Politics and Prophecy: Jon Richardson Reflects on #GC77

With the 77th General Convention behind us, Integrity leaders returned to their regularly scheduled lives -- and in the case of the Reverend Jon Richardson, VP for Nat'l Affairs -- returned to the pulpit. His sermon for the Sunday After #GC77 was entitled "Politics and Prophecy." You'll want to read it all here ... but to get you started, here's a taste:

The Episcopal Church tried to act with integrity at this General Convention. We discussed and we prayed and we discerned, and our leaders acted in the ways in which they felt called. We called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. We expressed our support for oppressed Palestinians by calling for positive investment in their communities. We clarified our commitment to nondiscrimination in the church by adding gender identity and expression to the explicit categories of nondiscrimination protected by our canon laws. We affirmed the place of gay and lesbian Episcopalians in the church with the approval of liturgies for the blessing of their relationships. We reaffirmed our denominational commitment to anti-racism. And much, much more.


All in all, we tried to live into that delicate balance between power and prophecy. It made me proud to be an Episcopalian.


In each of our lives, we, too, are called to practice that same balancing act. There are degrees to which we’re all capable of wielding power, and degrees to which we’re all capable and speaking prophetic truth. The story of John the Baptist and Herod is an allegory for us of what can happen when that balance is disrupted.


Power can bolster the prophet. Prophets can guide the powerful. But beware of losing that balance - it’s usually at the expense of the prophetic truth-tellers.


I’m grateful that our church seems to take this calling so seriously. My prayer is that each of us, as members of church that works to model this for us, can use our power and our prophecy in ways that bring truth to the world around us.