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May 2, 2010
- "Dorothy Height and Mother's Day"
Dorothy
Height, who was 98 years old, died a few weeks ago. President Obama said she was “the
godmother of the civil rights movement.” She led the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years and served as
the only woman at the highest level of the civil rights movement, witnessing every march and milestone along the way. Her
example, her commitment and her life should inspire all of us this month in which we celebrate Mother’s Day.
One
of the reasons Dorothy Height was an inspiration to all of us, especially women, is that she came along when women were not
accepted as leaders. For instance, in 1963 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous “I Have A Dream”
speech at least two dozen men spoke before he did, but not one woman was allowed to speak, even though Dorothy Height was
on the platform. Both Mahalia Jackson and
Marian Anderson sang, but it was clear that the unspoken rule was
that women would not be allowed to speak even though they had contributed greatly to the civil rights movement. Congressman
John Lewis, who was only 23 years of age at the time and who led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was there;
and, looking back he said that male chauvinism truly prevailed then. It was said of Height that she was fierce and soft-spoken
and eventually wore down that chauvinism. Lewis said she became a spokesperson for women’s rights long before there
was a modern women’s movement. I remember seeing her in her ever present hat and gloves, maintaining this appearance
of great dignity and class, from an era of-you might say-refinement (women like Mrs. Essie
Coleman remind me of her).
The
battle of women to be treated seriously was one she never gave up. She became Chair of the Leadership Conference in 1994,
succeeding Benjamin Hooks, head of the NAACP, who also died a few weeks ago. It was said that some men opposed her because
she was a woman. They said of her that she was not one to be tri fled with. One man who was indignant toward her said, “She
is our Mother,” and it was not supposed to be a compliment. Sometimes a sword said in derision sticks and turns out
to be more positive than negative. Our mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers from all walks of life can be inspired by women
like Mrs. Height and they should be proud of her as “Our Mother!” She was a force with great influence and she
reminds me of women like Mary McCloud Bethune whom
I wrote about back in March.
April 4,
2010 - "What Easter People Want"
A few weeks
ago, I met with my colleagues at one of our Circuit meetings. At these meetings we share our spiritual journey and commit
ourselves to growing and being disciples in Christ. We have made efforts to model our commitment to faith in bible study,
spiritual formation and strategic planning; and we envision what God has called us to be as we covenant together.
One of our
colleagues, Schuyler Rhodes, Pastor at Temple UMC in San Francisco, shared with us the 22 questions
that members of John Wesley’s Holy Club (as it was called) asked themselves every day in
their private devotions over 200 years ago. I thought these questions were so provocative, piercing, penetrating, and powerful
that they were worth repeating to challenge ourselves to grow along our spiritual journey.
As
Easter people we want to be resurrected, renewed, revived, regenerated and, as our larger church says, to rethink
church; and as others say, to retool so that we can be vital, alive and relevant. I hope we take these questions to heart
and apply them to ourselves, if not every day, then almost every day. Before reading these questions I always find scripture
to be a guide to our spiritual quest. I try never to write my Reflections without scripture references
to the Word; the text is the biblical witness for the inspiration, strength and guidance it gives us.
Let these
two Galatians passages be your guide and instruction.
Galatians
2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live
in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 5:22
– “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, and
discipline.
Let these
passages lead us in addressing these monumental questions for our life and spiritual growth. Let these passages guide us in
honest, candid and truthful answers to these questions in our daily walk with the Master!
March 7,
2010 - "Women's History Month"
Invest
in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a
diamond
in the rough.
We live
in a world which respects power above all things.
Power,
Intelligently directed, can lead to more freedom.
For I
am my mother’s daughter; the drums of Africa still
beat
in my heart. They will not let me rest
while
there is a single Negro boy or girl
without
a chance to prove his worth.
I leave
you love. I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge
of developing
confidence in one another. I leave you
respect
for the use of power. I leave you faith.
I leave
you racial dignity.
Can you guess who said these words?
It was a person I had been thinking about for a number of weeks; and, I realized I had never read a biography on her and never
recalled having come across one on her. She is so well known throughout history and she left a legacy that many of us are
proud of. And most of us have heard of her work and contributions to this society, country and world. But I had not ever seen
a biography on her in the past or current like the ones released on Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Marian Anderson, and
the one I wrote about a few years ago for Women’s History Month – Mrs. Ida B. Wells Barnett. Well, no more suspense!
The author of the above statements was Mary McCloud Bethune. What a giant she was in the fields
of education, politics and her commitment to social justice for her people. She had, as we say, ”a fire in the belly,”
and oh how we need people like her today in every endeavor. Amen! Therefore, in honor of Women’s History Month this
March 2010, here are a few words about a woman who inspired a nation.
The scripture selected for the
funeral this past Wednesday of Mrs. Lady G. Watts, who would have been 94 in May, was her favorite
text and I believe a portion of it captures Mrs. Bethune. PSALM 1:
Blessed
is the person who walked
not in
the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standed
in the way of sinners,
nor sit
in the seat of the scornful.
February
7, 2010 - Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln
Last month
on MOSAIC [KPIX-TV, Channel 5], I was the one being interviewed by my co-host and producer, Hugh Burroughs. We actually interviewed each other, but he asked most of the questions
as the host that day. It has been a great privilege to host Mosaic, going on nine years this year. But being the guest [for
the first time in years] is always interesting. For, as other guests can tell you one doesn’t know all the questions
that will be asked because it is often impromptu.
One of the
questions Hugh asked, that I thought he might ask, was what books really spoke to me in 2009? I said “Precious,”
and I also thought the movie was spellbinding and deeply moving. I mentioned, however, that the book that was the most significant
book I read was a biography on Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln called “Giants,”
– the parallel lives of these two men. The author, John Stouffer, wrote
the book in 2008.
Stouffer
says that both men learned to read and remake themselves from the same core set of books: the Bible; Shakespeare;
Lord Byron; Robert Burns; and Aesop Fables. They both avoided tobacco and alcohol at a time when people regularly chewed and
drank on the job. They became dazzling orators when public speaking was one of the few forms of entertainment, equivalent
to professional sports or popular music today. And both were tall men; a foot taller than the average person when physical
prowess could determine success or failure, even life or death.
