• By Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton •
As I write this reflection Bishop’s Day 2011 is almost over.
Nine of the 13 Districts have conducted their events and so far 2,615 clergy and laity have attended.
Our major focus for 2011 emphasized “Engaging in Ministry with the Poor.” Over and over, I have emphasized Bishop’s Day as a Continuing Education Event, as it’s another way to position the Michigan Area for growth.
Read 1 Corinthians 3. When the apostle Paul talks about factions in the church that belong to him or Apollos, he offers this description of their work. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
Here’s my point.
Bishop’s Day Attendees in every district have worshipped, prayed, discussed and laughed, learned and fellowshipped under the leadership of 13 District Superintendents.
They have planted and they have watered. And God will provide growth — in His own time. Evidence of this watering and planting has appeared in the excitement created, convictions restored and new ideas accepted for making disciples of Jesus Christ at the local church. Laity and clergy in Michigan want to live into the Great Commission. And so we’ve focused our attention and learning about the “least of these” and reminded ourselves of our responsibility to care for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned.
Still, “engaging in ministry with the poor” has proved sobering. Ministry to the poor focused on circumstances some of us knew years ago, never knew or don’t want to know. In every society, the poor are a permanent class.
My pastoral letter and YouTube video Bethlehem’s Got a Hold on Me says as much, especially the last two paragraphs.
Is the essence of our mission making disciples of Jesus Christ centered on “the least of these” for the transformation of the world? Excerpts of a prayer used in the worship service for Detroit East District Bishop’s Day has the answer.
“We pretend not to hear your children crying out for food. We choose not to see our homeless neighbors in our communities, in our nation and around the world. Forgive us too, for ignoring those who struggle to stay warm in the winters, who are left orphaned because of disease or war, and who are persecuted because of race or ethnicity. Guide us to reach out to the most vulnerable, sharing the gifts of your creation and wrapping them in your protective love. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.”
Not seeing hunger, homelessness and destruction, in Japan became impossible on March 11; the same for Haiti on January 12, 2010, or Louisiana and Mississippi on August 23, 2005 when earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and flooding ravaged through these areas.
Poverty, human squalor, disease, sadness, hunger and homelessness became their life circumstance in the twinkle of an eye. Have mercy, Lord!
Muse on this March 13 Yahoo.com headline; “Japan’s death toll estimated as over 10,000.” It suggests this glaring fact of life: All of us are one paycheck, one catastrophic illness, one hurricane, one flood, one tsunami, one tornado, one earthquake, one nuclear meltdown or one act of violence from poverty.
Ask Job, Joseph or Japan. What keeps hope alive when such things come is God and the children of God. For we teach and train ourselves with acts of kindness and mercy which our Lord inaugurates with a vision statement during a teaching moment in the synagogue in Nazareth; namely “the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:17-19)
And so must we, so must we.
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