“See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me….” Malachi 3:1
Dr. King was a person who was so profoundly formed and shaped in his mind by the words of the bible and the stories of people that his imagination would not be limited. He could have easily allowed the limitations of his holy-inspired vision to be hindered by the evil of Jim Crow, segregation, and discrimination. Yet, his voice lends credence to the notion that there indeed can be another way of seeing the world. He saw visions and dreamed dreams of a beloved community where life is lived in self-less love instead of selfishness and disunity. His was a God-given mission toward realizing a just society for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, creed, color, gender, economic, or social condition. His message was about allowing everyone to flourish and participate as fully as possible as vested members in God’s creation because of the Lord’s reign.
For me, this season has been a time of soul-searching. I have been reminded in my prayers and reflecting on my baptism that it is far too easy for the Church to lose hope because we are tempted to cling to worldly hope, and in dire situations, we are tempted to despair. This is our human condition but thank God this is not our only condition. As people of the resurrection, we are called to herald Jesus’ message of hope and proclaim that we can realize new creation because of the power of the Holy Spirit. But that means I must be able to faithfully imagine beyond my limitations and embrace and embody God’s possibilities and promises. I must be able to stand and proclaim that we have a hope in Christ Jesus that even death could not consume, nor a cross contain it is a hope that will never be extinguished nor erased from history. This must always be the mantra of God’s messengers… because Jesus lives, we can face tomorrow in certain hope. Though we may see dimly, we can move forward with courage because a voice out of Bethlehem two thousand years ago declared that all humanity was created equally out of extravagant love.
If you would like to view past editions of The Capital Connection,
follow this link: https://capitaldistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/