In exploring their destiny, Douglass and Lincoln quoted the same line from Shakespeare’s
Hamlet, “There’s a divinity that shapes our end/rough-hew how we will.” I was fascinated in how they both
challenged each other and I found the book quite absorbing. In the midst of the Civil War and conflict, Douglass at one time
thought Lincoln a racist and the greatest obstacle to freedom, while Lincoln spent most of his life hoping to rid the nation
of slavery. The dynamics of each man’s life were truly captivating at a time when blacks and whites were so divided
in so many ways.
January 10, 2010
- "A Mad Lover"
“O mad lover! It is not enough
for you to take on our humanity; you had to die for us as well.”
I mentioned St. Catherine’s prayer, “God’s
Mercy,” in my sermon last week – The Lover in the Song of Solomon,
and her powerful and piercing words in addressing God in one session of her prayer as a mad lover. This was a compelling and
moving prayer I read a few years ago; it stayed in my consciousness and I knew that one day I would want to share her expressions
and this daring prayer. I am only sharing a portion of her prayer in these Reflections.
I hear in this prayer that there is no greater love than
God’s love for us and I love it that she describes God as a mad lover. There is nothing God does not and will not do
to show how much God loves us. JEREMIAH writes in Chapter 33, Verse 11 –
“Give thanks to the Lord of Hosts, for the Lord is God, for his steadfast love endures forever.” And, EZEKIEL'S 37:26-27 – “I will make a covenant with them, it shall be an everlasting covenant with
them and I will bless them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them and
I will be their God and they shall be my people.”
The theme, thrust, tone and tenor for the year for me
is that God is passionately, intensely, intimately and fervidly in love with God’s people, God’s creation and
God’s world. That God’s love is the most powerful force in our world that can transform, renew, restore, revitalize
and change our lives. This is my conviction as I attempt to express from the most sensual and passionately graphic passages
in the scripture in the Song of Solomon; that love is the reason we exist, we create and give and
receive. From the Song, Chapter 8, Verses 6 and 7:
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
For love is strong as death
Passion fierce as the grave.
Its flames are flashes of fire
A raging flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
Neither can floods drown it.
If we offered for love
All the wealth of one’s
hand,
It would be utterly scorned.
December
6, 2009 - The Christmas Season
“The surgeon was rolling me into the operation room for a seven-hour procedure for an aggressive form
of cancer that was in the last stage. He said, “I don’t understand, how your blood pressure is normal?”
I said, I’ve made my peace. My response to the cancer was that I was full of gratitude that I had been invited to the
banquet of life for 48 years and expressed an abundance of blessings, especially in the form of family and friends. It just
turned out that I’ve been spared for a while.”
These
are the words of Cornel West who is now 57 years of age. He is truly one of the
icons of contemporary times. He is prophetic, insightful, and spiritual; and, as he said recently when he was in Oakland,
he is an angry man too. He is angry about injustice, angry about the iniquities in the world, angry about poverty, racism,
war and violence. But he is also angry that truth, love and hope might prevail. St. Augustine once wrote that hope has two
daughters, anger and courage. Anger about the way things are and courage to make sure they don’t remain the way they
are.
I always find inspiration form the perennial,
prophetic voice of Cornel West. A word from Brother West is always welcome, especially during this time when we acknowledge
our Lord Jesus coming into our lives during the Advent/Christmas Season, and also realizing that this is the last month of
the year 2009.
In his memoir – “Brother
West – Living and Loving Out Loud” – he writes about his career that could have killed him.
“Deep and mature spirituality is rooted in a wrestling with catastrophe…this is why the Garden of
Gethsemane is so important. Even though God came into the world in human flesh to love, serve, and die, even God had to choose.
Jesus said, “Let this cup pas from me.” He still had to choose to have his will conform to the will of God. For
me, death could come because I made my choice. Our unimaginable victories in the face of catastrophic like life-threatening
illness are majestic evidence of God’s love.”
These heartfelt words and experiences of Brother
West should truly allow us not to see our Christmas season as a sentimental and conventional event. Have you ever read and
meditated on Mary’s song about her son, Jesus? Read and let these words speak to you in a different way.
November
1, 2009 - "A Time of Thanksgiving"
“On
the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached
him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he
said to them, 'Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were made clean.
Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’
feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, 'Were
not ten made clean. But the other nine where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except the
foreigner?’ Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you
well.” [LUKE 17:11-19]
A
time of gratitude, thanksgiving and gratefulness marks our November season. But does it mark our attitude, lifestyle and life?
Could it be that this riveting, disturbing story in Luke is typical? If it is, how tragic! We need to ask ourselves are we
one of the nine who never came back to give thanks, or are we one of the grateful ones who came back and said, Praise
God! Why did Jesus remember this story? Out of all that could have been written about Jesus and all he said
that was not recorded, why this story?
While thinking
about that question I read another riveting story and unfortunately it is also true. On September 7, 1860, shortly before
the Civil War, a passenger ship called The Lady Elgin was carrying some 400 passengers from Chicago to Wisconsin on the waters
of Lake Michigan. They were a joyous group of passengers, partying, dancing and enjoying the festivities throughout the night.
About 3 a.m. they were hit by another ship.
October 4, 2009 -
"Taylor Church's 88th Anniversary"
88 years! What is it like to live 88 years in out
world? Well, for an individual, it means you have lived through the Great Depression, World Wars, wars in Korea, Vietnam,
Iraq and Afghanistan. Supposedly, the trouble in Iraq is winding down although there are still some of our soldiers dying
there; and, with Afghanistan we have no idea what will happen in the near future. If you have reached 88 years, it also means
that you are living through the present recession, repossession and will hopefully see recovery and renewal. It truly means
that you have gone through many changes, challenges and have made many choices that have affected the quality of your
life.
What about a church that has been in existence for
88 years? It has also lived through catastrophic changes; it has seen people, programs and projects develop, expand and grow,
but also diminish and decline. A church that has lived for 88 years has also seen people who have been pillars and powerful,
purposeful individuals, who have lived graceful, hopeful and faithful lives. It has seen people who have died and have gone
on to be with our Lord, who have been nearly irreplaceable and indispensable. There have been ministries and missions that
have reached thousands over the years.
