3rd Sunday in Epiphany, 1-21-25
Today is the 500th anniversary of a group of radicals who defied the Zürich city council by baptizing each other as adults the night of January 21, 1525. This fanned the embers of the Radical Reformation and Anabaptist movements. Conrad Grebel presided over a “believer’s baptism” of George Blaurock, a former Catholic priest, at the home of Felix Manz. Learn more about this historic moment here.
Right: A 16th-century illustration of Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz and Wilhelm Reublin (bottom) debating the question of baptism with the secular lords (left) and theologians (right), on Jan. 17, 1525. The next day, the Zurich City Council ordered all who had not baptized their children to do so within eight days or be expelled from the city (from Zentralbibliothek, Zurich).
This was the “birth” of the movement both Elaine and I seek to carry on as Mennonites, and it is being commemorated globally throughout this year by our church. So I take the fact that Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy: Luke’s Jesus and Sabbath Economics officially drops on this very anniversary as a commissioning to carry on the disruptive witness of my spiritual ancestors. (Note: During the month of February you can order the book at 20% off using discount code CHEDMYERS20 at our page on Bookshop.org.)
This book is an attempt to recontextualize Jesus’ teaching about the crisis of economic disparity in his time, in order to help animate churches to confront the plutocratic regime inaugurated in our country yesterday. This is congruent with the spirit of the gospel reading for the upcoming Third Sunday in Epiphany (1/26): because Jesus’ inaugural sermon in Luke’s story is his recontextualization of Isaiah’s recontextualization of the ancient Jubilee proclamation of restoring equity. Listen here to another excerpt from the November Worship Design Studio interview we debuted last week: a 5-min. reflection on that famous Nazareth sermon (and see more in the book, pp. 65-71).
Finally, two quick announcements:
Feb 15 book launch postponed: Out of respect for the fathomless losses incurred by so many in Pasadena and Altadena during the recent horrific, climate crisis-fueled fires, we have postponed our book-release party to April 5 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. We’ll say more about this in next week’s blog/blast.
Register soon for the Festival of Radical Discipleship II that we are co-sponsoring with Kirkridge Retreat Center, May 23-26, as spaces are going fast! Go here.
