The Feast of Absalom Jones (Obeserved at St. Luke's on Feb. 15, 2026

“I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends.”

These words of Jesus remind us that God does not relate to us as a distant master, but as a friend—one who walks beside us, who understands our struggles, who gives us hope even when hope seems far away. And there are few lives that reflect this truth more clearly than Absalom Jones.

Absalom Jones was born into slavery in Sussex County, Delaware, in 1746. He knew oppression firsthand, yet he also knew God’s call to lift up the downtrodden. In Philadelphia, he helped organize the Free African Society, caring for those cast aside by society and showing that the love of Christ is never abstract—it is lived, it is tangible, it is courageous.

After gaining his freedom, Jones, along with Richard Allen, became one of the first African-Americans licensed to preach in the Methodist movement. They served at St. George’s Church in Philadelphia—a church that, for all its progress, still practiced discrimination. In 1792, African-American members were told they could not sit with the rest of the congregation. After praying, Jones and his fellow members rose and walked out, refusing to accept humiliation.

That walk led to action. Jones and Allen founded the Free African Society, providing mutual aid to the free Black community in Philadelphia. Allen went on to establish the African Methodist Episcopal Church, a vibrant tradition still alive today. Jones himself was ordained in 1802 in the Protestant Episcopal Church, after founding the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, which continues as a beacon of faith and community.

Jones understood what freedom truly meant. St. Paul tells us, “For freedom Christ has set us free; do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” For Absalom Jones, this was not abstract theology. He knew slavery, segregation, and bigotry intimately. And yet, he resisted. He built community. He preached the truth. He lived the freedom Christ offers.

On January 1, 1808—the day the Atlantic slave trade officially ended—he preached:

“Inhuman wretches! Though you have been deaf to their cries and shrieks, they have been heard in Heaven. The ears of Jehovah have been constantly open to them: He has…come down to deliver our suffering countrymen from the hands of their oppressors.”

Though humankind often fails, God is faithful. God is never oppressor; God is always liberator. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” As Christians, we believe this even when the world seems unjust. Absalom Jones knew suffering and fought for justice anyway—and so must we.

The God we worship is not a distant master. God is not a callous lawgiver. God chose to become one of us in Jesus of Nazareth, standing beside us as friend, companion, and hope. Even when hope seems distant, Christ walks with us.

And even today, the work of remembering and honoring justice continues. This past January, the National Park Service removed historical markers recognizing enslaved people and African-Americans in 18th- and 19th-century Philadelphia. In the process, the contributions of Absalom Jones and Richard Allen were also obscured. But history cannot erase the truth: their courage, faith, and commitment to justice remain alive in our communities, in our worship, and in our hearts.

So let us honor Absalom Jones not merely in memory, but in action. Let us stand for freedom, justice, and compassion. Let us walk the path he lit for us, following Christ as friends, not servants—together, in hope, in courage, and in love.