"Yet, Know This..."
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M.L.K., Jr.
One of my personal heroes in life certainly exhibited what can and does happen when the tragic realities of systemic injustice encounters the justice-oriented love of God as found in Jesus, the Christ of God.  That man was Martin Luther King, Jr. 
   On 28 August 1963, he gave a speech in Washington, D.C..  In it, he boldly declared, "I have a dream."  I want to read a bit from it that you might hear the voice of someone whom I consider to be a modern-day prophet.  On that day, addressing the issues of racial injustice, he said the following…
[Source to original text]
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
  What words of power these are.  They are the words of a man who took a good hard look at the world around him and could not stand what he saw, who could not bear the wailings he heard.  Surely, there were many who would tell him, "Well, that's just the way it is and there's nothing any single man can do about it."  But he refused to accept it.  For he was obsessed with a vision of new possibility rooted in the deeper experiential reality God's justice-oriented love. 
   These are words that declare that the injustice must end, for it is God who stands against it.  For the oppressed those words bring comfort, as they say, "The kingdom of God is at hand for you."  But, for the oppressors, they bring offense, as they say, Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand."  And, yes, that offense did indeed cost him his life. 
   But even then, he would be able to recall with integrity the words of Jesus, who spoke to all his people saying, "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.  Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!  Behold, you reward will be great in heaven.  For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way."
This Font, This Table
To vow to follow the Christ of God, is to vow to live a prophetic life, as both individuals and as a community.   This font and this table symbolize that commitment.
   Through the waters of baptism, we are engrafted into the immortal body of Christ, sharing in his person and in his work.  At this table, we gather as a Kingdom people as all barriers are leveled that would normally separate people in the work-a-day world.  Here, at this table, there is neither rich nor poor, white-collar nor blue-collar, republican nor democrat, male nor female, gay nor strait, American nor African, young nor old, or any other form of separation that we can think of.  At this table, we are one and the same.  Together, we are the body of Christ, swimming in the eternal baptismal waters of life together. 
   As we partake of this bread and this cup, make no mistake about it, we paint a picture of a whole new possible world.  We witness to the world a more excellent way, a way of prophetic-love, a way of divine grace. 
And as we leave this room, as the body of Christ is broken and distributed amongst those who are in need in this world (yes, sometimes to be devoured like sheep among the wolves), we can do so knowing that God goes with us, that God is for us, and so we need not tremble before the powers of darkness and despair.  For we know the greater reality behind this table and this font and behind all things. So, let us pray that  we become agents of liberation for those who mourn, and a reason to tremble for those who would dare to abuse the children of God.  Let it be known throughout the world, that truly, the Kingdom of God is at hand, and we are its prophets...come what may.
In the name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.