2025 Journal-Yearbook

Illinois Great Rivers Conference 2025 Journal-Yearbook

the injustices of racism and colonialism. I mean the suffering and struggle that comes when we stand in a pulpit or in the public square and proclaim the love and justice of God in a world that is riven with intolerance and hatred. Why do we think that Jesus said in his great Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:10) . He said that to remind us that if we follow him--if we reach out to the least of these, like he did ---we are not going to win any popularity contests. More likely than not, we are going to suffer. So when we hit that wall of resistance—when we hit the wall of the struggle and suffering that will surely come in this Christian life--do we have the endurance and steadfastness of character to keep our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of God? (Heb. 12:1-2). Do we have the endurance to persevere in the face of struggle? On June 23, 1990, I stood in a blazing sun with a quarter of a million people on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston. We were there to hear Nelson Mandela speak. He had just gotten out of prison four months earlier. Mandela had endured all kinds of hardship as he worked to end apartheid in South Africa, including being imprisoned for 27 years. What I heard from Mandela on that day was not despair, resentment or bitterness. What I heard and saw was perseverance, joy and hope. Despite the hardships he suffered, he had persevered, and he was still full of hope. He was full of hope for his people. He was full of hope for reconciliation and hope for peace. And the joy of that hope emanated from him. Friends, the work of Mandela is not done. The very forces against which Mandela fought are rising again. Will we endure and persevere in the face of this struggle? Will we endure with hope? Indeed Paul assures us, “We even take pride in our problems, because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance produces character, and character produces hope. 5 This hope doesn’t put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5: 4-5) . IGRC: will we take Paul’s words to heart, depend on God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, and endure with hope? I pray that we will, because we are living in a world that seems bent on repeating some of the most difficult parts of history—when hatred and bigotry, intolerance and violence destroyed millions of lives. We are confronting movements that are sticking their toes in that history by actively dehumanizing and attempting to erase whole groups of people. Black and Brown people are having their histories and culture erased. Trans people are having their identities erased. People are losing their jobs, their livelihood and their freedom. Immigrants are being snatched off the street. Jewish people are under attack. The basics of human survival -- food, housing, medicine and healthcare are becoming more precarious for many. Poverty and sickness are on the rise. Protec- tions of the environment, including those that protect human health are being rolled back. Wars continue raging in Ukraine and the Middle East. Humanitarian crises are multiplying. We are living at a time of struggle and of great suffering—a time when it

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