Open letter to Senator Joni Ernst from the Right Reverend Betsey Monnot, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa

Dear Senator Ernst,

You and I have much in common. We are both members of Generation X; in our early years of life housing discrimination and credit discrimination against women were still legal. Despite that, you and I both grew up to enter non-traditional professional roles and eventually to be the first women elected to our positions in the state of Iowa. I know that you have worked very hard for everything that you have achieved.

Another thing that we have in common is that we both claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. At the end of your recent video, you encouraged viewers to “embrace my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

And Joni, this is where you and I differ. Because while I do, wholeheartedly and with every fiber of my being, embrace Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, you and I understand what that means very differently.

I am sure that, as a committed Christian, you know all of the many stories of Jesus healing the sick and feeding the hungry in the gospels. It is clear to any reader of the Bible that wherever Jesus went, he healed anyone who needed healing. He did it without asking whether they were eligible or deserving of his care. He simply healed them because that is who Jesus is.

Likewise, no one went hungry in the presence of Jesus, no matter who they were. For Jesus, no one was unworthy of being fed. Again, that’s because that is who Jesus is.

Joni, as Christians, you and I both know that one day we will see our Savior Jesus face to face. Jesus talked about that day in Matthew 25 when he said “just as you did it to the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” This means that on that day, each of us will have to make an accounting for all of the times that we served, or failed to serve, our fellow human beings, because when we serve anyone, we are serving Jesus, and when we fail to serve anyone, we fail to serve Jesus.

In your service as a senator for the state of Iowa, you have a tremendous opportunity to serve Jesus by serving all Iowans. Through your legislative activity you can do the work of Jesus by making sure that all people are fed and have access to healthcare, just as Jesus demonstrated during his lifetime. Your recent comments at a town hall meeting, followed by your unkind video, indicate to me that you have forgotten what it means to truly embrace Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You are not showing care for the people who Jesus called “the least of these who are members of my family.”

Joni, the life of a Christian is one of ongoing conversion. Jesus calls us, again and again, to turn to him and embrace him by serving all people. Today I call upon you to turn again to Jesus whom you claim as Lord, to embrace him, and to serve all people as you would want to serve him. Because it is by your works, not by your words, that Jesus and the world will know your faith.

You continue in my prayers.

The Right Reverend Betsey Monnot

Tenth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa