Dear Friends,
We forget, sometimes, what remarkable blessings we enjoy as citizens of the United States in the 21st century. Our Independence Day holiday can be a potent reminder of how much we have to be grateful for.
I continue to be haunted by the attacks on Coptic churches in Egypt this last Palm Sunday, reminders both of the bloody struggle in the Third World (and even in developed countries) and of our privilege of religious freedom. Martyrdom for the faith is not a relic of the Protestant Reformation and other eras, but a reality in our own time. I invite you to hear a brief sermon from one Egyptian Coptic priest here. It is a profoundly Christian response to those who would perpetrate violence.
As Christians, we do not elevate nation over God – this would be idolatry – but instead work to realize a society that bears witness to Jesus’s love and justice. (Take a look again at last Sunday’s gospel message!) We in the U.S. are uniquely prepared for this work because we are people of great privilege.
Amid the fireworks and picnics next week, take time to thank God that we live in a place and at a time when we may worship him without fear and be his agents of love and justice in the world.
Wishing you every blessing,
Mtr. TJ