A church like Taylor Memorial is a part of the United
Methodist Church and even though we have not always paid our shared giving in full (known as Apportionments), over all these
years, we have given to either world service, connectional ministries, Black colleges and for the
last 20 years to Africa University. These contributions have been substantial and we can be proud of our giving. Therefore,
when we assess or evaluate-just looking at one’s individual life or a community of faith like Taylor-longevity, endurance,
stability, steadiness, and solidness has to be valued and honored. There is something to be said for being around for awhile,
surviving, enduring and in some cases thriving, even though you witness other established institutions go by the wayside.
The reason many of us are still here after going through all that we have is because our faith is in the Lord. We believe
our beginnings as well as our future are in the Lord. Our hope is in the Lord! We
believe God sustains, strengthens, and supports us though all we must go through. Our theme song can often be “How
we got over!” And, our scripture could be last week’s text-Psalm 1:
Happy
are those who do not follow
the advice of the wicked. Or take the
path that sinners tread, or sit in the
seat of scoffers. But their delight is in
the law of the Lord, and on his law they
meditate day and night. They are like
trees planted by stream of water, which
yield their fruit in its season,
and their
leaves do not wither. In all that they do,
they prosper.
September 13, 2009
- "The Bear"
Yes, as the
expression goes, “I am back in the saddle again,” and I am renewed, recharged and revived.
Vacations always do that for me and wherever I go I relax, rest, read and come back restored. Furthermore, one of the reasons
that happens every year is because you at Taylor, along with pastoral colleagues, make it possible by continuing to address
the ministry in vital areas. Lay leaders, administrative staff, the transition team, faithful members and my colleagues, Rev. Anthony, Rev. Webster, Rev. Bobby, Rev. Fitch and Rev. Estes, much thanks to all of you.
During our
annual retreat in July, I shared with you a meditation by Bishop Robert Schnase, the author of
“The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.” This meditation still registers with me and remains
in my thoughts and spirit. In fact, I plan to share the Bishop’s meditation with the Pastors as a part of the Circuit
I have been asked to lead by Bishop Brown and the District Superintendent, Rev.
Renae Extrum-Fernandez.
Those of
you who were at the retreat might remember the meditation-“The Bear.” I believe the excerpts
I have chosen reflect where we need to be as a church, as a Conference, and the larger church beyond our Methodist tradition.
The scripture text is 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, and Bishop Schnase uses Eugene Peterson’s
translation, “The Message.” In fact, out of the 30 meditations in Bishop Schnase’s
book, “The Balancing Act,” 14 of the scriptures are from “The Message.”
"Your
body has many parts - limbs, organs, cells - but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's the same with Christ's by means of his one spirit, we all said good-bye to our partial and piecemeal lives."
The Bishop
talks about going camping and hiking with his kids and he spots a black bear that in the past would never have been seen.
However, they had not been spotted in over fifty years. He says the experience was awesome but also humbling. And, he tells
an old story that goes like this –
July
5, 2009 - "Rethinking the Church"
“When
I die I’m sure I will have a Big Funeral… curiosity seekers… looking to see if I am really Dead… or
just trying to make trouble…”
One of the
most inspirational aspects of the Annual Conference for me every year has been the ministers being ordained and the speeches
they are asked to give as well as the speeches by the retired ministers. There were 25 retired pastors representing over 600
years of ministry, and one of them quoted this provocative poem written by Mari Evans, an African
American poet I had never read. She was born in the 1920’s and the title of this poem is “The Rebel.”
And, the pastor who quoted the poem was a rebel for social justice throughout his long, fruitful ministry.
Our Conference
theme last month was, “Passion in Jesus Christ, Compassion For All.” There were a few scriptures
I was drawn to that spoke to the theme for me. In Psalm 145:9 – “The Lord is good
to all, and his compassion is over all that God has made.”
Then there
is the famous parable we have named, “The Prodigal Son.” Luke 15:20 says, “So he set off and went to his
father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion, he ran and put his arms around
his and kissed him.”
“Passion
in Christ, and compassion for all,” keeps our community of faith vital, alive and relevant. Most of us
know the United Methodist Church is making an effort to “Rethink Church,” for the Methodist church
– as many churches – faces decline, decay and death in great numbers, I have been reading of this decline for
over 20 years now and for years the church has tried to address this concern. And though passionate worship services, outreach
ministries, bible studies, radical hospitality and generous giving is essential, what takes place in our hearts and spirit
is what is critical. In other words, the outer appearance or external changes without changes in the core of our being will
not be effective or fruitful.
June 7, 2009 - Men's Day According to Proverbs
I
was looking through my Strong’s Concordance under “man” this week and there were easily over 2,000 references
to “man” in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. I decided without hesitation not to try to read all the scriptures
on men for this Men’s Day and Father’s Day.
As I continued
to scan my Concordance, my eyes fell on Proverbs. Proverbs is not often listed in the lectionary readings, nor can I recall
ever preaching more than a few sermons on Proverbs. Therefore, to acknowledge our men this month, and all that we are about
let’s hear a few scriptures from Proverbs that hopefully speak to the heart and mind. As Howard Thurman titles his autobiography,
“With Head and Heart.”
I have deliberately
used the King James version primarily because of the references to “men.”
Proverbs 1:5 – “A wise man will hear, and will increase
learning: and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.”
Proverbs 11:17 – “ The merciful
man does good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.”
Proverbs 18:14 – “The Spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity: but a wounded spirit who
can bear?”
Proverbs 20:7 – “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.”
Proverbs 24:16 – “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked
shall fall into mischief.”
I lifted
up two of these Proverbs this month for Men’s Day and Father’s Day.
Proverbs 20:7 – “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are
blessed after him.” In addition to Men’s Day and Father’s Day, this month is also our Youth &
Student Day on Sunday, June 14th. We will honor our youth with scholarships and we will be attending their graduation
ceremonies; and, we are supportive of their future endeavors. What does it mean for a man to walk in integrity and furthermore,
to have his children be blessed by that integrity?
May 3, 2009 - Women's Day Celebration
The month
of May is the month we hold our annual Women’s Day Celebration. Mother’s Day is also celebrated during this month,
and this year (which doesn’t always happen) there is the Day of Pentecost – the day the Spirit was manifested
in the fullness of the disciples and followers of Christ. As the text says, “…I
will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in these days I will pour out my Spirit…”
[Acts 2:1-21] It was the day of the birth of the church and the fire of the Spirit fired up the
people and this year that day is celebrated on Sunday, May 31st.
