Column by Mary Lee Talbot
“America is in crisis; we are losing justice. And when we are in crisis, we should turn back to God — but not the God of charity. The God of the Bible is the God of justice,” said the Rev. Jim Wallis at the 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning worship service in the Amphitheater. The scripture reading was Matthew 25: 31–46 and the sermon title was “The Least of These: Jesus’ Final Test of Discipleship.”
He noted that he and his wife, Joy Carroll Wallis, had been at Chautauqua in 2005 with their sons: Luke, then 7, and Jack, who was 2. Luke loved to ride bikes, and they felt Chautauqua was safe enough for him to ride. One their first day, Wallis walked Luke to his children’s activities. On the second day Luke told him, “I know where to go; I want to do this on my own.” Wallis replied, “Really?” Luke said, “Daddy, you can pray for me.”
Joy Carroll Wallis is a priest in the Church of England and was the model for the lead character in the BBC series “The Vicar of Dibley.” She co-led the morning worship services with Wallis in 2005.
Wallis was taken by one of the hymns for Sunday morning, “The church of Christ cannot be bound,” especially the third verse. The words are “True love will not sit idly by when justice is denied. / True mercy hears the homeless cry and welcomes them inside.”
One of the first stories Wallis told about the least of these was about a letter he received from a group at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. They had read one of his books, and their leader invited Wallis to come and talk with them. He wrote back and asked when would be a good time to come. The group leader wrote back, “We are free most evenings.”
There were about 300 men in the group and Wallis talked with them for about three hours. They told him that most of the people there were from three or four neighborhoods in New York City. Their leaders said, “It’s like a train from our neighborhoods to Sing Sing. I was converted here and when I get out, I will work to stop the trains.”
Wallis said, “What a powerful image. I have used that line in many commencement addresses over the years. I ask the graduates, ‘What trains are you going to stop?’ ”
He continued, “I want to ask this week what trains we might try to stop. You know, the text we read this morning is my conversion text. It converted me from a secular activist to a faith activist.”
Earlier this month, Wallis was involved in a procession on the steps of the United States Senate. There were about 700 clergy, and they were processing to bring attention to the impact that the “big, beautiful budget bill” would have on the least of these.
Two of the senators who joined them on the steps of the “great Parthenon of politics” were Cory Booker and Raphael Warnock. The clergy pleaded with them not to leave their faith outside the door. Each of the senators was asked to read a scripture that had special meaning and give a talk about it.
Wallis said, “All the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) will affect millions of people. Their health will pay for the tax cuts for the wealthy. One trillion in tax cuts is taking one trillion from the poor.”
At the event, Wallis shared his conversion and text and spoke about it as “Jesus’ final words of discipleship.” Jesus spoke in the first person, “I was hungry, I was naked, I was a stranger, meaning immigrant,” Wallis said. Jesus blessed those who had welcomed the least of these.
The passage ends with a judgmental warning. “Jesus was not often judgmental, but in this case, he was,” Wallis said. “Both groups thought they were followers of Jesus. When they asked, ‘When did we see you?’ he told the first group, ‘When you did it to the least of these, to my family.’ Of the millions who will be hurting, Jesus is saying, ‘That’s me.’ ”
There are many in Congress who would have liked to join the procession Wallis led, but they are afraid. One said, “We are with you in spirit, but we are afraid to be on the steps with you. Retaliation is real.”
Wallis said, “This is a Biblical matter, not just a political matter. People are afraid.” One of his good friends is Peggy Flanagan, the first Native American lieutenant governor of Minnesota. One of her best friends was Melissa Hortman, someone with whom Flanagan shared the joys and trials of motherhood. Flanagan was also on the list found on the alleged assassin in Minnesota.
Wallis continued, “That assassin was trying to kill someone who is like a daughter to me.”
Another person who influenced Wallis was Mary Glover, the glue of the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Washington D.C. There was a food bank in the neighborhood every Saturday, and Glover would pray before they began.
“She prayed like she knew who she was talking to. She would say, ‘Lord, thank you for waking me up. Thank you, these walls are not my grave. Lord, we know you are coming through this line today, so Lord, help us to treat you well,’ ” Wallis said.
He continued, “She could see her savior and lord in the line. Lord, help us to treat you well.”
When Biblical theologian Walter Brueggemann died on June 5, Wallis said in Brueggemann’s New York Times obituary, “There are court prophets, prophets who just speak to what the king wants them to say, and then there are the Biblical prophets who speak up for the poorest and most marginal.” Brueggemann was akin to the second kind.
Wallis said, “We have to look at the line and see people like Mary Glover did. Lord, help us to treat you well. Can I get an amen?”
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, senior pastor for Chautauqua, presided. Candace Littell Maxwell, chair of the board of trustees of Chautauqua, read the scripture. The prelude was “Dawn,” by Cyril Jenkins, played on the Massey Memorial Organ by Joshua Stafford, director of sacred music and the Jared Jacobsen Chair for the Organist. The Notre Dame Children’s Choir, led by Michael Olson, sang the choral introit, “Laudamus te,” by Audrea Ramsey. The Chautauqua Choir joined with the Notre Dame Children’s Choir to sing the first anthem, “Ubi Caritas,” by Zachary Wadsworth, words in North Italian or Burgundian. Stafford conducted the choirs, and Owen Reyda, organ scholar, accompanied them on the organ. The second anthem was “In paradisum,” sung by the Notre Dame Children’s Choir under the direction of Mark Doerries and accompanied by Stafford on the organ. During the Chautauqua Family Milestones, the congregation was invited to stand and remember loved ones who had died since the 151st Assembly began in 2024. “Taps” was played by Jordan Ku and Elijah Leonard on the trumpet. “Taps” was written by David Butterfield, the commanding officer of the 83rd Pennsylvania Regiment out of Erie, Pennsylvania, during the “Peninsula Campaign” in July 1862 during the Civil War. It was played first by Oliver Wilcox Norton, a Union soldier in the 83rd Regiment, from Sherman, New York. Norton Hall on the Chautauqua grounds was a gift from his wife, Lucy Coit Fanning Norton, in memory of her husband and their daughter, Ruth. For the offertory anthem the Chautauqua Choir sang “I was glad,” music by David Hurd and words from Psalm 122. Stafford directed and Laura Smith, organ scholar, accompanied them on the organ. Stafford played “Improvisation on McKee,” by Robert McCormick, on the organ. One of the hymns in the service was “The church of Christ cannot be bound” with music by McKee, an African American Spiritual, with words by Adam M.L. Tice. Support for this week’s chaplaincy and preaching is provided by the Gladys R. Brasted and the Adair Brasted Gould Memorial Chaplaincy.
