“If we do nothing, singing along with the strains of subjugation, we are complicit with the sins of an unchristian ideology and doctrine. Worse yet, we compose new refrains that reinforce the symphony of domination by pretending that all is well.” With what voice is Christ’s church called to sing?
“We are called to sing faith-filled, new creation, jubilee songs. When we sing a new song, we discover that we sing in Isaiah’s Peaceable Realm Choir–the Beloved Community Chorus of Jesus.”
H. David Stewart
Lenten Reflections on the Confession of Belhar
This Lenten season I am using a new resource to explore the Belhar Confession: Lenten Reflections on the Confession of Belhar, edited by Kerri N. Allen and Donald K. McKim. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in which I serve as a teaching elder (pastor), added the Confession of Belhar to our Book of Confessions in 2016. This confession came from the Dutch Reformed Mission Church during its historic struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
See you along the Trail.
“We’re called to witness against the powerful and privileged by living as Christ wanted us to live–by sitting with those whom no one wants to sit with, by opening ourselves up to the hurt and pain that are caused by those who control and harm others. We must do this to make the church reflect the diversity of the world around us. We must work to dismantle that ability to control and harm others.”
After church on April 2, some friends and I went to Chinatown for lunch and dessert and most importantly for conversation!
“It is not difficult to know where the Lord stands. The witness of Scripture is clear, consistent, and compelling. Psalm 82 says what Torah, prophets, Gospels, and epistles say: The Lord stands with the weak and the orphan, the lowly and the destitute, the week and the needy. Those are not the only ones the Lord stands with, but they are the ones most likely to be ignored and exploited, the ones least likely to possess the power to withstand mistreatment and manipulation. It is not difficult to know where the Lord stands, but it is often difficult to know where the church stands.”
On Sunday, April 2, I had the privilege to preach a
“Like hurricanes and floods, God’s justice should uproot systems of oppression established by our political, religious, and economic prejudice. It should cleanse the world of all its racial, xenophobic, and gender-based violence. God’s justice should wash through our hearts and minds, like the waters of baptism, reforming us into new creations dedicated to fulfilling the law of love and justice for all people.”
Sean and I went to see 
“… we usually retreat into judgement instead of mercy, and indifference instead of justice. We are happy to prescribe Micah’s prophecy to others rather than learn it and act accordingly. God created us for connectional living; and those connections cannot thrive when we stay silent in the face of evil and injustice. God wishes to teach the church to do what is good and right–and to do it now.”
Along the Graybeard Trail 