Preparing The Way

(Preparing the Way, Part Three of Salvation from the Margins)

Our reading this week intimates what was actually happening on the margins, in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight,

the rough ways smooth.

And all people will see God’s salvation.’” (Luke 3:1-6)

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(Read this series from the beginning at Part 1 and Part 2.)

Justice doesn’t just happen in our world. It is the result of years of organizing, planning, and action. Here in my state, we still have so far to go toward economic, racial, gender and LGBTQ justice. And even though the way is uphill most of the time, there are those who are still preparing the way, straightening out crooked paths, leveling the ground, making the rough ways smoother, and working to remove the obstacles of justice.

One such example is Fairness West Virginia, which is working in local municipalities to expand each town’s nondiscrimination ordinances to include LGBTQ nondiscrimination. This work has been going on for over a decade now in the hope that one day we’ll have enough local municipalities with expanded ordinances that the step to make LGBTQ nondiscrimination statewide will be easy and seamless. There are many who still oppose this effort. Nonetheless, just last week another small town joined the work and expanded their nondiscrimination ordinances.

There are others at work, too, in many other issues and areas where justice is desperately needed here in Appalachia. But this is my point:

Even in the face of deep chaos and the many attempts to harm people, communities of justice are still present and at work. Communities of resistance formed last time we were here are still present and still at work. Yes, those at the helm of the mechanisms of injustice are more prepared this time and planning to hit the ground running the day after the inauguration. But we are still here and better prepared, too.

Look to the margins. Look to the wilderness. Look to the voices on the edges, and to the grassroots work being done in your local communities. When you become aware of an opportunity, don’t just sit back. Add your voice. Add your energy and whatever resources you can spare. Because the promise in our reading this week is even when we are faced with the most daunting of extraordinary challenges, we can choose for justice to have the last word. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways will be be made smooth. And all the people will see God’s salvation.

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