First a
word about Mother’s Day. I agree with so many who have said a mother is first and foremost to be a vessel of grace.
To love a child before the child can love back – that’s grace. To pour out one’s heart to a child before
the child can say “thank you” sometimes takes a lot of grace. 1 John 4:19 says, “we
love God because God first loved us.” Children will one day love only because they first were loved. Children
we have known and seen who have not had that basic foundation of love will be blown away and broken when the wind and storms
of life come instead of bending, adapting and changing. Thank God for those of us who have had mothers who embodied grace
and love for us from the beginning of our lives. Amen.
However,
on this Mother’s Day let me also suggest what Jesus says about his mother and his family, who thought he had lost his
mind. Jesus says, “Whoever does the will of God is my mother, brother and sister.”
[Mark 3:35] That all of us are called to love each other into all God made and meant us to be. Having children
does not make us mothers. Nor do we have children in order to mother. Octomom, who had 8 children after already having 6,
in my opinion, is not a great example. But mothers who love us even when we are not so lovable should be valued, honored and
cherished. I am grateful for my Mom who gave me a great start in life, and her support and love continues to nurture me.
April 5, 2009 - The Good Friday Crowd
“Now
if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is
no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has
been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” “…If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and
you are still in your sins.” [I CORINTHIANS 15:12-17]
Is this a
Good Friday world or an Easter world? For many of us it is still a Good Friday world. A world where death, destruction, defeat,
discouragement, despair and depression, reign and rule. A world where violence and more violence dominates and conquers.
One headline
article in the Oakland Tribune recently said that the killing of the four police officers again highlights violence, division
and suffering that grips our city. There is no question that this was a devastating event and experience for everyone who
cares about our city. Even people in other parts of the country and world seem to feel our hurt and dismay. And, along with
thousands who were at the memorial service for the slain officers, I was also there to share with the families and our community
our grief. And just maybe, like many others, in spite of the tragedy, there was a strong conviction we are also about healing,
hope, health, wholeness and grace.
Yes, I don’t
think we can deny we do live in a Good Friday world, in spite of a sermon I saw recently, titled “Despite
Appearances, It Is An Easter World.” For many it is not an Easter World and Good Friday is paramount.
However, none of us have to be the Good Friday crowd.
It was William
Sloan Coffin’s sermon I read in which the title was “Good Friday Crowd” that provoked
my interest and sparked these thoughts. Coffin said the Good Friday crowd was not a mean crowd. They didn’t come to
cheer the crucifixion, as did their religious and political leaders; but they failed also to protest it. “The majority
may even have been on Jesus’ side, but they didn’t realize that compassion without confrontation is merely commiseration,
fruitless and sentimental.”
March 1, 2009 - Women's History Month
As many
of you know, the emphasis on Black History Month in February was first proposed by Carter G. Woodson
in 1915, and has been acknowledged since the 1920’s. However, I believe Women’s History Month
has been celebrated in March since only in the 1970’s. I have acknowledged and written about Women’s History month
in my Reflections for several years now. For instance, last March I wrote about Ida
B. Wells-Barnett, the journalist who with her pen almost single handedly got laws passed against lynching that was
so widespread in the 19th century and early 20th century. Paula J. Giddings’ riveting biography
– “Ida: A Sword Among Lions” - highlighted Ida’s fight against the
horrible evil of lynching. Giddings’ covers so much about Well’s
volatile and spirited life.
I recently
came across a new biography on Harriet Tubman – “Myth, Memory, and History”-written by Milton C.
Sernett. And so far, it is as stirring and compelling as any biography I have read. It was fascinating to read that back in
1999, as the second millennium drew to a close, the Arts and Entertainment Cable TV Network broadcast as series called, Biography
of the Millennium: 100 people – 1,000 years, based on interviews with scholars, politicians and theologians who
had been asked to identify which one hundred personalities had most affected the world, “for better or worse,”
between A.D. 1000 and 2000. Harriett Tubman emerged in the seventy-first slot ahead if many famous people including her contemporary
and friend, the women’s right activist, Susan B. Anthony.
Another
interesting fact about Tubman, the women called Moses because she led so many slaves to freedom, using what was called the
Underground Railroad, was the many other nicknames she had. She was called the “Queen of the Underground,”
“the Black Joan of Arc,” Homespun Heroine,” “General Tubman,” Greatest Heroine of her Age,”
Healer,” “Liberator,” “Missionary,” “Modern Amazon,” “The Most of a Man,”
“The Female John Henry,” and “Mother Tubman.”
February
1, 2009 - Inauguration of Barack Obama
I
was there! And, after walking twelve miles around and around, I would have walked even more to be at this historic event of
the inauguration of President Barack Obama. I was there along with 2 million people, and as you heard and saw, all records
were broken in terms of attendance, subway rides, etc. And what about this? Not one person was arrested-not one-for disorderly
conduct, or drunkenness, or even just riotous celebration. Not one, and what I think, from being in that multitude, is that
the joy, hope, positive energy and the spirit of the moment was so overwhelming that everyone who was there from every part
of the country and many parts of the world, came to rejoice and celebrate; and that sentiment prevailed.
Yes, I would
like to say I not only saw the President up close, I met him and shook hands with him. And, at one of the ten balls I danced
with Michelle and then the next day took their girls, Sasha and Malia, to school. And, as I joked with one of my friends,
the President only asked me one question, “Ron, where did you get that funny last name, Swisher?” I said, “Mr.
President, there is speed and there is Swish. You can call me Swish.” Ha! The stories we can tell ourselves,
or make up about ourselves because we can at least say, we were there!
But as some
of you know I did meet the President when he was not even Senator, nor was he a household name.
I met him six years ago in Chicago at a community organizing meeting. OCC (Oakland Coalition of Congregations) sent me along
with the Executive Director and three other clergy. He was the keynote speaker and I said, who is this guy who blew us away-but
what a name. Even Michelle, upon meeting him remembers she said, “Who is this guy with the funny name?” Or, as
he said at the Democratic Convention in 2005-“The skinny kid with the funny name." Now, throughout the world, we shout
with hopeful and loud voices, Obama! Obama! Obama!
