Last week we started our exploration of Isaiah 61:1-4 by considering how we are anointed to go and be part of bringing God’s love to the world. This week we will start to look at some of the steps needed to bring that reality to life.
Isaiah 61:1 says, ...God has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed (NRSV)
or proclaim good news to the poor. (NIV). Jesus was asked by John the
Baptist “are you the one we are to expect?” Jesus pointed to the fulfilling of
Isaiah 61. Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard;
how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,
the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. (Luke 7:22)
How do we go about proclaiming the good news to those who
are poor or oppressed or downtrodden by life, by injustice, by COVID, by fear,
or the myriad other things that assault us?
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has a book called God’s Dream for young children, that can give all of us guidance. His little story tells of children who “reach out and hold each other's hands, but sometimes get angry and hurt each other — and say they're sorry and forgive. It's a wish that everyone will see they are brothers and sisters, no matter their way of speaking to God, no matter the size of their nose or the shade of their skin.” You can hear the book read on YouTube by a lovely lady with a British accent.
Tutu’s book says, “Each of us carries a piece of God’s heart within us and when we love one another the pieces of God’s heart are made whole.” I think that is a perfect description of why we need to share the good news of God’s love. As we share the love that is God’s heart, our hearts and the hearts of those we meet are made whole.
Sharing the good news is an active thing. It’s not just holding
up the Bible and saying, “God loves you”. Living God’s Dream means drying one
another’s tears, as in Tutu’s book. It is supporting food pantries and wearing
masks during this time. It is finding ways to speak out against injustice
wherever we see it. It is finding the love of God in our heart. Archbishop Tutu
says it’s “as easy as sharing, loving, caring. As easy as holding, playing,
laughing. As easy as knowing we are family because we are all God’s children.”
It can also be very hard. As we reel from the unbelievable actions of a mob at the US Capital this past week, we must also be careful not to turn to hate or blame or name calling. In his book, Love is the Way, Presiding Bishop Curry quotes Rabbi Martin Bubber saying "there are two possible ways to relate to the world around us. I-It and I-Thou...[the second] makes It your object, a thing instead of a beautiful fellow child of God...Thou recognizes the other as...a human spirit whose truth can only be understood through relationship." We have to see each other as Thou and seek relationship--not categorize those who we disagree with is as IT. We must strive for reconciliation and really seeing one another as Children of God--as THOU.
Someone said that the protestors/rioters were acting from fear. Maybe is was fear of oppression or the end of a 'way of life'. That could be true. I don't know what was in their hearts. Bishop Marian Budde and Dean Randy Hollerith from the National Cathedral issued this call for peace and understanding that I think bears repeating. In it they acknowledge " you have succeeded in that you have been seen and you have been heard. You have made your point. Now lay aside your violence, give rest to your anger and go home."
What can I do today and this week to bring good news to
the oppressed? Maybe a note or a phone call. Maybe a smile or a wave. Maybe
writing a letter to the editor or protesting. Maybe standing in solidarity or donating
to a food pantry or cause. Each of us answers that question differently because
our piece of God’s heart is different from the other pieces. We need all the
pieces to be able to proclaim the good news and be made whole.
How can you see someone you disagree with as Thou--as truly a Child of God, no matter the difference of opinion? Can you start a conversation with them?
