Dear saints,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” When I read those words I cannot help but think of the number of times the first followers of Jesus struggled to live together, jostling for the good seats in the kingdom. It’s comforting to know that when we find it hard to live in communion with others, that we are in good and ancient company. On this weekend when we honor Dr. King’s life and legacy, we are not looking to forge an easy communion any more than we follow a God who dispenses what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called a 'cheap grace’. Life together requires something of us. As Bonhoeffer explains, "Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.” So, my invitation to you this weekend is to ask what the cost of your discipleship might be. What might you be willing to give up in order to forge a more true union with the people you share this city with? And by what ways are we being called to become more a community that learns to live together with a greater diversity of others? It is a tremendous privilege and weighty responsibility to proclaim the gospel in the city of Dr. King. May we honor his memory with the work now entrusted to us.
Peace,
Simon+
