Federal Grants to Churches | Conference on Peace Israel/Palestine
Friends,
Today's lectionary brings up a horrible memory from when I was a kid which I describe below. My church was welcoming, loving, open for questions. My family was mission focused and loved to consider every possible meaning of a scripture. Those foundations gave me the strength to know that the movie we watched was wrong.
Still, I was anxious into my forties when it seemed someone may have suddenly been whisked away in the rapture!
But one message in that film was correct. We need to be prepared for what is to come.
-Liz
Get Ready!
When I was in junior high we were shown the movie A Thief in the Night. It presents the return of Christ as terrorism -- those who have accepted Jesus (with the proper formulaic language and obedience) will be taken from earth at Christ's second coming. Those who have not said the proper words are to be tested by a world full of violence and horror caused by the United Nations.
The main character was a white girl our age, and her white pastor. (Are there any people of color in this world view?) The girl and her pastor are not true believers, her pastor a liberal christian, and she, simply someone who asked questions.
The girl finds her mom's empty slippers by the sink and her dad's razor still humming in the sink where he dropped it. They were "true" believers, stolen away to safety. She is left behind to try to avoid getting the mark of the beast.
So perhaps you understand that I don't love the image in this text, where it seems to suggest that Jesus is a thief, coming to steal our well-being. It is an odd metaphor.
But the image, and urgency, of being ready for what is coming feels very relevant today. Our lectionary includes the texts before the thief in the night story, assuring us that God wants everything good for us, even God's abundant Kingdom. It is a reminder that this text is not about a second coming where God will hurt people.
Which is not to say there isn't violence coming! It is not caused by God but it is real. Imagine for a moment the writer of Luke and the urgency he feels in the ten years before, or after, the destruction of Jerusalem. (The book may have been written sometime between 60 and 80 CE; Jerusalem was destroyed in 70.)
The people are exasperated with Roman rule and have risen up in their own defense, food and other resources are harder to access due to war, and Rome is threatening to, or is, destroying the city. Or has destroyed it. In this context the writer remembers Jesus' exhortation to be ready, to staying woke, to always be prepared.
I certainly feel like now is when we must prepare for worse times to come. We must be watching what is happening and figuring out how to be ready for whatever is next. We joke about buying things before tariffs raise prices, but a useful question is how will these higher prices affect the poorest around us, and what can we do to mitigate those costs?
Now is the time to figure out how we will stand up for our members and neighbors. Now is the time to strategize how we will provide resources for those in need. Now is the time for the theological and practical arguments about what role this congregation will play in this town as the world around us spins out of control.
What is needed to get ready is specific to your congregation's call to your community. If you are serving immigrants, now is the time to arrange for legal resources. If you are feeding your community, now is the time to expand your networks and publicity. Now is the time to find the underground railroads that are developing for trans health care and safety. For churches who use federal grants for funding their missions, now is the time to read the fine print and decide if you will collaborate, divert, or stand firm.
I'll admit that I used to wonder why so many people did not rise up against authoritarian regimes in the past. Now what I can see is how hard it is to know what to do, and when to do it. This is my advice: start looking for the answers now. Be dressed for action; have your lamps lit (Luke 12:15).
How can your church get ready? Do you have advice for other churches, or things you've tried that seem effective? Reply to this email to let me know what's happening.
The UCC has offered advice to churches who are using federal grants to look for new language in the funding contract about DEI. It might complicate or negate your ministry to all.
"Jesus is calling the Church--not to comfort, but to faithfulness, peace, and costly love." From the material on the Church at the Crossroads Conference September 11-13, addressing Peace in Israel/Palestine. Online and in-person in Illinois.
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