This Sunday’s feast of the Holy Trinity comes amidst not only a global pandemic - yes, that’s still happening - but also the latest in a string of killings of black men and women in the United States that has stretched back for centuries - George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery being among the most recent. We need to be broken for these deaths, and we need to pray for God’s mercy in light of the brokenness of our nation.
Imago dei is Latin for “image of God,” like you’ll hear this Sunday in the readings:
"so God created man in his own image
In the image of God he created him;
Male and female he created them." Gen 1:27
The simple take away here is that all life, especially human life is invaluable. Indelibly stamped on our being is the image of the Holy Trinity, the only glorious One, the fountain of life in whose light we see light. And so to assault any human, much less kill, is an assault on or murder committed against God’s own image. Thus, the events of the last few weeks should give us holy pause especially when we consider that so many of a particular skin color have been killed without cause over and over again.
Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal, have mercy on us.
What we must call to mind is that when, “for us and for our salvation the [only-begotten] Son became incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man,” He did not sit on a throne of power but was rather glorified by being “crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffering death, and being buried." The striking reality to remember in these grievous and lamentable days is that when God sent His own Son to show us His image in full - the same image we have been created in - the Son did not lord it over us. Rather, he poured Himself out for the life of the world. He showed us what it means to be fully human.
Dear People of St. Bart’s, how can we be fully human in this moment? How can we behold the crucified and glorified Christ so that we may see the way of the cross is the way of life? That our lives by His uncreated grace, become the way of the cross? And how can we come alongside our neighbors of color - especially those who are black - to do just what the Prophet Micah said: “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”?
We need those three things - justice, mercy, and humility. They are not abstract, untethered from the life of God and measured by our society, our constitution, our political parties, or even our sordid past. Rather, these virtues are perfectly displayed in Christ. As we behold the same Christ, may we become image bearers in the full, pouring ourselves out for our neighbors for the life of the world in God’s justice, God’s mercy, and God’s humility. Amen.
Jay+