Absalom Jones - Here
Am I, O Lord, Send Me
Isaiah. Simon Peter. Paul. All three are depicted as struck
with immediate humility before the awesome power and presence of the Lord. In
Isaiah 6:1-8 the soon-to-be prophet who finds himself in the Temple of the Lord,
declares, "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I
live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord
of hosts!" Simon Peter, who after fishing all night and catching nothing
still submits to Jesus’ directive to put out again and let the nets down one
more time, resulting in a catch that fills the nets of two boats to the point
of sinking them, falls to his knees before Jesus and declares, "Go away
from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" [Luke 5: 1-11] And Paul, writing to
a conflicted community of Christ in Corinth, describes himself: “For I am the
least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me
has not been in vain.” [1 Corinthians 15:1-11]
Humility. A quality derived from an awareness that we come
from humus, that organic component of soil that contributes life sustaining
properties to the soil from which we and the food that sustains us are derived.
Humility describes those inner qualities that centers oneself on low
self-preoccupation, not putting oneself before others, as contrasted with
narcissism, hubris and other forms of pride – pride, one of the seven deadly
sins.
Throughout the Biblical narrative, individuals like Isaiah,
Peter, Paul and Jesus are called to serve the purposes of the love, charity and
justice which consistently appear to be the primary characteristics of God’s
concern for all people and all of creation. God periodically calls upon people
who otherwise seem to have no qualifications other than their humility before
the power and majesty of God to do the work God needs us to do. We may as well
admit that the Church often is guilty of forgetting this primary characteristic
of humility; the primary characteristic of those who are called to represent
the love, charity and justice of God in this world. Fortunately for us, and the
Church, others continue to be sent to exemplify what humble Godly service looks
like. We might call them apostles of God’s infinite love, charity and justice –
for apostle means “one who is sent.”
Absalom Jones was one such apostle, and this week, February
13th, we remember him in our Calendar of Saints. Absalom Jones was
born a household slave in Sussex County, Delaware November 6, 1746, and died a
free man and Episcopal Priest February 13, 1818. He taught himself to read out
of the New Testament among other books. When sixteen, he was sold to a store
owner in Philadelphia. There he attended a night school for Blacks, operated by
Quakers. At twenty, he married another slave, Mary King, and purchased her
freedom with his earnings. Only after securing his wife’s freedom first did Jones
purchase his own freedom in 1784.
To him, God was the Father, who always acted on “behalf of
the oppressed and distressed.” At St. George’s Church in Philadelphia he became
a lay minister for their African-American membership. As he grew that
membership, the leadership of St. George’s became alarmed and one Sunday segregated
them to the gallery unannounced. During that Sunday service when the ushers
attempted to remove them to the gallery, Jones and those he served walked out.
In 1787, Black Christians organized the Free African
Society, the first organized African-American society, and Absalom Jones and
Richard Allen were elected overseers. Members of the Society paid monthly dues
for the benefit of those in need. The Society established communication with
similar Black groups in other cities. In 1792, the Society began to build a
church, which was dedicated on July 17, 1794.
The African Church applied for membership in the Episcopal
Diocese of Pennsylvania on the following conditions: 1, that they be received
as an organized body; 2, that they have control over their local affairs; 3,
that Absalom Jones be licensed as lay reader, and, if qualified, be ordained as
minister. In October 1794 it was admitted as St. Thomas African Episcopal
Church. Bishop White ordained Jones as deacon in 1795 and as priest on
September 21, 1802.
Jones was an earnest preacher. He denounced slavery, and
warned the oppressors to “clean their hands of slaves.”
Jones’ constant visiting and mild manner made him beloved by
his own flock and by the community. St. Thomas’ Church grew to over 500 members
during its first year. Known as “the Black Bishop of the Episcopal Church,”
Jones was an example of persistent faith in God, responding to God’s call with
humility as an instrument of God’s love, charity and justice in the Church and
in the world. Like Isaiah before him, Absalom Jones responded to the call every
day, saying, “Here am I, O Lord, send me.”
The following is a prayer from A Thanksgiving Sermon Jones
preached January 1, 1808, in St. Thomas's African Episcopal, Church,
Philadelphia: On Account of the Abolition of the African slave trade, on that
day, by the Congress of the United States:
“Give peace in our
day, we beseech thee, O thou God of peace! And grant, that this highly favoured
country may continue to afford a safe and peaceful retreat from the calamities
of war and slavery, for ages yet to come. We implore all these blessings and
mercies, only in the name of thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
“And now, O Lord,
we desire, with angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven, ever more
to praise thee, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty: the whole earth is
full of thy glory. Amen.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall
I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send
me!" [Isaiah 6:8]
Who will go for us today?
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