian Republicans and Democrats are going to argue about this, they should be arguing about the best ways to destroy racism – not whether or not it exists. They should be debating the government’s role in dismantling a system of white supremacy – not quibbling over whether or not white supremacy is real.

This is a very personal issue for me, and I don’t want to hide that. I grew up in a denomination where you had to be a Republican to be a good Christian. Now I’m an Episcopalian, and I often feel like this denomination thinks you have to be a Democrat to be a good Christian. I find both unacceptable, and painfully injurious. We must have room within our worshiping community for diverse opinions, philosophies, and ideologies. Redeemer has not been, and should not be a church just for Democrats, or just for Republicans, or just for socialists, or just for libertarians. We are composed of people from across the political spectrum, and that’s as it should be. And at the same time, we are the Body of Christ, and right now that means we must be united in our commitment to racial justice.

I wrote in my post last week that real love requires justice. This is essential to our understanding of Christianity. Just as essential is our recognition that real justice requires love.

Remember: Justice is about working to make things right. We who follow Jesus believe that there is no right without Love. This means we cannot dehumanize each other and still work for justice – because God’s justice insists on the belovedness and belonging of each person we meet. Our goal is not to cancel, delete, or get rid of anyone. Our goal is to live into our mutual belonging.

Because, when this is all over, we are meant to share this life, the lot of us. We were born to love and be loved by one another. We were made for each other. Justice is not a verdict of innocence or guilt. Justice is the practical embracing of the truth that I am yours and you are mine and we are God’s.

Before we are Republicans or Democrats, we are Christian. Before we are American, we are Christian. To be baptized is to acknowledge Christianity as your primary identity – to pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ. Our loyalty to Jesus fills us with a zeal for justice and equity. Our obedience to Jesus insists that we pursue justice and equity with love and mercy. And our solidarity with Jesus unites us to one another unconditionally. May the work that we do manifest and radiate this truth, and may it be done in Jesus’ name.