Just about 2 years ago, on a beautiful winter day in DC, I spent a couple of hours with Presidents and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as I walked around the Tidal Basin. I reflected on their words, on how they are portrayed, on the glorious spaces. I sat for a long time on a sunny step and could see Jefferson, Roosevelt, and King all at once. I imagined the conversations they might have, had they lived in the same era. I know none of them was perfect, but each gave his best to the country they loved - a country that was not ever perfect, still is not, and never will be.
Although my faith in our collective better angels has been sorely tested of late, these monuments to our highest aspirations give me hope. We can grow and change, as individuals and as a country. We may never achieve perfection, but we can more closely approach it. We can continue to seek justice for all. We can continue to work for true peace, not just for an absence of conflict. We can stand against hatred and oppression. In these ways, we will honor the best of those who have gone before us.
My Christian faith compels me to love fiercely, to work for justice and peace, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, and to respect the dignity of every human being. Not only when it is easy and convenient, but also when it is challenging and disruptive. My words may never be carved in stone, but I hope that my life will in some way be a monument to peace, to justice, and to the power of love in action that can bring them about.