I didn’t
arrive in D.C. until 2:30 a.m. in the morning on the day of the Inauguration. As Taylor members know, I stayed here on Monday,
January 19th, to greet and welcome people to our annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, which is one of the
events here in the East Bay. I think we had over 1,000 people here, and when you invite people to your home
you want to be there and greet them – as Taylor members do – with radical cosmic hospitality. It is the kind of
hospitality I experienced with friends in the Georgetown community even arriving at that ungodly hour. Unfortunately, people
got to the inauguration at 4:00 a.m. in the morning, the time which was bedtime for me after having flown most of the night.
I managed to get up at 6:30 a.m. but, of course, this was not enough time for me even get close to the President. However,
seeing the huge screen and being close to so many people who were full of such joy and hope was engaging and thrilling.
Before saying
a word about the three addresses I thought everyone might be talking about that day and beyond-the Invocation, the Benediction
and the President’s speech-I wanted to say a word about the fact that I did end up visiting Georgetown University. I
was hoping to see Michael Eric Dyson who is a full professor there. I did visit his office and hoped he would be teaching
a class. But he was probably doing what I only imagined – shaking hands with the President, dancing with Michelle and
taking the girls to school. Georgetown was so impressive. If I was a student, that is where I would want to go and if I was
a teacher, that is where I would want to teach.
I was hoping that the Invocation
by Rick Warren would be more inclusive. I believe he made some overtures but I thought he sounded a little stiff. I was moved
by his words, “give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us
with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity.”
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The gospel text in my
Reflections today is from John 13:34-35. “A new commandment I give
to you, to love one another as I love you, so you love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples
by your love for one another.” Our mothers give their best when they love us and we are fortunate if we have
in our homes the foundation of that motherly love. And as a result, we can learn to love one another as we love ourselves.
This can be our inspiration this Mother’s Day and Women’s Day for Taylor.
There is a footnote to Height’s
career. At Barnard College in 1929 her admittance was withdrawn because the college already had its quota of two black students.
Today, Barnard would be glad to claim her as it did in 2004, naming her an honorary alumna. In accepting the honor, Height
expressed her appreciation and added - “Something that could have hurt forever has been removed.” That hurt which
she carried for some 75 years was never a source of complaint, it was said of her. But like many like her, it motivated her
to push down barriers for women who would come after her. And, she lived long enough to see what she thought she might not
ever see in her life time-an African-American elected President. Women, stand tall this month and beyond and reach the heights
as Height did and always climb a little higher and higher.
Always
looking up,
Rev. Ron
John Wesley’s
22 questions asked every day by members of the Holy Club (so namely by those who were critical of them – not as a compliment).
I have placed them in parenthesis to emphasize their importance.
(1. Am I consciously
or unconsciously creating the impression
that I
am better than I really am? In other words, am I a
hypocrite?)
(2. Am I honest
in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?)
(3. Do I confidentially
pass on to another what was told to me
in confidence?)
(4. Can I
be trusted?)
(5. Am I a
slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?)
(6. Am I self-coconscious,
self-pitying, or self-justifying?)
(7. Did the
Bible live in me today?)
(8. Do I give
[it] time to speak to someone else about my faith?)
(9. Do I pray
about the money I spend?)
(10. When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?)
(11. Am I enjoying prayer?)
(12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?)
(13. Do I disobey God in anything?)
(14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my
conscience is uneasy?)
(15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?)
(16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?)
(17. How do I spend my spare time?)
(18. Am I proud?)
(19. Do I
thank God that I am not as other people, especially as
the Pharisees who despised the publican?)
(20. Is
there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize,
hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing
about it?)
(21. Do
I grumble or complain constantly?)
(22.
Is Christ real to me?)
Are these challenging questions
enough? I find them quite compelling and comprehensive? May God give us the Grace and Strength to live the questions if we
don’t have all the answers? AMEN!
From a
fellow companion on the Journey!
Rev. Ron
But their
delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in
the law they meditate day and night.
And they
shall be like a tree
planted
by the rivers of water,
that
bring forth their fruit in season;
and their
leaf shall not wither;
and whatsoever
they doeth shall prosper.
Who was Mary McCloud Bethune?
What made her that strong tree in our forest? She was the founder of one of our Black colleges – Bethune-Cookman
College in Florida – that gave the late great Howard Thurman the opportunity to become one of the most
inspirational and dynamic spiritual leaders in our world. And, countless others benefited from her efforts in education. She
also served as a New Deal government official during the Roosevelt administration and the highest held by an African American
woman. She served as President of the National Association of Colored Woman and she founded and served as President of the
National Council of Negro Women.
Some of you remember Bishop
Leontine Kelly’s saying her life was changed when as a little girl she met Mary McCloud Bethune. Mrs. Bethune
knocked on her door and when Bishop Kelly answered, Mrs. Bethune said something like, young lady what are you going to do
with your life? Well, we see what Bishop Kelly did with her life and we see what numerous others did under the influence of
the long inspirational shadow of Bethune’s greatness.
This capsule view only wetted
my appetite for more knowledge of Mrs. Bethune and I will look for biographies of old and, hopefully, someone will write an
extensive new one. She is a person we should never forget. So here are a few closing sayings of hers.
The whole
world opened to me when I learned to read.
Faith
is the first factor in a life devoted to service.
Without
it, nothing is possible.
With
it, nothing is impossible.
May we all be so inspired!
Blessings,
Rev. Ron
Though both men believed in God,
neither was a constant church attendee. The criticism of Lincoln was he was not identified enough with the Christian faith
or any one denomination. As Lincoln said so poignantly on many occasions, we are always praying for God to be on our side;
we need to pray that we are on God’s side. With Frederick Douglass, it was his blistering criticism of the African American
clergy in particular that disturbed folks. He felt their lack of commitment to justice and freedom was greatly disturbing
for him; even Sojourner rebuked him, saying something like isn’t God alive and don’t you believe in God, Frederick?
Douglass said, I prayed with my legs. I think he tempers his criticism but his passion for truth was uncompromising.
