A Word From David

I’ve been asked frequently whether Western has a current campus ministry, and the best response I can give is, “we don’t have much of a Christian campus ministry these days, but we seem to have a fairly robust Jewish one!”

For example, on Easter Sunday, which was also the last night of Passover, we had more than 50 students and community members of Jewish Voice for Peace celebrating a Freedom Seder in the courtyard. 

The students asked me to say a few words about Easter. Here’s what I shared with the them: 

“Jesus had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and what we mark as the Last Supper of Maundy Thursday was most likely a Seder. 

“Moreover, it was a Seder of liberation. Jesus and his followers came to Jerusalem to denounce an empire and the religious accommodation of and collaboration with that empire at the expense of the poor and marginalized.

“The next day he was put to death by that empire. The crucifixion has been called empire’s decisive “no” to the love and liberation of God. For us, Easter is God saying, ‘I’ll see your ‘no’ and I’ll raise you - as it were - a new ‘yes.’’

“For us, to hear God’s “yes” clearly, requires saying no to empire, no to oppression, no to exploitation of the weak, no to war, no to the use of religious language to justify any of that.

“I think Jesus would find our moment familiar. I think he would still be denouncing empire and, especially, the collaboration with it that happens in his name as Christian nationalism and Christian Zionism.

“I’m pretty sure he would feel at home at these tables with JVP students and friends, and more so than many of us who call ourselves his followers. So thank you for inviting us. Thank you for being here. Thank you for doing all that you do for freedom and liberation.”

I went home Easter night grateful for the opportunity to share a bit of ministry with the Jewish students who share a passion for justice that enhances what we do as church at Western. I think Jesus would be at home in the midst of all of this, and that’s the best thing one can ever say about any ministry.