Theme: Return of the Light
Location: Memorial Episcopal Church, 1407 Bolton Street, Baltimore, MD 21217
Show Dates: December 20, 2024 – January 5, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, December 20, 2024, in the context of and following a worship service celebrating the Longest Night, 7:00 pm
Dear Parish Family,
In the gospel text for this weekend, Jesus goes all in on the prophetic voice: “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” [Mark 13:5-8]
This is a dynamic world. Everything changes, and when it does, it can be disorienting and scary. Nevertheless, to be dynamic is to be alive. This means that we are ALWAYS living in a time of uncertainty. So what are we to do with that? My approach is to plunge into that “cloud of unknowing” with gusto. It doesn’t take away the uncertainty, but it does allow me to approach new things with my own agency rather than being passively swept up in them.
This is why Jesus’ prophetic voice is so important. The “end” is always near, because so is rebirth! It’s not trivial to be able to distinguish between an end and a beginning, but we must be able to see both to enter into the new thing: the birthpangs. One of my favorite scriptural texts is Isaiah 43:19: Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? If we are too absorbed with the end of something, we won’t recognize the new thing.
Without a doubt there are times through which we will not want to pass in our lives, and that is exactly when we most need to summon our courage and think with clarity. That is when you must (as Jesus warned Peter, James, John and Andrew) Beware that no one leads you astray.
There are many people who call themselves Christians these days. Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. That is why we must never forget what love looks like—we cannot afford to forget about chesed when there are so many people claiming to be Jesus followers and yet act nothing like it. Look for the justice and the love. If you don’t see it, it’s because it isn’t there. That’s how you will avoid being led astray.
Our church is a place of tremendous potential. It is not because of who we have been, but because of who we can be. We need each other, and the city needs us to step up and reveal what the true love of God looks like. That’s how we keep each other from being led astray by pretenders who are nothing like the people Jesus has asked us to be.
This is but the beginning of the birthpangs.
In love and hope,
Pan +