February 8, 2026 Rev. Elle Dowd - Jesus: Enemy of the State

Drawing on the prophetic witness of Martin Luther King Jr., Fred Hampton, Archbishop Oscar Romero, and the radical story of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel, this sermon reframes “taking up the cross” not as private suffering but as collective resistance to Empire. Grounded in histories of liberation movements and faith-rooted courage, it explores the cost of standing with the oppressed, the dangers of religious institutions aligning with power, and the enduring call to choose love, justice, and solidarity over safety. It invites listeners across traditions to recover a faith and moral witness bold enough to challenge systems of domination, sustained by the wisdom of our ancestors and the enduring hope that liberation is possible.