Hello dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

In this missive there are quite a lot of opportunities for you to explore. I commend them to you - there is music and art, and there is justice work to be done.

As America continues to struggle with two simultaneous pandemics - racism and COVID-19 - and many of us are still fearful about leaving our homes, I find myself turning back to our sacred scripture and wondering just what did Jesus mean when He talked about justice? What does justice mean to me? My friends, I have only just begun taking the first small and tentative steps towards exploring my internalized racism. I've been sitting at the feet of Jesus struggling to figure out how I feel and what happens when my feelings change.

I came across this portion of 2 Corinthians and want to share it with you:

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” (2 Cor 13-15, NIV)

Our society has not historically been great at equality and in 2020 we are still struggling with systems that lock people of color in places that support inequality, that perpetuate racist and anti-black sentiments, and are refusing to acknowledge the harm that they (the systems and people) have caused. As a white person, I frequently ask myself 'what can I do?' I am grateful for the education I am getting in exactly that.

So here is what I am committing to do: I will read books written by people of color, I will participate in activities sponsored by the local NAACP chapter, I will engage in ECCT's work towards Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation, and I will locate farmers and makers of color and purchase their products as much as I can. I will also speak out when I see injustice and continue to agitate in some way, even if it's small, in the systems that perpetuate white supremacy. For until we understand that God created us all equal, and desires us to have what we need, these systems will not fall. Until I can realize that I have too much while others have too little, I am supporting those systems. Until we can see each and every human being as the very image of God, we will not succeed in reconciling this world to what God imagined it could be.

This, to me, is some of the work of justice that Jesus calls us to. The work of justice takes many paths and we don't all have to walk the same ones. We must be faithful in our journeys and walk side-by-side for all of these paths will, I pray, lead us to the Kingdom. Amen.

Photo by Maggie Breen

As I start to write this, my son Christopher is preparing to defend his dissertation in Hebrew Bible tomorrow, so naturally I’ll be writing about an Old Testament saint. [No, not really, I had planned this long before Chris had a defence date.] Anyhow, he’ll be discussing Enoch who has one puzzling thing written about him in Genesis chapter 5.

²³ Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. ²⁴ Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

Many interpret “took him” as meaning he was taken directly into heaven. By coincidence, the same is said about this month’s saint, the Prophet Elijah. His feast day is July 20 ^th. Now, that’s not June, but his buddy Elisha is also in the icon, and his feast day is June 14 ^th.

From the years of his youth Elijah dedicated himself to the One God. He settled in the wilderness and spent his whole life in strict fasting, meditation and prayer. Eventually he was called into prophetic service for confrontation with the Israelite king Ahab and his wife Jezebel. She had persuaded her weak-willed husband to build a temple to the pagan god Baal, which of course led many Israelites away from the worship of the true God. The Prophet Elijah declared to Ahab, that as punishment there would be neither rain nor dew upon the ground, and this drought would cease only with a prayer from Elijah. To hide from the couple’s wrath, the Lord sent Elijah to a cave beyond the Jordan. There he was miraculously fed by ravens. This is shown in the lower left side of the icon.

Later, the Lord commanded Elijah to anoint Elisha into prophetic service. Much like Enoch, and because of his fiery zeal for the Glory of God the Prophet Elijah was taken up alive into Heaven in a fiery chariot. Elisha refused the leave his mentor before this, but this last trip must have been too much, and all he did was ask for his mantle (and some of Elijah’s spirit.) On the way, they crossed the Jordan. In order to do this, Elijah struck the water with his mantle and the water parted like it did for Moses, although Moses didn’t use a mantle. The Prophet Elisha received Elijah’s mantle, and a double portion of Elijah’s prophetic spirit. All this is shown on the righthand side of the icon. It’s a good thing Elisha received Elijah’s mantle, He needed it to strike the Jordan again so that he could get back to his original side of the river.

The life of the holy Prophet Elijah is recorded in the Old Testament books: 1 Kings; 2 Kings; Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 48:1-15; 1 Maccabees 2:58, (note, this includes some books considered to be deuterocanonical.) At the time of the Transfiguration, the Prophet Elijah conversed with the Savior upon Mount Tabor (Mt. 17:3; Mark 9:4; Luke. 9:30).

In iconography the Prophet Elijah is depicted ascending to Heaven in a fiery chariot, surrounded with flames, and harnessed to four winged horses; he discards his mantle, which Elisha frantically tries to grab. We pray to him for deliverance from drought, and to ask for seasonable weather.

Well, it’s a day later as I warp this month’s monologue up. Great News, my son has successfully defended his dissertation, “Tongue of Flesh – Tongues of Fire: Enoch’s Encounter with the Heavenly Court in Comparison with the Encounters in the Hebrew Bible.” Congratulations Dr. Christopher Clarke.

Icon and article by David Clarke, St. John's Episcopal Church, Vernon

This is the space of possibility! A space where we have time to explore what we are curious about. A space where we can figure out how to find joy when we must be apart.

So..........here are some things I've found interesting in the past week: music, projects, art, articles, etc. May they be of service to us so that we can be in service to others.

If you are looking to get involved with Racial Healing, Justice, and Reconciliation but aren't sure where to start, below are a few good resources for you to check out:

Meeting ID: 918 5445 9304

Password: 290632

Call in: +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

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You can reach Maggie Breen, NE Region Missionary, the following ways:

PHONE: 203-639-3501 x154

EMAIL: [email protected]