Lincoln met Douglass in the White
House three times. Douglass was the first African American to be invited and Lincoln took the heat. Douglass would always
say that Lincoln treated him with the utmost respect, especially at such a difficult time. The intimacy of their lives and
their political journeys was the story of this nation’s story through the lens of race, conflict and the most volatile
time in our nation. I was led to say a word about their lives as a tribute to Black History month.
This coming Sunday (February
14th) on Mosaic [KPIX-TV, Channel 5, 5 a.m.] are two dynamic couples I invited to speak
about Black History and Valentine’s Day. They are Rev. & Mrs. Douglass Fitch of Sunday
Afternoon Fellowship and Aeeshah & Kokomon Clottey of Attitudinal Healing Connection, Inc.
I’d just like to say that their energy, enthusiasm and electricity was everything I could have asked for and more. Be
sure to turn on your sets next week or tape the show.
As always, the scriptures are
a guideline for who we all are, all we are about and all we do. Therefore, here are a few scriptures to take into this month
of love and beyond:
John 13:31 – Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have
loved you, you should also love one another.”
Galatians 5:16 – “For in Christ Jesus… is faith working through love.”
Ephesians 4:15, 16 – “But speaking truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the
head unto Christ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped as each part
is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”
From
the lover of history of love,
Pastor
Ron
In rereading a number of St. Catherine’s prayers that I said I heard
read years ago, I was so deeply moved, I knew I would one day share them in a sermon and was waiting for the right time. I
could hear in her words God’s love for us that she describes as passionate and even madness. And after some 37 years
[this year] in ministry and some 45 years of reading, studying and reflecting on what we call the Bible, I finally believe
I understand the message in my heart, soul and spirit. It is all about love-God’s love for us and our love for one another.
Yes, like many of you I heard these messages for years. Love God and love one another; that is the essence of faith and our
spiritual awareness and growth. But understanding that intellectually is one thing, and experience it intimately is another.
Now I am hopeful and trust I am learning and trying to live the other. That as John reminds us, God first loved us before
we loved God; I am learning what that means – loving God and others.
The last sermon I preached in 2009 was “Keep Growing,”
from 1 SAMUEL 2:26 – “Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in wisdom
and in favor with God and with the people.” Therefore, along with the theme of the Year - God as the lover
- our mad lover - who loves us into being and existence and creativity and makes us truly great lovers - let our motto be
Keep Growing! Keep Growing! Keep Growing!
I might find myself writing about St. Catherine and her prayers again in
my Reflections, perhaps even next month. But even if I am not lead to share some of her prayers
with you next month or anytime soon, please read some of these words of hers from another one of her prayers entitled, “Sea,
Light and Fire.”
“Eternal Trinity, you are like a deep sea,
in which the more I seek, the more I find,
and the more I find, the more eagerly I seek.
You fill the soul, yet never fully satisfy it;
The soul continues to hunger and thirst for you,
desiring you, longing to see you
who are the source of all light…”
From the Seeker for the Always Mad Lover,
Rev. Ron
My soul
magnifies the Lord,
and
my spirit rejoices in God My Savior,
For
he has looked with favor on the lowliness
of his
servant.
Surely,
from now in all generations will call
me blessed;
for the Mighty One
has
done great things
for
me and holy is his name
His
mercy is for them who fear him,
From
generation to generation.
He has
shown strength with his arm,
He has
scattered the proud in thoughts
of their
hearts.
He has
brought down
the
powerful from their thrones,
and
lifted up the lowly;
He has
filled the hungry with good things,
And
sent the rich away empty. [Luke 1:46-53]
Read Mary’s
song again, especially the last five verses and hear and experience God’s identification with the least, last, lost
and left out. The Good news is about change, transformation, restoration and always resurrection. The birth of Christ is a
revolutionary event, not a sentimental recollection of reflection. Jesus leads a revolution of renewal.
Therefore, as we come to the end of this year, celebrating Advent/Christmas/Kwanzaa,
and soon beginning a new year, whatever challenges, crises, or catastrophes that come our way, let us not only have the peace
Brother West had in the most defining moment of his life, but let our Lord be our guide and example; and may we be able to
say, as he did, “Thy will be done!”
Living
and Loving,
Rev.
Ron
Everyone
thought the clash was minor and that there was no damage. But sometime later they began to sink like the Titanic. For 6 hours
survivors floated on life boats and other bits of wreckage. The story goes into quite a lot of detail, but what was remarkable
was that Edmund Spencer, a seminary student from the shore, saw all these people struggling and drowning. He knew the waters
well and he began to rescue the helpless passengers. While lunging and heaving with one person after another under his strong
arm, the sharp edges of floating debris grazed his head and body. With bloodied face and aching muscles he returned to shore
again and again with survivors. He went back and forth until, of the thirty victims who survived in those frigid waters that
day, seventeen of them would owe their lives to Edward Spencer’s efforts! Unfortunately, though he saved the lives of
all those people, his promising life as a pastor and scholar was practically over. He never quite recovered from his injuries
and spent the rest of his life nearly paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.
And though,
for a time his courage would be recalled in newspaper accounts and other general tributes, when asked by a reporter what he
most recalled about the rescue he replied, “Only this- of the seventeen people I saved, not one of them ever thanked
me.”
I think Jesus’
story and the biblical record infers that ingratitude, if it doesn’t always lead us away from God, is a factor in not
experiencing God’s grace and God’s blessings. Though the word gratitude doesn’t appear in the Bible, the
words thankful, thankfulness and thanksgiving are quite abundant; plus, there are thousands of quotations on gratitude and
thanksgiving from hundreds of authors. So, let me leave you with two scriptures. One is from the Hebrew Scriptures and the
other is from the New Testament.
From,
1 Chronicles 16:8 – “O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among all people.”
And, from Ephesians
5 – “…giving thanks to God the Father at all this and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
From one
who is always grateful,
Rev. Ron
A few of you were at the funeral of Rev. Frank Jackson
last week which was so incredibly inspiring and moving. It was one of the most dynamic services I have ever attended. Some
will recall that in his opening remarks, the preacher mentioned Psalm 1 in summing up the life of Frank Jackson. But it was
his text from Revelations that will probably be most remembered: Revelation 14:13 – “And I heard a
voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit
that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.” The preacher preferred the King
James Version for this reading.
