Walking Together
By Bishop Kym Lucas
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Therefore, be imitators of God as dearly loved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. –Ephesians 4:30–5:2
As I sat down to write this, I was reeling from news about the shootings first in New York and then in California, at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Then came the shootings at the Walmart in El Paso and the bar in Dayton, Ohio. In two weeks, 27 people have been killed, dozens more injured, and hundreds more terrorized by shootings in public places at public events. For at least two of the incidents, the shooters posted hate propaganda online that slandered people of color and immigrants. The writings used words nearly identical to the disparaging and dehumanizing words our President leveled at the city of Baltimore, a city of rich history and diverse people.
And then there remains the matter that children continue to be held in cages, separated from their parents in horrifying and unsanitary conditions at our border.
Four months into my ministry as your Bishop, I am most aware of the brokenness, virulence, and division that have taken root in our culture. And my prayers have been questions: What is our calling as the Episcopal Church in Colorado in such a time as this? Who are we called to be? Where are we called to go?
This week, it occurred to me that the question is not so much about where we are going. The question before us is: how are we, as followers of Jesus, going to walk?
The temptation to fall into the narrative of “might makes right” is strong. The world would have us believe that power, the power to crush, to oppress, to destroy is the power on which we should lean.The world tells us that shows of force, and walls, and guns will save us. And we, like the very first disciples, want our God to come with a sword and destruction to vindicate us.
But the God who comes to us, comes naked, incarnate in the world. The Christ that calls us, calls us away from violence, from our obsession with power and possessions, calls us to the one thing, the ONLY thing that will deliver us: the grace-filled, abundant, POWERFUL love of God.
Our greatest challenge as the Church is walking in love in these hate-filled times. The Episcopal Church in Colorado encompasses vast distances, and we are not all of the same mind around the pressing issues of our time. Nonetheless, we are called as one body to walk together, to be repairers of the breach, to seek and serve Christ in ALL persons and respect the dignity of EVERY human being. This is not optional; this is what we promised we’d do when we took up the mantle of the baptized.
And because of the rage, resentment, hate, and violence in our country, we must lean even more on the loving way of Jesus. We must practice, with intention, in thought, word, and deed, in our homes, in our schools, at our jobs: loving as Christ loves us. Our love will be manifest in our listening to one another, bearing one another’s burdens, and seeking the welfare, not just of ourselves and ours, but that of the whole community.
I am encouraged that we, as a church, are working to embody Christ’s love. As I am getting to know the Church in Colorado, I am learning about the good, gospel work Episcopalians are doing: the feeding ministry at St. George’s, Leadville, the community outreach at both the School of Mines and the prison at Calvary, Golden, and the mighty faith and justice work going on at St. Patrick’s, Pagosa Springs, and all the folks from St. Matthew’s and Nativity who give their time and treasure to support vulnerable teens at The House in Grand Junction. These are but a few examples of how we are showing the life-giving, liberating love of God in our communities, and there is so much more to do.
In the Office of the Bishop, we are working on ways to empower our congregations in this work. WE have been working for the last two years with the immigrants’ rights community to pass legislation in Colorado making life safer for the asylum seekers and undocumented siblings in Christ already living among us. This work continues as I work with Anthony Suggs, our Missioner for Advocacy and Social Justice, and neighboring bishops on how our church can witness for humane treatment of asylum seekers at our southern borders. In support of our call to live more fully into our Baptismal Covenant, our Christian Formation team is building a toolbox of reconciliation and inclusion resources for congregations that need assistance in welcoming others. And this year, “Walking the Way of Love” will be our theme at our Annual Convention as we examine the ways in which we conduct our lives and our work in Godly love.
It is my prayer that we, in all our diversity, will commit to walking in love, always.
We are pressed by the forces of fear, resentment, and hate; they are powerful forces. But the power of God’s love is greater.
