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Joan Martin addresses Voices of Sophia Breakfast

12-June-2001

by Nancy Rodman

LOUISVILLE, June 12 - "It is our choice to go down with death or be threatened with resurrection so that we might reverse the death-dealing elements in our church and society" was the message delivered to the Voices of Sophia breakfast this morning by the Rev. Joan M. Martin, William W. Rankin associate professor of Christian Social Ethics at the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Ma.

Martin challenged a packed room on issues of racism, gender and class bias, and power to reclaim biblical authority and reject biblical idolatry. The reason we have a living tradition, she said, is that people interpret scripture to their times as Jesus did when he read scripture in the synagogue saying, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." He went on to interpret the scripture, she said, angering the people. "Who," Martin asked, "was not angered by Jesus' interpretation?"

"What Jesus was about," Martin said, "was making his tradition as alive as possible." The heart of Jesus' message is unambiguous: preaching the good news to the poor, oppressed, proclaiming release to the captives. We need to figure out, she continued, what it means to be privileged and what to do about that. We are threatened with death by racism, gender and class bias, and abuse of power, but by God's grace we can choose resurrection over death.

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