Devotional Messages

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE

Luke 18:1 – Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.  (NRSV)

I am still trying to process everything that happened at our General Assembly this past week in Memphis.  But there was one story that took place early on that I would like to share with you.  After almost 40 years of attending Assembly business sessions, I have recognized a pattern.  Very often, those who are not comfortable with the subject or suggestions contained in a “Sense-of-the-Assembly” will not come out and say exactly what they object to.  Instead, they will talk about what the resolution does not say, as if neglecting some other point is a reason to not support the one currently being considered.  Other times, they will lean into cynicism and ask us to vote No because the resolution won’t actually fix the problem being addressed.

It was the latter approach that came up on Saturday, when the Assembly was considering GA-2514, “Commitment to the Thursdays in Black Campaign; a Global Movement for a World Without Gender-Based Violence.” (Click to read.)  The Thursday in Black Campaign was started by the World Council of Churches to encourage churches around the world to work to end gender-based violence.  You can learn more about it here.

The campaign asks people to wear black every Thursday, as a sign of commitment to this work.  There are pins you can wear to make the commitment more explicit, and participants are asked to post pictures on social media with particular hashtags.  Obviously, the wearing of black by itself will not keep anyone from being attacked.  Nobody was arguing that it would.  The campaign is aimed to keep this concern at the forefront of our minds and to encourage one another in the work.  The resolution clearly called us to action beyond simply picking out the right outfit.  Nevertheless, the man at the “red mic” stood in opposition “because it wouldn’t work.”

If the church has gotten to a place where we don’t understand the power of spiritual practices to encourage us in our active work for justice, we might as well stop calling ourselves church.  Jesus tells us a story about a persistent widow, who just kept asking until she got what she wanted.  First Thessalonians tells us to “pray without ceasing.”  A weekly reminder of the urgent need to work for a world without violence can never be a bad thing, even if it’s not an immediate solution.  I invite you to join me in wearing black on Thursdays and considering what we can do – as individuals and as a congregation – to work toward a world without gender-based violence.  It will be a long journey, but Jesus is asking us not to lose heart!