 from
the Minister & President
We cannot be righteous if we do not do
justice
By Nancy S. Taylor
December, 2003
In this season of Advent, God announces that justice and righteousness
are inseparable, indeed that we cannot be righteous
if we do not do justice.1 In
this season God proclaims liberty to the captives, the opening
of the prison to those who are bound, and good tidings to the
poor.2 As God’s
Advent people we are called to both anticipate and participate
in this good news.
Freedom Schooner Amistad inspires us to this holy
work of anticipation and participation. During her two weeks
in port, Amistad unloaded her precious cargo into
our lives: a story of freedom, faith, and courage. Amistad is
a story of prisoners set free; of people who were in darkness
arising into the light. It is now our story to tell: to share
with our new member classes, our children and youth, our neighbors,
families and friends.
But, beyond the telling of the story, the God of the Advent
season calls us to wade into the waters of justice and righteousness.
It is in this spirit that the Massachusetts Conference has
established a new Racial Justice Task Force. It is in this
spirit that we take up the challenge to continue the Amistad legacy
by working together to overcome racism. An array of possible
next steps, including ideas for self-education, intercultural
connection, justice action and next steps for your church can
be found at here.
Those who attended our UCC Amistad Celebration Day
saw the United Church of Christ flag flying from the schooner’s
foremast. Literally and figuratively, we have nailed our colors
to this mast: we are a justice-seeking church. Beyond our many
differences, we have this core theological commitment – this
Advent commitment – in common: we understand righteousness
and justice as inseparable. This is a vast common ground on
which to claim our unity as the United Church of Christ. There
is room for all of us here ... every single one of us: conservative
or liberal, traditionalist or Gen-X, urban or rural, small
or large church, rich or poor church. It is to this core theological
commitment that we apply ourselves when we pray that God’s
will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and as we work to
eradicate the hells on earth that still exist for too many
of God’s children.
Jeremiah announces that ‘a righteous Branch from David
shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.’ It
is our Christian conviction that the righteous Branch has come.
In his name and as his disciples, we are emboldened to wade
into the waters of justice and righteousness proclaiming Advent’s
good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, and release
to the prisoner. In this world so steeped in bad news, this
is good news indeed.
As a result of bringing Freedom Schooner Amistad to
Boston, we have a variety of practical ways of making this
good news real in people’s lives. We are aware, perhaps
in new ways, of the reality of modern-day slavery and some
of our churches have begun work on this. Some have initiated
conversations on race; others are exploring partnerships with
churches of different racial and ethnic and national locations.
Still others are committed to issues of housing, public policy
advocacy, overcoming homelessness, and excellent public education
as a civil right for every child in America.
May the God who comes to set the captives free, grant us courage
in the struggle for justice and humility in our hunger for
righteousness.
Wishing you a blessed Advent season,
1 See Jeremiah 33.14-16, the
reading from the first Sunday in Advent for this Year C,
in which God promises a ruler who will bring justice and
righteousness.
2 Isaiah 61.1
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