For Us, By Us

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. –Luke 4.20a

Happy Sunday, Middle Church!

This last line of today’s pericope tickles me. Jesus was at the synagogue and was asked to read. He found a passage from Isaiah– one that reminded the people about what they already knew, about what the call on Isaiah’s life was, and with which Jesus was aligning himself. No fanfare, no preaching. Just reading from the ancient religious texts of that time.

I saw a video this week of Senator Rev. Rafael Warnock speaking to the Senate about this budget bill that ended up passing. (As I write this, I just received a notification on my phone that the bill has passed the House.) Sen. Warnock said something like, ‘To those of you who are Christian, I don’t know that we are reading the same book.’ This reminds me of the position Jesus takes in this text. You, too, can proclaim the call God has given you for our lives. Align yourself with love and make it plain to all who are around you. They will know who you are by how you LOVE. It is time to reclaim words that have been co-opted by hate and death-dealing theology. Our new theme for this year is Just Love Liberates. Let’s talk about it together. Will you join me?

See you at church,

Rev. Natalie Renee Perkins

Executive Minister for Digital Church