It is certain, in any case, that ignorance allied with power is the most ferocious enemy justice can have. — James Baldwin
The Easter Service at Central Presbyterian Church in Mobile was built upon: Building Up a New World – At Early Dawn Service Prayers for Resurrection Sunday C which was written by Dr. Sharon R. Fennema, who serves as Join the Movement toward Racial Justice Curator with UCC National Ministries.
This blessing comes at early dawn
when the day has not yet emerged
and the night lingers on our skin.
Hallelujah. Even now, new life.
This blessing emerges through grief
when the sorrows have not yet left us
and the hope has not yet found us.
Hallelujah. Even now, resurrection.
This blessing calls from emptiness
when we have more questions than answers
and fear turns to amazement turns to joy.
Hallelujah. Even now, rise up.
Christ is risen indeed.
Go in peace to rise up in protest and praise
until new life is witnessed, known, and enjoyed
by all creation. Amen.
Dear reader, as this Easter Sunday ends with the setting of the sun, may we indeed go in peace to rise up in protest and praise until new life is witnessed, known, and enjoyed by all creation.
As we walk through the wilderness of Holy Saturday, can we imagine that we are with the disciples? Alone… afraid… despairing… the broken body of their Lord taken down from the cross and sealed in a tomb. What do we do now? Where is the hope that he taught us about? Are we back in the wilderness again? Is there any way out?
I take comfort in Dan Berrigan’s translation of Isaiah 25:1-5.
Yahweh, You are my God
honor and praise be yours,
Your holy design from of old!
The citadels of the proud
You bring to ground, a rubble.
……………..
You, strength of the hapless,
you, refuge of the poor.
The violent wreak havoc!
their reign—a torrid blast,
a desert, a wind borne plague
But you, you put to silence
boasts of the hard of heart!
Isaiah: Spirit of Courage, Gift of Tears, p. 59
The prophets (both Isaiah and Dan) offer hope in this wilderness we are currently in as a nation. Perhaps this was the hope we were seeking as we gathered to protest the government’s actions and policies in front of the Government Center in Mobile today.
Yahweh you are my God…. In the commentary on this passage, Dan offers sage advice and hope in the midst of the chaos we are experiencing.
The toppling of the idols is not the work of benighted spirits like ourselves, who often as not cannot tell an idol from a burning bush. The toppling is the work of God, who knows, who loves. God, who is truth and love, immeasurable, clears a way in the underbrush, a way through our maze of faltering and waywardness…
Isaiah: Spirit of Courage, Gift of Tears, p. 60
Lead us, Holy Spirit, in the way of peace and love for all of God’s creation and created beings.
On this Good Friday while I consider Jesus, who was condemned by a kangaroo court and executed by the Empire I found myself considering this selection from Fr Daniel Berrigan, SJ’s rendering of the Prophet Isaiah’s thoughts on King Nebuchadnezzar as found in Isaiah 14:4-6.
To this has he come, the tyrant?
to dead end his arrogance?
Yahweh broke him, a dry stick—
broken scepter, broken bones
In hell
The great braggart and blight
wavers, staggers forward,
a face of cobweb—
a skinny shade,
ragged, tattered.
Verse of the day
If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
– James 2:15-17
Voice of the day
Hope is like oxygen. But I don’t think that hope is enough in this conflict. We need more responsibility. We need action plans. We need strategy. We need to strategize that hope to be effective.
– Ali Abu Awwad, “‘My Goal Is Not to Have a Dialogue; My Goal Is to Solve This Madness’”
Prayer of the day
Stir in us a faith that does not settle for empty hope, but rises with responsibility, strategy, and action to meet the real needs of the oppressed and build peace with our hands as well as our hearts.
“The world has enough for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.”—Mohandas Gandhi
Forty years ago today I raised my right hand and swore to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic… it was my second year of seminary and I was beginning my journey with the USAF Chaplain Service as a Chaplain Candidate, Second Lieutenant.
I swore that oath again when I was promoted to Chaplain, First Lieutenant and again when I went on Active duty as a Chaplain, Captain. Each time I was promoted I would swear the oath again.
The last time I did was when I was promoted for the last time as a Chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel in 2006. I retired in 2011 after 26 years of service.
I’m not telling this story to seek attention or to seek appreciation for my service. I am telling this story in order to help anyone reading this to understand how deeply I am saddened, angered, frustrated, and furious over what has happened in this nation.
It began on January 6, 2021 as I watched a mob of so-called patriots attack the Capitol and attempt to stop the certification of of the presidential election. The level of violence and hypocrisy was overwhelming. The division between people only grew deeper. I saw that in the churches I served between 2016 and 2020 and beyond. There was no way that I could have imagined the current situation we are in when I retired from active ministry in 2023. I had no idea that we would be where we are as a nation today.
Listening to the protest music of the 1960’s and 70’s I consider the way forward. Walking this Holy Week journey with Jesus from Jerusalem to the Cross takes on a whole new meaning in these times.
As I reflect and plan my own response, I am being challenged to remember some key touchstones from my own faith and life. In the Hebrew Scriptures the prophet Micah told the people what God required from God’s people. We are called to do justice, love kindness/mercy, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus tells us how we should love: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” He also teaches in Matthew 5:44 that we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
These particular verses have been a foundational influence on my ministry for nearly 38 years. They will continue to inform me as I chart my way forward in response to this national crisis. Additionally, I will prayerfully remember that, in the words of Thomas Merton, the God of peace is never glorified by human violence. (No Man Is an Island)
If you have read to the end of this blog, I am deeply grateful for your concern and support. May the God of peace guide us as we seek to be a witness to the light of God’s promise in these difficult times.
But give me the strength that waits upon You in silence and peace. Give me humility in which alone is rest, and deliver me from pride which is the heaviest of burdens. And possess my whole heart and soul with the simplicity of love. Occupy my whole life with the one thought and the one desire of love, that I may love not for the sake of merit, not for the sake of perfection, not for the sake of virtue, not for the sake of sanctity, but for You alone. For there is only one thing that can satisfy love and reward it, and that is You alone. — New Seeds of Contemplation, p. 45
…we should be helping one another—let’s put it in simpler words—to love. We help one another to love more, and you help people to love, not by saying “love,” but by loving. That’s the justification of our life: if there is love, it’s justified, and if should not be just a little in-growing love. It should be a love that reaches out to everybody. — Thomas Merton in California: The Redwood Conferences & Letters edited by David M. Odorisio (p. 52)
Verse of the day
This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.
– Matthew 15:8-9
Voice of the day
What, then, is the word of the religion of Jesus to those who stand with their backs against the wall?
– Howard Thurman, “The Howard Thurman Question That Changed My Faith”
Prayer of the day
May we as a church move from empty worship to truly following the teachings of Jesus, not the world.
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