My Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
August is a big month for important national anniversaries.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed on August 6th, removing legal barriers preventing African Americans from exercising their right to vote, as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
On August 14, 1935, FDR signed the Social Security Act not only establishing a social insurance program for retired workers but also providing welfare payments for needy children through AFDC grants.
Soon, on August 26th, we'll celebrate Women’s Equality Day, commemorating the adoption in 1920 of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote, as well as the Equal Pay Act of 1963, along with the reminder that there must be continuous struggle for the participation and equality of women in all spheres of life and society.
Then, shortly before the end of the month and my retirement, we remember on August 28th the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech, calling for civil rights and equality for all!
These anniversaries are important markers of national progress in living into the full ideals of the American experiment that all men and women are created equal “with certain unalienable Rights,” including Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The idea of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has inspired progressive movements around the world. Great though that inspiration is, the Gospel calls us to kick it up a notch. Jesus urges us to pursue Kingdom equality and a hospitality of full acceptance.
We are all created in the image and likeness of God. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, such that we all are in need of God's mercy and grace. It's long past time that we acknowledge in our behavior and the policies we support that we are all equal before God.
Being equal, it is morally wrong to ascribe more value to some people and less to others. Our hearts are to be open and accepting of all for all bear the mark of God.
Kingdom hospitality begins with fully opening the doors of our hearts. To do this we must face how in the past we have closed and locked those doors, for shutting the door of our heart not only excludes the stranger but also imprisons us.
Hospitality isn’t so much about who the other is or isn’t, but who we are and how we want to be. Let us all truly be followers of Jesus and strive to be Christ-like ourselves.
In Christ's Love & Peace,
Mark Andrew+
"Anxiety weights down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up" (Proverbs 12:25).
