Thank you, Bishop Mariann Budde. Where are the rest of them, the folks who proclaim the Christian faith and yet never would dare stand before the president to ask for mercy for our sisters and brothers who deserve mercy?
Where are the hundreds of ordained folks who proclaim that Jesus has something to do with their lives and the work they do as priest, preachers and bishops in this present moment? Where are their pleas for mercy? Where is their courage?
Unfortunately, many of them are exactly where they were when Martin Luther King Jr. penned Letter from Birmingham Jail. They are somewhere hiding with their heads down hoping to make it through these turbulent times without taking a stand.
Catherine Meeks
On King’s birthday, I participated along with a hundred others in the reading of Letter from Birmingham Jail and it was horrifying to realize how appropriate the words from it are for this present moment. King’s descriptions of those who claim to be progressive but find themselves sitting on the sidelines when it comes to making a public proclamation of their commitment to the continued freedom struggle perfectly fits the present bystanders. The folks who said they were ready to be courageous and to stand with the freedom seekers in King’s day but could not be located when it was time to speak up were just like the present-day Christian leaders who refuse to speak up.
We have a country full of folks who are wearing the label of Christian, but oddly some of them find themselves appalled that an Episcopal bishop stood in the pulpit at the Washington National Cathedral and proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ which, in fact, includes a mandate to welcome the stranger.
She bore witness by asking a mean-spirited president to reconsider his intention toward our Latinx family members. Of course, this was certainly not the politically correct thing to do. Some think she should have waited until she could have asked him in private. And others commented that she should not have brought it up. One elected official thinks she should be deported. I wonder where he thinks she should be sent.
“She bore witness by asking a mean-spirited president to reconsider his intention toward our Latinx family members.”
Many of these responses simply show that folks who are wearing the mantle of faith have far more allegiance to what they deem “proper cultural behavior” than standing up for the least of these as Jesus has asked his followers to do. Many of them might find it helpful to take another look at the Gospels.
It has been said that one should not pay as much attention to what people say as to what they do. When this rubric is applied to our church world, it comes up very lacking. The behavior in so many corners of that world speak so loudly for the negative until what they attempt to say is never heard. It is important to reflect upon how behavior takes over the floor when one is proclaiming allegiance to a set of principles that are rarely displayed in their daily lives.
Jesus kept telling the truth when he was walking around on the earth, and it got him crucified. I am not advocating that anyone needs to seek to become a martyr, but it is important to make sure our core commitment lies in trying to live in ways that verify what we say we believe.
I have been interrogating myself a lot lately. I want to make sure I am clear headed about what I am claiming to believe. I am clear that Jesus is not an idol to be worshipped. He is a model for me to consider as I work to live my life as a human being who understands that my ego is not the only thing to serve as I walk on this earth.
In what universe is it all right to harm people simply because they are different from you? We cannot allow Latinx people to become the scapegoats for what is wrong with this country. We cannot stand by in silence and act as if it will be all right as long as we keep quiet. Silence never has stopped racism and its destruction. It will not stop now.
“Silence never has stopped racism and its destruction.”
We who proclaim we are Christians need to think about what our call to action is in this present moment. King was asking those religious leaders in Birmingham more than six decades ago to be who they claim to be. He was asking them to stand up for the rights of African Americans to be treated with dignity and to support their efforts to become free people in this country.
Our Latinx family members are here because they are seeking to be treated with dignity to have a chance to live as free people in this country. Many of us understand that quite well, and those who do not cannot be allowed to have the last word about their future.
Bishop Budde, much like King all those years ago, was speaking in her sermon to the man who can do something about changing the course of terror he has been touting toward them for months, about the need to help them instead of continuing to threaten to harm them.
We who proclaim we are followers of Jesus need to check in with ourselves about our courage. We need to check in with ourselves about how we understand what the Spirit’s call is to us in this moment. While we make plans to provide shelter and other help for our Latinx family members, we need to be willing to make a public witness when it can be helpful. Bishop Budde chose to make such a witness and it will be helpful. She challenges all of us by her witness. Let’s be more than a half shade braver.
Catherine Meeks was given the President Joseph R. Biden Lifetime Achievement and Service Award in August 2022; was listed by Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the 500 women to watch in Georgia in 2022; retired as the Clara Carter Acree Distinguished Professor of Socio-Cultural Studies at Mercer University; is an author, community and wellness activist and mid\wife to the soul. She previously served as founding executive director of Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing and currently serves as founder and executive director of the Turquoise and Lavender Institute for Transformation and Healing. She lives in Atlanta.
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