"Jonathan & Ruby's Faith"

Sermon by The Rev. Kelley Hudlow

August 10, 2025

I traveled to Montgomery for the 60th anniversary of Jonathan Daniels’ death, where we remembered him, Ruby Sales, and other martyrs of Alabama. Jonathan, moved by Mary’s words in the Magnificat, came to Selma in 1965, worked for civil rights, and ultimately gave his life shielding Ruby from a shotgun blast. Ruby, sustained by her faith, testified against his killer. In Hayneville, I reflected on Hebrews’ words—faith is assurance of things hoped for—and how Jonathan, Ruby, and the pilgrims there lived by a faith that looked beyond the brokenness of the world to God’s promised kingdom. We need that same faith today, one willing to sacrifice for justice and mercy.