It was the three notes of triumph he mentioned to
describe Frank’s life that he outlines in the text that, like all great eulogies, speak to us even more so when we have
ears to hear. The triumph note of celebration, the triumph note of comfort, the triumph note of certainty. And, of course,
he expounded on each. The note of celebration was “blessed” indicated in the text which can be translated as “Happy”
as we know in most modern translations. And we believe without a doubt that Frank is happy and joyous, for he died in the
Lord. The “rest from labors” in the text is the note of comfort and as the preacher said, it is labors-plural,
not singular-that Frank is resting from and experiencing the peace of God, and God saying to him “WELL DONE!”
And finally, the note of certainty is that his works do follow him. And what great works he accomplished. If you had only
heard the testimonies of many there and seen often throughout the service, Glory to God!
And our 88th Anniversary, Taylor Memorial, let us sound triumphant notes of celebration, comfort and certainty
because we are that Tree planted by the streams of water! AMEN!
From
a fellow Tree hugger,
Rev.
Ron
“Two
buddies are hiking in the woods when they come across a bear. The bear looked up at them, growled ferociously and got ready
to pounce on them. Slowly, the first hiker began to take off his backpack and set it on the ground and then he took off his
water bottle and his binoculars and set them down as well. His friend said to him, ‘surely you don’t think you
can out-run a bear!’ He answered, ‘I don’t have to out-run a bear, I just have to out-run you!’”
As the Bishop says, the joke captures
the cynical, self-centered individualist notions of the world, that as long as our needs are taken care of, as long as I experience
no problems (I have my medical coverage, my political positions are supported and I’ve got my education, then all is
right with the world) – My words, though the Bishop says something similar.
We
can do better as a people and as a church. The Bishop goes on to express with such poignancy that in the presence of the bear
we should stay together. Being strong, united and highly visible, we are able to overcome the overwhelming bear in our life.
Bears don’t like things bigger than themselves and they move away.
The
scriptures say we are all in this together as members of the body. If one suffers, we all suffer… We are all in the
same boat, Bill Moyers recently said, and that should be the metaphor that guides us in our society. But Paul does well with
the body as a powerful metaphor and Peterson’s translation is even more striking, for we are limbs, organs and cells
and as a result deeply connected.
There
is much more the Bishop says that relates to all of us - the economic reversals, repossessed homes, and layoffs. Drug abuse
and alcoholism are hot on the heels of our youth and violence still plagues our neighborhoods. And, what the hiker in the
story says, “I just have to out-run you,” is no longer the answer. We are connected as the scripture makes so
clear, and the gift of community means I am in you and you are in me because we are both in Christ.
Finally,
the Bishop says, “we must pray for one another, walk with one another, learn from one another, work with one another,
encourage one another, and by seeing ourselves as connected to one another in Christ, we come into the fullness of what God
created us to be. Following Christ is never a solitary affair.” Amen!
Yours
in Christ,
Rev.
Ron
Bishop
Warner Brown challenged us and inspired us to be a church that is of the open heart, open mind and open door. He talked
candidly to us in his Conference address of our decline in membership and our decline in giving and shared giving. We (Nevada-California)
have the lowest in both categories of any Conference in the entire country. However, like the Gospel of Good News it is never
just about our loss and decline but is about our possibility of transformation, renewal, and hope.
Bishop Brown’s
text was from the great Prophet Nehemiah – “Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we
may no longer suffer disgrace… Let us start building! So they committed themselves to the common good.” [Nehemiah
2:17-18] But there was opposition and the critics tried to discourage him and he said, “I am doing a great
work and I cannot come down.” [Nehemiah 6:3] And, I love this verse – “So we rebuilt
the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height; for the people had a mind to work.”
[Nehemiah 4:6] A mind to work!!
Do we have a mind to
work, rethink, rebuild and restore? The Methodist Church does not have resource people at this time to address all of the
concerns we have about rethinking the church – the theme of our Retreat. But they are working
and we are making our own efforts to address this theme.
These were some of the
questions that were raised at the workshops we had at the Conference that I lift up here:
How is God’s Word
incorporated into practical examples of your living the faith everyday?
Is the church engaging
people or performing for them?
What is the church’s
capacity for listening?
Is this a body of believers
who are more interested in receiving or being served?
What makes a church genuine
and authentic in its interaction with people?
What if we rethink church,
not in terms of what it is but what it could be?
What if church weren’t
just a place we go, but something we do?
Let some of these questions
guide us in our retreat. And may our answers lead us to renewal and transformation.
From a fellow
Rebel,
Rev. Ron
Well, how about a few other translations. The Living Bible says – “It is a wonderful heritage to have an
honest father.”
“The Message,”
by Peterson – “God-loyal people, living honest lives, make it much easier for their children.”
And the Contemporary
English – “Good people (men) live right, and God blesses the children who follow this example.”
I remember in my reading
over the years that integrity also means wholeness and soundness, completeness and not just honesty, but truthfulness and
righteousness. To be a person of integrity is to be sound, complete, whole and solid. Men, fathers, brothers, this is what
we give to our youths, our children, our boys and girls by being people who set the example to all we influence by being faithful
in all that we say and do! When we think of people who have integrity, who are they? Whoever and wherever they are, they are
people who we respect, who inspire us, challenge us and sometimes change us. Are we people of integrity?
The other scripture that
spoke volumes for me was Proverbs 24:16 – “For a
just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…”
To our youth, I say that
even as people of integrity, great courage and strength we sometimes fall; we do make mistakes and we do slip. But the Word
says we fall sometimes seven times or more, but we get back up again, again, again and again. The Proverb puts the accent
on a just, righteous or good, truthful person who gets up again and again and again and it is that person that God sustains
and supports.
Men, Taylor members,
youth, and friends, may we, above all, be people of God. In our efforts to be honest and truthful, let God’s Grace and
Spirit guide us and help us grow.
From Falling
Down
And Getting
Up!
Rev. Ron
Secondly, a word about
Women’s Day. Without Women’s Day each year, we would not be able to be even close to financially solvent. Over
the years the Women's Day offering has helped to pay our shared giving to the larger Church and the world through what we
call apportionments. (Men’s Day, which is next month, has also helped.) In these drastic economic times, we
have needed the offering just to stay above water and meet our local responsibilities. So, we are thankful for whatever the
women will give us on that day this year, which is Sunday, May 17th.
