George of Sylvania

Tag: faith

  • The Work of the Church

    The Work of the Church

    Today was our last prayer meeting for the season, so I thought I’d just share some reflections from today.

    John’s account in 20:19-23 is the first meeting of the disciples, minus Thomas, after the resurrection all in one room. It is the first giving of the Spirit that recalls the creation story in God giving life to humanity. This experience with Jesus the Christ, is meant to give us that recall in the way we are seeing a new creation go forward. The church hasn’t started yet, but they are on the way. Even after Pentecost, the push is still to create a wholistic version ancient Judaism, which is why we see the disciples continue to worship and praise God in the Temple after these experiences.

    The breaking apart of the Jerusalem community at the beginning of Acts, and the forcing out of these disciples turned apostles to the rest of the world to spread the Good News of Jesus is where the birth of the church really gets its legs. Right now, we are living in a time where this Good News is something to hold on to in a way most white Americans have not experienced. There have been some throughout our history that have stood by the oppressed and felt the power, might, and violence of the federal and local government.

    Now is the time to hold on to this Good News and stand up for our neighbors. While we may not be seeing it on social media as often, these violent attacks by federal agents are still ongoing. On Tuesday, US New Jersey Senator Andy Kim was pepper sprayed by federal agents while protesting an ICE facility. The need to condemn these actions is there and should be ringing from the rooftop of any decent person.

    In considering Jon 20:19-23, the celebration of Pentecost, and the prominence of white christian nationalism, I am also reminded that the work of the church is to call out these horrific occurrences in a way where we are forced to reconcile the dignity of those holding the pepper spray and giving out the orders.

    Now, in a world with an incredible escalation of violence and technology in the aid of violence, from the gas ovens to biological warfare, perhaps we should be extra careful to find a language that is not violent. I’m not referring to what we speak about. I’m referring to how we speak… You feel more powerful when you lambast. That’s the fake prophet’s temptation.  – Krister Stendhal, Roots of Violence, pg 56,57

    It is the work of the Episcopal Church to remind everyone that God loves them, no exceptions. It is our work in that midst to hold on and pray for the inherent dignity and image of God found in all her creation, even the ones actively arguing for our disbandment. But it is also our job to remind people the Good News of Jesus the Christ in that, all things can be reconciled to God. I often ascribe to the phrase of that was played off former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “when they go low, we go high. I cannot remember where I heard it but the, “when they go low, I go to hell and drag them down with me” really spoke to the loud sense of injustice I have around what is happening. My impulse is to want to drag the oppressors down to hell with me and some privilege affords us the opportunity to say and do things like that with little consequence. But the truth is, Jesus is not found in that, and neither is the good news.

    Like Stendhal says, it’s the fake prophet’s temptation because of how we feel when we lambast. It is how we talk about the violence and oppression that is occurring, not the violence and oppression itself. We can talk about the horrors of what the american empire is doing locally and aiding in abroad without giving into to the violent language used by empire. I know this sounds silly, but once you start substituting things like “I killed it in there” to “I did a great job in there” it is odd how much your language and frame of mind will stand out.

    It is the work of the church to help breathe new life, to put new wine in new wine skins, to show up day in and out to show and say “God loves you, no exceptions, and therefore so do I, but there is a better way to live.”

    It is our work to lock arm in arm and help show this new way of life that Jesus the Christ has set us on, and to sometimes, when necessary, use words to describe it.

    Grace and peace friends.

  • A Country of Their Own

    A Country of Their Own

    This post was originally scheduled for next week, but considering the climate, I thought I’d move it up a bit.

    In late fall of 2025 I decided during my quiet time in the mornings to start reading Hebrews. The truth is, I don’t think I have looked at it, or thought much of it since I preached on chapter 11 back in 2013, so it seemed like a good time to read it. I had been trying to find a part of the Christian Bible to check out after burning through Amos, James, Exodus, and some other random parts.

    When I was reading Amos, it was when there seemed to be a push by Isr**l to continue in committing war crimes by murdering journalists and medical workers in Gaza. A push that has been successful as I am sure most of us, unless we are intentionally looking, are unaware of the many times they have continued to murder innocent people in Gaza during this “ceasefire.” I bring this up because I have written in my margins how sitting with the words of Amos and the actions in that land made me want to vomit.

    This has happened a few times in the past few years, reading something in the text I hold central to my religious beliefs, and looking at the world around me, local and internationally. The Ending Crime and Disorder on American Streets executive order comes to mind, where the president criminalized being unhoused while evangelicals and christian nationalists defend something Jesus would have pushed back on.

    This week I was reading Hebrews 11 and I came upon this passage:

    All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own… they were longing for a better country–a heavenly one.

    — Hebrews 11:13-16ish (NIV)

    For so long, people have come to the United States looking for a country of their own. It is how my family got here, and I guarantee how yours did too. So far this year there have been six confirmed deaths in ICE detention centers, one of which was a homicide, and as of Saturday they murdered another innocent person:

    • Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 1/24, homicide
    • Heber Sanchaz Domínguez, 1/14
    • Victor Manuel Diaz, 1/14
    • Parady La, 1/9
    • Renee Good, 1/7, homicide
    • Luis Beltran Yanez–Cruz, 1/6
    • Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, 1/5
    • Geraldo Lunas Campos, 1/3, homicide

    What ICE has been doing in our streets to our neighbors, citizens or not, is nothing short of terrorism. Using fear, intimidation, and unlawful violence against citizens as a political means is almost literally the definition of terrorism in the Oxford Dictionary. Many people have pointed out this is how white people have acted against Black Americans throughout our history is exactly correct. This is masked terrorism supported by our countries love of white supremacy, and the inability to quit it.

    What is happening is not normal in America for white people, which is why this is so jarring for most of us. I saw an Instagram reel today of friend of mine, who is a Palestinian activist rightfully lamenting the people now wanting to show up. It is a similar thing I have seen time and again when white people start to realize that the systems of violence we have upheld because they’ve been good for us start to turn on us.

    It is never too late to show up for your neighbors, and I urge you to do it now.

    It is hard work, and it takes a toll. But there are many ways we can do it, what I beg you to do, is not turn your eyes away again. Do not harden your heart once ICE is abolished, because this is only the beginning of the work needing to be done. We have the opportunity to make our corners of the world a heavenly country for all, if we choose to do this long term hard work.

    Stay safe out there friends.