This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As always, I hope and pray that you are well. As I write my letter this morning, I find myself at a loss for words. Some in our midst are celebrating, others are sad, hurting, and afraid. As a priest, a large part of my vocation deals with trying to make sense of life, through the lens of faith, particularly through the lens of our Baptismal Covenant. Sometimes this is easy. Sometimes it is hard.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and burden is light."

As a people of covenant, we have self-yoked our lives to a certain group of principles. Primarily we have sworn to follow Jesus while respecting and honoring the dignity of every human being. Respecting every human being is not a political statement, it is an understanding that God has created each of us, and therefore we each are valued. When this value is taken away or threatened, we the people of God, yoked to our promises, have a duty to try to restore people through Christ to God and each other. To be a Christian means living into our promise to work for "justice and peace among all people." This is not a promise that we can choose to ignore. We are either yoked to God all of the time or none of the time. For us as Christians, on this, there is no middle ground.

With this in mind, our call at St. Martin's has not changed because of an election. We are called to continue to feed the poor and hungry, care for the sick and weak, raise up the lowly, comfort the grieving, and offer God's love to all people. We are called, when we hear messages of division and hate, to speak up, or at the very least walk away. For just as we have promised to follow God, we have also promised to resist evil, and we are reminded that we should never give fuel to the fire of hate. As a church, we are called (just as we have always been) to love God, our neighbor, and our enemies.

My brothers and sisters, I believe that God longs for a world of love. The road to that world is a long one. By yoking ourselves to Jesus and each other, we have chosen to travel it together. May we do so with dignity and may we always remember that we are called to the way of love. Bishop Curry's first message to the church mirrored his last one. If it is not of love, it is not of God. May we hear this and live it.

In Christ,

Mitch