I’ve been thinking a lot this week about how we as a Church (both big C and little c) see ourselves and our mission in the world. The world is on literally and figuratively on fire and what are we supposed to do about it?

I recently took the General Ordination Exams (GOE) for The Episcopal Church. Writing the GOEs are a requirement for the priesthood in The Episcopal Church, as well as a rite of institutional passage. There are 6 essay questions taken over 3 days, with 3.5 hours allotted for each answer. It's grueling, but it can also be illuminating, fun, and a bit dangerous.

The first question of the second day was the Church History question, and we were instructed to profile 2 Episcopal Bishops, one modern (consecrated after 1945) and one historical (consecrated between 1810-1880), and to reflect on how our 2 examples could inform a newly elected Bishop today.

As a relatively new Episcopalian, I was excited to dig deeper into our history, and decided to research and report on an anti-slavery, abolitionist Bishop. Imagine my dismay and distress upon discovering there wasn't a single one. Not even one. I already knew that The Episcopal Church was the only major Christian denomination that did not split during the Civil War. I already knew that The Episcopal Church's complicity created deep wounds that we are still healing. And I know it’s quite possible that, given my research limitations, I might have missed something or someone. But for some reason, finding not a single Bishop who was courageous enough to speak out against the horrors of slavery stunned me into silence and sadness and rage. And into a writer's block that lasted an hour, before I managed to cobble together an answer that wasn't, by my own standards, sufficient.

צֶדֶק (tzedek), the Hebrew word for justice, appears over 400 times in the Old Testament, and it is crystal clear that God requires us to "Do justice and love mercy." Even when it's not convenient; perhaps especially when it's not convenient.  When Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated in 1968, he had a disapproval rating of 75%. His disapproval rating was even high among African-Americans, partly because of his increasing outspokenness against the Vietnam war. MLK paid the price for the courage of his convictions with his life. And so did Jesus.

"My Bishop '' ended up being Bishop William White of Philadelphia, who was the first and fourth Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church. Bishop White ordained Absalom Jones, the first Black man ordained in The Episcopal Church, in 1795, and was committed to the American Revolutionary cause.  And although Bishop White was a bright light in my sea of despair, I was unable to use him in my essay because his consecration did not happen during the stated rubric of the exam question. But he gave me hope.

This is my cue to ask myself, and to ask you to ask yourself, "What do I believe and what or who am I willing to stand up for?" Our passions, our beliefs, our truths are required. Whatever the issues, whatever the needs, be they local, national, or international, we are the hands and feet of God in this world.

Jesus said "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed." (Luke 4:18)

We as a parish, as a beloved community, have everything we need to make a difference in the world. Our Eucharistic Prayer says that we present our entire selves as a living sacrifice to God. My prayer is we all, in every way we can, continually seek out and do צֶדֶק