Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear Friend,

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Harriet Ross Tubman, known as the “Moses of her people.” The official prayer written to commemorate her work in helping enslaved people escape to freedom goes as follows: O God, whose Spirit guides us into all truth and makes us free: Strengthen and sustain us as you did your servant Harriet Ross Tubman. Give us vision and courage to stand against oppression and injustice and all that works against the glorious liberty to which you call all your children; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Strengthen and sustain us, give us vision and courage, help us to be who we are called to be. I’m grateful for her witness and this prayer that calls us out of ourselves and into service. I have been looking for resources to share for the Lent, Holy Week, and Easter Season and came across a podcast. It’s just part one of five, but it’s a manageable length—fewer than 20 minutes. It’s geared toward children, and in a very basic way it ties together the work of God through Moses in leading the Israelites out of bondage, and the ongoing salvation history God is leading his people through. Out of bondage into truth, and freedom. Especially in Holy Week we hear this story echoing—we trace salvation history throughout that week and it culminates with the Easter Vigil’s feast of story and sounds and prayers—the God of our salvation is with his people throughout history, in the arc and in the particular.

The podcast talks about what it is to be holy, a holy people Israel, a holy person like Moses, and it uses the simple description of “set apart.” To paraphrase, people can be set apart for the purpose of showing what God is like, God is holy, different from any other god around. Moses, Harriet, and many other saints throughout history seem to have been set apart for special work. In their case, to help people out of oppression and degradation and into freedom.

This calling, to follow God into freedom in mind, body, and spirit is echoed with the simple goals the Presiding Bishop has shared over his 9-year term (which comes to a conclusion next year). “We’re following Jesus into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, with each other and with the earth.”

We know how hard it is to make a good mission statement, much less for a church with ancient roots and complex structures, but this does feel like it helps. Who are we at our core as Christians? Who are we called the when things are not going well for our neighbors or for ourselves? May God give us courage to follow him in love and into truth and freedom.

In Christ,

—Mtr Taylor