How Long, O Lord?!
The Advent season calls us to wait with expectation for the birth of our Lord and Savior. We wait for the coming of the Christ-child who promises to erase the lines of division and to liberate the oppressed. And as we wait for the not yet here, we remember the already promised redemption of the world wrought by Jesus on the cross. That tension between waiting for the Kin-dom and yet abiding in the promise that it has already been fulfilled can be difficult and gut wrenching. Like children on a road trip wondering aloud, “Are we there yet?” the church proclaims, “How long, O Lord!?” How long must we endure the indignity of siblings in Christ marginalized? How long must we labor for justice for the oppressed? How long until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at His heavenly banquet? How long, O Lord?!
Many have been waiting for inclusion in the Methodist church through season after season of division and harm. They have waited through the season of oppression symbolized by the Central Jurisdictions and racially charged division that persists to today. They have waited through the season of harm done around women’s ordination and the misogyny that pervades culture even to today. And they have waited through the increasingly vitriolic rhetoric lobbed at people of sacred worth and the spiritual trauma inflicted upon them by the church. As a movement, we’ve been waiting – expectantly – for the in-breaking of the Holy Spirit to transform the Church since February when General Conference 2019 affirmed the Traditional Plan. We’ve seen glimpses of the coming Kin-dom in those who bravely signed the GC2019 response. Annual Conference 2019 showed everyone that the movement is not afraid to work for the Kin-dom of God here on Earth even as it demonstrates how we continue to fall short on matters of inclusion of all of God’s children. The Cultivating Beloved Community events gave the Conference a glimpse of what a radically inclusive church might look like as we welcomed all into our communities. Our public witnesses at the Conference office have continued to call us to prayer for all of Christ’s holy church, even and especially for those with whom we disagree. We continue to yearn for a church where all can be welcome to be themselves and we stand committed that all truly does mean all. Even as we’ve been waiting on and witnessing the work of the Holy Spirit, we – you – have been building the inclusive church all around the Virginia Annual Conference. In following the call of John the Baptist, the VA Methodists for a New Thing have been preparing the way of the Lord even as we wait for Christ to come again.
Waiting is not easy. Waiting is not often fun. But, the waiting makes us ready. We wait in anticipation of the Kin-dom to come, ready to move with joy when we finally see it made manifest. In John Green’s novel, “The Fault In Our Stars,” a character says this line (itself a take on a Hemingway quote): “As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.” Friends, we are reminded this Advent that we worship not only a child in the manger but also a risen Savior who shall return and shall turn our world upside-down! We pray for the all-at-once restoration of Creation. But in the meantime, we are committed to the slow, intentional work of faithfulness and justice as we, the Body of Christ, grow in love and in the image of Christ.
Together we wait and watch for the coming Child, we recommit to working for full inclusion. As we wait in the liminal space between the already and the not yet, we dream of a time when all will be welcome in Christ’s holy church.
Virginia Methodists for a New Thing Leadership Team: Josh Blakely, Rev. Beth Givens, Rev. Kendra Grimes, Alison Malloy, Ashley Parker, Rev. Jonathan Page