Practicing Jesus’ Way of Healing Love
1/30/2024
The Episcopal Church’s work toward racial reconciliation, healing and justice is guided by the long-term commitment to Becoming Beloved Community. We organize our ministries around the four quadrants of the labyrinth. Each quadrant represents a commitment that is vital to lasting change within us, our churches, our communities, and society at large.
- Telling the Truth about Our Churches and Race
- Proclaiming the Dream of Beloved Community
- Practicing Jesus’ Way of Healing Love
- Repairing the Breach in Society and Institutions
We are always practicing and being formed in Jesus’ way of healing love, especially as he calls us to cross racial, cultural, and ethnic lines, to examine structures of oppression and their impact on our own and others’ lives, and to grow as ambassadors of reconciliation and healing in the world.
It’s no coincidence that the words “practice” and “healing” are together in this commitment. There is an intentional reference to medicine and the healing arts. A doctor practices medicine. This doesn’t imply that the doctor is not good at their work. The emphasis is on praxis, the doing of the work. Medical professionals are academically trained but they put that academic training and learning to work in the real world of human health. Practicing medicine is messy. It has to be because medical professionals are dealing with real life in real time.
As followers of Jesus, we too are practicing his way of healing love. We have our learnings from the Scriptures, from the Church’s tradition/history, and from human intellect and experience. However we are called to praxis, doing the work of love. It is messy because we are dealing with real life in real time.
When it comes to racial justice and reconciliation it can be hard to practice the way of love. We may fear offending others. We may be afraid of making a mistake or “doing it wrong.” These fears tell us that what we are seeking to do is important and must be approached seriously. However, we are nonetheless summoned to praxis, to act, to do.
As we work to practice Jesus’ way of healing love, we ask questions:
How will we actually grow as reconcilers, healers, and justice-bearers? What activities, practices, learning and experiences will form us and transform us? How will we share and receive stories, grow relationships across dividing walls, and seek Christ in each other and in our neighbors?
As we work to practice Jesus’ way of healing love, we take advantages of opportunities and tools we have as a church:
- Becoming Beloved Community Where You Are (pp. 6-7)
- Resources: Formation and Learning
- Anti-racism and Dismantling Racism Training
- Sacred Ground Small-Group Curriculum
- Doctrine of Discovery Training
- Healing from Internalized Oppression Training
- Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing
- Beloved Community Story
- SharingRacial Justice and Reconciliation Pilgrimages
All of these are here for us as a part of our commitment to Practicing Jesus’ Way of Healing Love.
Baptismal Promise: Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
Our Answer: I will with God’s help.