Posts by Paul Ortiz
MLK’s Prophetic Vision
Kindred in Christ,
What an unbelievable couple of weeks we’ve had so far in 2021. An armed insurrection and assault on our democracy in the U.S. Capitol. And COVID cases continue to rise. Yet I have also found much encouragement by the power of the people to make change through the efforts of Black organizers such as Stacey Abrams. And I continue to be hopeful in the slow yet steady administering of the COVID vaccine in our country. In all these struggles, I am reminded of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s words, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” These prophetic words are a reminder that we do not strive for a better world in vain. Rather, any small act of compassion, mercy, and justice is in line with the (albeit long) arc of the universe toward God’s coming justice in the world. As we join our country in remembering the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King this weekend, may you rely on the spiritual truth that you are always held in God’s moral arc towards universal justice.
Rev. Paul Ortiz
Epiphany 2021
Kindred in Christ,
Two days ago, we witnessed a violent storming of the US Capitol in an act of emboldened white supremacy. It was also the Christian day of Epiphany, when we remember and celebrate the story of the Wise Ones who followed “La Estrella de Paz” or the Star of Peace (Matthew 2:1-12). Our scriptures reveal that violent aggression that seeks to protect privilege and supremacy at all cost, as we witnessed in the news this week, is nothing new. For it was Herod who was so paranoid at the idea of losing his throne that he ordered the massacre of innocent children who might grow up to threaten his throne. This supremacy-securing-violence, as shocking as it is to read in the scriptures and see on the news, is also not that surprising in our country as it was built on white supremacy. Indeed, this is the same violence that people of color experience whenever white supremacy is threatened or questioned. It is the same violence that leaves Black bodies dead at the hands of police officers, and brown children locked in cages. And if you are like me, whenever you witness supremacy-securing-violence in our world, there is the tendency to feel like we only have two options—either live in fear of the violence of the Herods of our world or emulate them. Yet the Wise Ones in in the story reveal to us that there is another way. They had the audacity to confront King Herod (with all his false perverted sense of violent power) and ask for the true king who embodies the power of peace. Join us this Sunday as we celebrate Epiphany together and reflect further on what it means to follow “La Estrella de Paz” in a world of violence. See you on Facebook Live!
– Rev. Paul Ortiz