How should followers of Jesus respond to the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade? Here are four ways we can live in light of this new legal landscape:
We Rejoice
The Bible says, “Love rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor. 13:5). Something true happened in this decision. An entire class of small, weak, vulnerable people in our country—unborn children—were often deprived of basic human rights. Their voices were not heard. They did not count or matter. Now those injustices (at least on a federal level) have been reversed. That is something entirely good and true. We don’t need to wait for other good and true things to fall into place. We should rejoice now, without reservation.
We Bless
For many people in our nation, this decision does not produce joy. Instead, they are angry, hurting, and frightened of what might come next. These people may be your work colleagues, family members, friends, or neighbors.
Our response is never to return “evil for evil.” Instead, we bless. We bless people who consider us the enemy. They are never our enemies. We pray for those who dislike our politics, mistrust our motives, malign our convictions, or even hate us. We listen to their concerns. We ask questions. We hear the pain or fear under the anger. We always seek to bless those on the other side of this issue.
We Love
For the Christian, love has always a particular shape and even a specific face. Love is in the shape of Jesus’ life. Love is found in the face of Jesus Christ. That means that real love is always incarnational and sacrificial.
Love has human skin on it. It is present and lives among and walks beside the beloved ones. Love is always face to face. We can’t dispense it from a comfortable distance. We walk with people, especially women and children during difficult pregnancies. And then we walk with these women and children beyond the child’s birth. Love gives and keeps giving.
Legal decisions don’t live incarnationally or sacrificially. Only the Church can do that—which means, only you and I can do that.
I know a two-year-old child who is alive today because of someone in this church. A young woman in crisis came to one of our high school students and said, “I’m pregnant and the child’s father and my parents want me to get an abortion. It’s my only option.” Our high school student said, “You don’t have to do that. There are people at my church who can help you.” We held a baby shower and have offered continued support and friendship. That’s incarnational love.
We Create
A legal decision won’t change what we’ve been doing here at Church of the Resurrection for over three decades—creating a culture of life. A place where the weakest and most vulnerable are protected and cherished.
That’s why we have tied together three ministries here—our Sanctity of Life team, our Replanted team (a ministry birthed out of Rez that ministers to adoptive and foster care families), and our ministry to persons and families impacted by disabilities. All three promote the dignity of the human person before and after birth.
That’s why we’re partnering with Pastor Michael Wright and Caring Network to launch and equip a crisis pregnancy center in an under-resourced neighborhood in the West Side of Chicago.
That’s why we partner with World Relief providing care for refugee and immigrant families.
That’s why we have a permanent baby bank in our church building. It’s a small but tangible way to tell pre- and post-delivery mothers, “You are not alone. You have friends and advocates here.”
We rejoice, we bless, we love, and we create until we become a church “where every human life is protected in law and welcomed in life” (Richard John Neuhaus). That’s our goal and our passion as a church. Let us pursue that goal with grace and love and truth.
Fr. Matt Woodley, Acting Dean
