To the holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ on Capitol Hill. Grace and peace to you from the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Living God!
Like Paul with the Church at Colasse and Philippi, I give thanks to our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because I have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints and sinners in this community. I am joyful for you, because of your partnership in the gospel, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus!
For these reasons I continue to pray for you and ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding in your role on Capitol Hill. And I pray this in order that you may see this community with the eyes of Jesus, be Him and bear his light in this dark and broken community, and live a life worthy of your calling as a Child of the Lord of Hosts and bearer of the light of Jesus on Capitol Hill, pleasing him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.
Early in Jesus’ ministry, he saw the crowds and had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. At the end of his ministry as he was traveling into the city of Jerusalem, he wept for Her because She did not recognize the day of peace had come, for their Messiah had arrived. In the one instance Jesus’ heart ached because he saw the brokeness of the people’s hearts and need for restoration. On the other, he knew that healing and restoration was found in himself, yet was rejected by the very people he came to save. Do you look upon your coworkers and other congressional staffers with the same eyes of compassion? Are you brought to tears that the Enemy has blinded the eyes of thousands of people within your community, a blinding that has deadened their hearts so they can neither understand with their hearts nor turn to find the healing and restoration from the Savior? I beseech you to pray in ernest for the eyes of Jesus to notice the darkness and brokeness. But I also pray that your noticing turns into loving and serving.
While the ministry of Jesus began and ended with noticing, the three years in between were filled with acting; the darkness and brokeness he saw compelled him to act. In the same manner of Jesus, I pray that you will be Jesus to the Capitol Hill community by living incarnationally. In the words of Jesus himself: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in your hearts to give you the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Because of Jesus, you have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from yourself. Let your light shine before the Hill community, then, because you have been blessed as a child of God to be a blessing to the world around you, a weighty calling indeed.
Finally, live a life worthy of the calling you have received by Abba, a dual calling as child and consul. As a child and disciple of Jesus Christ, you are called to come out from among the world and be separate, to live different lives of distinction. For you are the Church, the Body of Jesus Christ, as it exists on the Hill–a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Do you not know that you are not your own? You were bought with a price, therefore honor God with your body! Likewise, live such good lives among your coworkers that they may see your good deeds and glorify God. But as his child, you are also his consul, an ambassador of Christ as though God were making his appeal for restoration of the individuals within the Capitol Hill community through you.
You are called as a child of and ambassador for the Way of Jesus. Live it and represent it! Yes, the Way of Jesus is countercultural to the Way of the Hill: moderation clashes with alcoholic excess; servanthood runs counter to selfish ambition and the “Capitol Climber” model; virginity and sexual purity seem downright psychotic compared to the trysts and liaisons of your coworkers; words of kindness and love seem useless and bitter-tasting compared to those of gossip and backbiting; and “the last will be first, and the first will be last” sounds like cute sloganeering in the face of prideful prances of the well dressed and titled. It is tough, but Jesus called us to follow him into that toughness. He called any who would claim the name of “disciple of Jesus” to deny him or herself, die a thousand daily deaths to the Way of Self, and follow Jesus and His Way instead. That includes your life in the Capitol Hill community.
I close by praying for bravery for the Ecclesia as it exists on Capitol Hill: that you would be brave enough to peak and notice the walking dead around you; that noticing would spur brave, deliberate acts of compassion and healing; and the acting would flow from a brave commitment to being Jesus to and being Jesus’ within the community around you. It is Jesus who helps us want to be brave, to will and act according to his good purpose. So I close with a prayer that you would know Christ and the power of the bravery that compelled him to suffer and die on a wretched cross for you and your community.
Thank you for your tireless efforts to serve this nation and Her people. I know the sacrifice and difficulty, so thank you. Also, thank you for your deep down desire to the ideal and vision of the Kingdom of Heaven. I know you came to Capitol Hill to make a difference, and though the daily grind seems like you have wandered far into no-mans-land away from your original path, Jesus is still using you for His purpose, glory, and Kingdom.
I end with the same word’s St. Paul wrote at the end of his letter to the Church at Ephesus: “Peace to you brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.”
be His,
jeremy
