Juneteenth

Dear Beloveds,

This past week we marked an important day in the life of our nation. Juneteenth, the shortened form of June nineteenth, is also known as Freedom Day. The Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued in 1863, freed enslaved people but the news did not arrive until two years later to the enslaved people in Galveston, Texas. It was on June 19th, 1865, when they finally received their freedom.

African Americans have endured deep and lasting pain from this part of our country’s history. The dignity of being human was so damaged as a result of the inhumanity of slavery and has deeply and indelibly affected our fellow humans.

This understanding and knowledge of our country’s history also must have a direct effect on us as believers, in that we must remember that all people were created in God’s image—Imago Dei— the theological understanding of Judeo-Christianity that we were all created to be in God’s likeness. Imago Dei has its roots in Genesis 1:27, and because we understand Imago Dei to be true, we see that it is foundational to seeing human rights and human dignity regardless of our class, race, or gender.

Juneteenth helps us to remember that the horrors of slavery were broken with emancipation. Furthermore, the good news of the Gospel is that Jesus makes the same promise to all of us today—He breaks us free from the shackles of our past, our present sufferings, and all future agonies.

Our God cares for everyone—the oppressed, those who are hurting, those who are without hope. We are all covered in God’s grace, and we can be sustained by the peace that Jesus offers.

Bishop Desmond Tutu once said, “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” Friends, let us remember these words from Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Let’s build one another up and see each other as Imago Dei—made in the image of God, and let us be human together.

In Christ’s service,

Pastor Grace