Contemplating A Better Political Imagination

Dear God of radical welcome,

Hebrews 13:2 tells us that some have entertained angels without knowing it — and I wonder how many angels we have turned away at the door because they did not look like us, vote like us, or pray in the language we prefer.

The early church gathered around tables where Roman soldiers broke bread beside the people they once oppressed. Jewish merchants shared wine with Gentile laborers. The koinonia — that deep fellowship — was itself a political act, not because it endorsed any empire, but because it announced a different Kingdom altogether.

In the Anglican tradition, we kneel side by side at the communion rail — banker next to bus driver, refugee next to retiree — and we receive the same bread from the same hands. That rail is the most radical piece of furniture in any city. It insists that before we are liberal or conservative, before we are citizen or stranger, we are beloved.