All the young clergy knew this was true before any of them said it. We may be young but we are not stupid. Looking across the room I knew everyone was thinking the same "oh, crap" thought as we willingly sat and absorbed the messages of justice and mercy being shared while simultaneously marveling at how in the world we would ever be able to effectively share all of this with our congregations.
All churches have positions on social issues. In the United Methodist Church these are organized into something called "The Social Principles." If you have never heard of them it is probably because at some point a clergy person(s) made a conscious decision to steer clear of controversy. And since The Social Principles are positions with political implications, they are inevitably controversial.
As we prepared to go home from the 'safe zone' of the Methodist building to our churches that Wednesday afternoon we all sat in the deep anxiety of what direction we should go next. Knowing that in our education and dialogue we had been made accountable in a new way to honor our calls to serve Christ and the church and that in this accountability we must now find ways to be true to all dimensions of our call, seeking justice included.
So as I sit here tonight reflecting once more on our call to seek justice here is my question:
When did we become afraid to speak for justice on behalf of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? At what point did we trick ourselves into believing that we did not hold a political office? And what honor does it bring the sacrifice of his life for our salvation to neglect these social issues because of there political implications? To stand silent on issues of global poverty, environmental degradation, and the proliferation of violence in our world? Do we not see that our silence is also being heard? And that in this silence we are becoming invisible to God's creation?