It is not just fund raising
that makes Women’s Day so significant. It is that spirit of unity, community, inspiring music and a dynamic speaker
that challenges us to share and witness to the call of grace and truth and the spirit to abide and strengthen us. If we didn’t
raise a dime, we need Women's Day to raise our Spirits. {But thank God they do both!} Amen.
And thirdly, Pentecost!
We pray that our church and every church experiences the fire of the Holy Spirit. In the many tongues we speak may we speak
one message of Christ’s love for all humankind. That we live our lives believing in God, the Father, who loves us like
a mother. The main evidence of the Spirit of Pentecost being with us is the ability to proclaim God’s goodness and grace
with power and the passion and commitment to love one another.
So, may the Spirit of
Pentecost come upon us, the followers, so the cruelty and greed we see all around us finds no place among us. That the Spirit
of Grace and power makes us people of faith, hope and love. May we have a full, faithful and fiery month of May. Amen.
From a Pentecost
Baby,
Rev. Ron
Coffin goes on to
say the Good Friday crowd and their mentality can affect our churches too. It is a standing reminder of what happens when
the church motto or theme or practice is “play it safe,” “don’t climb out on a limb,” “don’t
rock the boat.” These slogans become, as it were, “the eleventh commandment” in which one “hanged”
all the low and the prophets.
This might be a
Good Friday world but we do not have to be a Good Friday crowd. We do not need to be listless, indifferent or as Jesus says
in Revelation – “lukewarm.” [REVELATION
3:16] and Jesus will have nothing to do with us. But being Easter people in a Good Friday world is that grace, forgiveness,
joy, faith, hope and love motivates and guides and strengthens us. I don’t know who said this but I love it –
“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”
We can be about
flowers, faith, fruit, that doesn’t happen without digging, bending, planting and working. “That
in this world there is tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world” – Jesus
says to us [JOHN 16.33]. The crosses in this world nor death is the final word. The Easter
message is that you can kill God’s love, but you cannot keep it dead and buried. That Christ is risen and risen indeed
and the message is we too can rise and not just after death. My favorite scripture is PSALM 27
and it ends this way!
I believe
that I shall see the
Goodness
of the Lord
in
the land of the living.
Be strong,
and let your heart
Take
courage; Wait for the Lord
Let us be Easter people – full
of love, joy, and peace!
From a Disciple of Easter,
Rev. Ron
Harriett Tubman was committed and determined to free her fellow African Americans from Slavery. She earned
an incredible reputation for her feisty fighting and courageous activities and one can see why such colorful nicknames were
given to her. In 1978, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled the first issue of a stamp with a face value of thirteen cents in
honor of Harriett Tubman at a ceremony held at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, the oldest black church in
Washington, D.C.
One
of the stories I read of her when I taught class on Exodus and its connection to liberation struggles, especially the African
American presence in the biblical liberation struggle, was that she owned a gun but not just for protection. Though she had
a bounty on her head of $50,000/Dead or Alive (more dead than alive) – which was a fortune in those days – it
was said she carried the gun, not because of the bounty, but to shoot any slave who wanted to return back to slavery after
she had risked her life rescuing them. The story didn’t sound like a myth since she brought over 300 slaves to freedom
after countless trips on the Underground Railroad. Again, her nicknames indicate she was very capable of taking such action.
When
I taught the class on Exodus at the School of Mission of United Methodist Women, I discovered that many liberation movements
identified with the promise of freedom and liberation in the Book of Exodus. The African American Slaves’ fight for
freedom was inspired by Moses’ challenges to Pharaoh; and, we have the moving and powerful spiritual, “Go
Down Moses…and tell Old Pharaoh to let my people go.” [Exodus 5:1] But others seeking liberation
can hear it in the words – “I have seen the misery of my people… and indeed
know their sufferings and I have come down to deliver them.” [Exodus 3:7]; that
all oppressed people, all suffering people, long for freedom and liberation and some, if not all, could envision God as being
the source of that call and longing.
One final interesting fact about this biography on Harriett Tubman is that many students were asked to name an African
American of influence in Black History Month, and many named Harriett Tubman, more than Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington,
George Washington Carver. Only Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was mentioned as much. She has become an all-comprehending Black
hero/heroine of our time. A tribute to Women’s History Month – or any
other month!
Blessings,
Rev. Ron
On the other hand,
Joseph Lowery’s Benediction hit all the notes! He was inclusive, prophetic, and stirring. He began with a stanza from
James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice…” - “God of our weary years, God of
our silent tears…”
Again, I was standing
right before the huge screen and these were the words that leapt out at me. Of course, later I would look up and see all three
speeches and read them in their entirety. These are some of the words I heard in Lowery’s Benediction:
And
now Lord, in the complex arena
of
human relations, help us to make choices
on
the side of love, not hate; on the side
of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not
intolerance.
There is more, but
who could ever forget his ending?
Lord,
in the memory of all the saints who
from
their labors rest, and in the joy of a
new
beginning, we ask you to help us work
for
that day when black will not be asked
to
get back, when brown can stick around,
when
yellow will be mellow, when the red
man
can get ahead, man, and when white
will
embrace what is right. Let all those
who
do justice and love mercy say Amen.
And the President
always has a way of saying just the right thing. For instance, “We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture,
the time has come to set aside childish things.” Many of us will know that comes from I
Corinthians 13 – the famous ode to love by St. Paul. “When I was a child, I spoke like a child,
I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.” [I Corinthians 13:11]
“Love
is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way…”
I could preach on, but I will let you look it up. [I Corinthians
13:4, 5]
These Reflections
are long, I know, but the moment compels me to say a little more than I normally write. Therefore, a few more quotations from
the President’s call to “A new era of responsibility.”
". . . On
this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come
to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for too long have
strangled our politics.
The time
has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit, to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble calling
passed on from generation to generation; the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to
pursue their full measure of happiness.
Starting
today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America.
To those
leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society’s ills on the West, know that your people will
judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy… Know that you are on the wrong side of history, but we will extend
a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
And only
a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can stand before you to take a
most sacred oath. . ."
What a moment! What
a time! What a message! The last month in January 2009 could not be a better one in our generation to lead into this Black
History month in February 2009.
From
One in the Millions,
Rev.
Ron
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