A Word from Laura: Reclaiming Scripture
“Laura, it’s not your ministry that I’m frustrates me; I just think I’m done with organized religion.”
One of you shared your frustration with Christian faith recently. (Part of me wanted to say, “Yes, but at Western we’re not THAT organized!”) Your frustration at the “Christian” organization behind the impending overturn of Roe v. Wade had broken your heart. You hadn’t been part of the Free Inquiry discussions on public theology, nor had you been part of one of the conversations about what it means for our congregation to become more intentionally antiracist and intercultural. I’m not judging; these days it’s hard to stay connected with the faith we share at Western if you’re not able to be with us in person on Sundays and you’re not interested in engaging on-line.
As many of you know, the loudest voices claiming the name “Christian” these days stand for so much of what goes against our core theology and spirituality at Western. Many of you have heard me say for us there’s no such thing as Christian nationalism, that to try to join church and state for the sake of grabbing power goes against following Jesus who said the first will be last and the last will be first. When we say “Jesus is Lord,” we mean that the understanding of God upsetting every unjust use of power is authoritative for us, and that it comes with an inherent critique, or at least a check, on political power. The Free Inquiry class has been doing good work, trying to think through how to speak to this aspect of faith publicly, using language a larger public will understand.
At Western, we have the shared responsibility to continue to grow as a community in what being Christian means for our personal and communal faith and how that way of living sets us apart. How will we all grow in the aspects of our scripture and tradition that lead to this kind of faith? How will we resist the misuse of religion to prop up those in power? Not even mainline Presbyterianism is immune.
This Sunday, we take another two steps in that direction. In a week when we have all heard of the leaked Supreme Court opinion that foretells of the unjust use of power to restrict the agency of women over their bodies, we’ll hear the biblical story of Tabitha being restored to her full self. For those of you still wondering what is meant by “intercultural,” we’ll pay attention to how Peter resists the influence of an unjust political culture.
And we’ll hear from Jennifer Butler, executive director of Faith in Public Life, speak about her book Who Stole My Bible? Reclaiming Scripture as a Handbook for Resisting Tyranny. I love this title, and I have great respect for Jennifer and the work of her organization. I believe you will resonate with her work to ground us in faith that is authentically Christian, resisting unjust uses of power, and on its way to a different kind of organized. Come join us, in-person or on-line.
Deep blessings to you, my friends,
Laura