March 20, 2025

CHARGE!  

So, I was charged with sharing a reflection a few weeks ago and was down to the last minute trying to get it together because work is so hectic right now, but Rev. Palmer suggested that I wait. I marched on and finished the reflection that I’d forgotten to complete; he still asked me to wait. I was secretly hoping that the feelings behind what I had initially written would subside and I would find my way into a more “reflective” stance because Lenten season would have begun… Nope. In that time, I’ve just been trying every day not to wear the new shirt I bought, which says, “Pray with me, don’t play with me,” to work.  

My first spiritual, audible call to ministry was in 2001, in the back hall of the House of Delegates, when I was a lobbyist when God told me to leave my work, and in a fit of tears, I said to God, “I’m not going anywhere!” The series of interactions between God and me for the next 6 years after that is novel-worthy. I had to leave, but I returned and am still there. Not to brag as if God isn’t secretly letting me think I won, but after much reflection, I realized God transformed me into someone who could be there with a purpose I couldn’t see at the time.  

It isn’t easy to reflect during the Lenten Season in a space with constant voices and movement all day. The new “squawkbox” is now the computer playing the floor proceedings through the Internet, which used to be a box on the wall to keep us updated in real-time as to the current proceedings in the Chambers. There are several mic-drop moments on the House floor that call for, well, reflection. There’s also the nonsense that calls for those mic-drop moments.  

I decided to share the original reflection with the hope that it will help you reflect on where you are in this new political climate. 

When asked to preach for Revival during Black History Month in Seminary, I was nervous as it was Seminary, and I was still learning what to do and how to do it. The professors taught the discipline of preaching the lectionary. I figured, “Ok. I can turn anything into a sermon…” The scripture… 1 Peter 2:17, “Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.…” Under the federal government administration at the time, it was one of the most challenging sermons I had written up to that point, and it still is today. Here we are 9 years later, same emperor, different doge…  

I’m exhausted, tired of being tired and annoyed. 

I now have my Master of Divinity to use in my position as a senior staffer in the Maryland General Assembly where the intersection of faith, politics, and society has never been more apparent. What is my role there, considering my role in the Church? What is your role in considering Jesus’ call to care for the marginalized?  

As scripture asks me to honor the emperor, does it call me to honor a leader person who does not honor the rule of law or understand that you cannot rule by Executive Order? Theological reflection on what is happening in the United States federal government invites us to consider the role of power, justice, humanity, and just doing what’s right. As I explore my role and that of dismantling and disrupting systems of oppression, I watch as the systems that were created through the attainment of civil rights to dismantle and disrupt white supremacist structures are now being utilized to disrupt and dismantle that system, almost in one fell swoop. What is my role? What is your role? How are we reflecting on what’s happening during this Lenten season? 

The tension in holding scripture so close in these times is determining how tightly folks are committed to continuing to weaponize it by concurring that it’s ok to dismantle laws around gender-affirming care or observe ICE disrupting a nice walk to school by a 7-year old, or arresting people while they’re in the ER or church service, or by removing opportunities for participation - in anything - by dismantling DEI initiatives which white women are now discovering meant them too, because I know anything I got I Definitely Earned It, and thank you Mayor Brandon Scott for that DEI slogan.  

I struggled with naming all the current Administration’s shenanigans here and why we need to give consideration to seeing scripture for what it is as opposed to what we want it to be or what we think it is, but that is triggering and unproductive. My advice for keeping anxiety down is to hope on things eternal, not temporal, which is the first thing I said to my bestie that day after the election. I was surprised that she was in literal tears. Christian eschatology teaches that the ultimate hope for justice, peace, and flourishing lies not in earthly governments but in God’s eternal reign. Don’t be frustrated with me for saying that right now. It’s all we’ve got spiritually - to believe that these current world affairs cannot be all we have to look to and think it’s over now or there is nothing we can do. It’s not. God’s justice will prevail, peace will be restored, and the fullness of God’s purposes for creation will be realized. When we speak of this, we ordinarily mean this in the “Book of Revelation” sense of the words, which still stands, but I mean it in the here and now. Your role, you ask? Calling for policies that protect and uplift all people, especially the most vulnerable, such as immigrants, the poor, and the marginalized, by looking critically at policies regarding healthcare, immigration, racial justice, and economic, gender, and environmental inequalities, but you my friends, already know all that.  

But don’t feel like you can’t do anything. I watch people come to Annapolis EVERY DAY to fight against what’s happening. Legislators filed several bills to offset the effects of what is happening at the federal level. There were also bills filed that align with what’s happening at the federal level. If you disagree, come down to Annapolis and testify, march, and advocate. File a lawsuit if you’ve been a victim of an outrageous injustice. Not sure what you can do? Reach out to Legal Aide, the Attorney General’s office, and your legislator, then come into community, pray, and organize. (The Justice and Witness Action Network still alive and awaiting your arrival..)  

Your political involvement is what brings God’s kingdom near. Show someone what Jesus looks like through your Christ-centered civic engagement and hope that those in political positions will be transformed by your civic engagement by following the politics of Jesus to fight against empire but also to clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, and uplift the downtrodden and depressed; they really need us now. But also take time to reflect on how to engage in self-care during this Lenten season. We need each other to hold one another accountable for caring for ourselves and one another as we fight the good fight...because this is a fight.  

And just so we’re clear, I ain’t honoring nobody at 1600, but I will follow the rule of law if it aligns with that which God calls. The charge is to offer the grace to the emperor, another human being, because YOU are a child of God...even your president, YOUR president, needs prayers; prayers for repentance, reconciliation, transformation, and sanctification… grace AND mercy… It was the Politics of Jesus, even as tables were being flipped.