Editor’s Note: as we all await an answer to the question of who will become our next president, we have asked a number of key voices to offer brief day-after reflections and reactions, which we will release throughout the day. The entry that follows comes from Juliet Liu, pastor of Life on the Vine in suburban Chicago, and board chair of Missio Alliance.
Today we woke up (as predicted) to unclear election results. This morning, as with most other mornings during this election season, I recited the Apostles Creed. Under many Caesars, emperors, and presidents, this baptismal confession has shaped the mission of the church for nearly two millennia.
As I recited, I thought of my Syrian refugee friends who settled here in Chicago to escape the trauma of war, who mourn over the separation they still experience from loved family members who are denied entry into the US.
I thought of my sister and those she works with at her hospital. Over the past several months in this nation, more than 1,336 medical care workers have died from COVID-19 exposure on the job.
As I recited, I prayed for the family of Marcellis Stinnette, a 19-year-old Black teenager who was shot and killed by the police during a traffic stop two weeks ago in a suburb where some of my parishioners reside.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
“The Father Almighty”…the pantocrator, the One who governs all things, and limits the authority of earthly rulers.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate…
This one sparse word describes the life of our Savior: suffered. In solidarity, he became one with those who suffer—those such as my Syrian friends, the Alkurdis, and exhausted medical care workers, and Black mamas who weep for their children.
Crucified..risen…ascended…seated…
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Evil may prosper for today, but judgment is coming. And like all things of the eschaton, that future judgment becomes relevant for the present moment as today’s prophets speak and embody the truth about evil and idolatry. Evil may prosper for today, but judgment is coming. And like all things of the eschaton, that future judgment becomes relevant for the present moment as today’s prophets speak and embody the truth about evil and idolatry. Click To Tweet
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
I commit myself anew to the work of New Creation, which looks like active solidarity and co-suffering with those on the margins. I reaffirm my faith that Jesus—the one who suffers with the downtrodden—is Lord, and Caesar—the one who tramples the little guys underfoot—is not.
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
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