Thoughts, Prayers & Art

“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”
We will, with God’s help.

These words are not a suggestion. They are a vow. A sacred promise made at the waters of our baptism, a holy agreement between the baptized and the God who liberates. These words are our spiritual marching orders. And now, more than ever, we must remember them.

We are living in a time of calculated cruelty.

The empire has crept in, draped in flags and cloaked in fear. It imprisons the innocent, scapegoats the poor, and silences truth-tellers. It builds walls while children sleep on concrete floors. It turns away desperate families at our borders, separating children from their parents, some of whom will never be reunited. This is not ancient history. This is happening now. In Texas. In Arizona. In detention centers hidden in plain sight.

It drops bombs in the name of security. It funds the killing of civilians and then dares to call it collateral damage. In Gaza, more than 80,000 people, children, mothers, the elderly, have been killed in a modern-day genocide that much of the world tries to rationalize. Water is cut off. Aid is blocked. Hospitals are bombed. Journalists are targeted. And somehow, the church at large hesitates to speak.

This is not an exaggeration. This is empire. This is America. Right now.

And the church cannot afford to whisper.

We are not called to be polite in the face of injustice.
We are called to be faithful.
We are not called to be comfortable.
We are called to be courageous.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has always been an act of resistance. Holy, liberating, soul-shaking resistance.

Jesus was born under occupation, not into comfort. He came not to reinforce the status quo but to turn over the tables. His first sermon was a call to liberate the oppressed. His ministry was rooted in healing, feeding, restoring, and disrupting systems of harm. His crucifixion was a state execution meant to silence the radical claim that love is more powerful than empire.

But it did not work.
Love rose.
And love still rises.
But only if we are willing to rise with it.

What Is Holy Resistance?
Holy Resistance is not partisan. It is not blue or red. It is not performance activism or internet outrage. It is the ancient and ongoing work of saying "no" to Pharaoh, to Caesar, to Herod, and to every modern-day ruler who demands allegiance to death-dealing policies.

Holy Resistance is grounded in Scripture:

“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees.” — Isaiah 10:1
“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” — Amos 5:24
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” — Luke 4:18

It is the refusal to look away. It is the insistence that our faith cannot be severed from our neighbor’s suffering. It is showing up at the border. It is crying out for ceasefire. It is asking “Where is your brother?” and not being satisfied with political spin.

It is protesting outside detention centers. It is weeping over the bodies of Palestinian children. It is standing with the unhoused, the trans youth, the disabled, and the forgotten. It is preaching truth from the pulpit and living that truth at home.

Holy Resistance is resisting despair. Resisting apathy. Resisting the temptation to turn inward while the world burns.

A Baptismal People Must Be a Prophetic People
The Episcopal Church teaches that baptism is full initiation into Christ’s body, the Church. It is not just a ceremony, but a commissioning. When we are baptized, we become part of God's movement of justice, mercy, and liberation in the world. It is a holy rebellion against sin, evil, and the powers of death.

And the baptismal covenant is clear:

Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
Will you strive for justice and peace among all people?
Will you respect the dignity of every human being?

To say “we will” and then stay silent in the face of injustice is a form of spiritual betrayal.

This is not the time for watered-down religion.
This is the time for water-born revolutionaries.
For clergy who preach with fire and lay people who love with holy boldness.
For youth who demand a better future and elders who rise from the rocking chair to march once more.

We must speak, even when it costs us something. Especially then.

How Do We Resist?
Pray with your feet. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said after marching with Dr. King, “I felt my legs were praying.”

Vote like your soul depends on it. Because someone else’s life might.
Speak truth in love, but speak it. Silence is complicity.
Refuse to dehumanize. Even those who oppress are made in the image of God. To love our enemies does not mean enabling their abuse. It means resisting their cruelty without mirroring it.
Lift up the marginalized. Stand with the poor, the immigrant, the LGBTQIA+ community, the prisoner, and the forgotten.

Say their names...
    Hamza, age 4, buried under rubble in Rafah.
    Maria, age 7, separated from her mother in Texas and still not reunited.
    Jordan Neely, choked to death on a subway floor while New York watched.
The nameless, numberless dead whose bodies never make the headlines.

Sabbath and self-care are part of resistance. Rest is a sacred act in a culture of grind and greed.

Join with others. Resistance is never a solo act. The early church was a community of mutual support, shared goods, and fearless love.

The Time Is Now
Dear beloved, there are moments in history when the church must choose who it serves. God or Caesar. Love or fear. The cross or the sword.

We are in such a moment.

If you have been baptized, you have been called.
If you have been awakened, you have been anointed.
If you have breath, you have power.

Do not underestimate what holy resistance can do. It can part seas. It can bring down walls. It can roll stones away.

The tomb is empty.
The Spirit is loose.
And the world is crying out for a people who will live the Gospel out loud.

So let us rise.
With the waters of our baptism still dripping from our souls.
With the Word of God as our foundation.
With our eyes fixed on justice and our hearts ablaze with holy fire.

Let us resist.
With God’s help.
Rev. Allison Burns-LaGreca