See All the People
What does it mean to me, to “See All the People”? I think this could mean many things. It could mean seeing the guests we serve food to on the first Saturday of every month, seeing the children who come to pick up weekend bags with their families every Thursday, seeing the Fairfax County food service workers who stand outside in Northern Virginia heat and humidity every single day to provide food to children and their families. It could also mean seeing the volunteers who show up day after day to make sure their neighbors are fed, housed, and seen. I think it also means to see all the people who are hurting right now. Those who are hurting because of institutional racism, economic inequality, LGBTQIA+ exclusion, food scarcity, unemployment, and the threat of illness. Seeing all the people means seeing them and the multitudes they contain, and seeing them, all of them, as children of God.
When we take that seriously and live out the mandate that God has placed us under “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly” it becomes clear that seeing all the people is easy, seeing them is easy. Acting with them, loving them, and walking with them is hard. But it is the work we are called to. It is the work we must do if we are truly followers of Christ and His example. In my own journey of activism and investigation of my privilege I learned that no one is voiceless. They are, however, silenced by structures and people who do not want to hear from them. We must see them and see ourselves and the ways we desire to help, and desire to stop being a hindrance to their success.
I believe our challenge now is not to simply see the people, but to be of the people, with the people, for the people. The people who are poor in spirit, who are mourning, who are meek, who are hungry, who are merciful, who are pure in heart, who are peacemakers, who are persecuted. This includes but is not limited to people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ people. As a queer Christian, I have never wondered if God loves me because of who I love. I have wondered if The Christian Church as an institution does, though. To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly must all be active things, active demonstrations of our love. I am part of a church that I believe is doing this work. That is the church I know, the God I know, the United Methodists I know. Those who are known by the way they love, not the way they exclude. John Wesley observed that “love is the fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment. It is not only the first and great command, but all the commandments in one.” When we act inclusively, for justice, for mercy, and in solidarity they will know us by our love.
Sarah Casey is the Director of Serve Ministries at Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon. She recently graduated from Harvard Divinity School with a Master of Theological Studies degree. While she is happy to be back in the Northern Virginia area, she maintains her Boston sports loyalties.