Letters from the new pastor- I Dream of a World...
I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom's way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Of such I dream, my world!
-Langston Hughes
"Act justly,
Love mercy,
Walk humbly..."
Micah 6:8 (adapted)
It's been a whirlwind- and I'm exhausted. From pandemic, election, post election, Capitol insurgency, fears for the future and more... I can't remember living in a time of such uncertainty. It is all too reminiscent of the fear from 9/11, and Americans are more deeply divided than ever- as is the church of Jesus, nationally.
Like you, I sat and watched the hallowed centerpiece of America overrun with violence and insurrection- I cried. I kept saying, "How is this happening." I became anxious; I worried for my DC area friends in law enforcement (and I texted them). I mouthed verses from scripture, "How long, O Lord." Over the course of these first weeks of 2021, I've become angry, indignant. I've watched news outlets and prayed, then repented. Asked God for peace. It's all so unsettling, and, at this point, I find myself being more numb- a bit perplexed and confused- emotionally exhausted.
Consumption exhausts us, doesn't it?
And today is a day filled with remembrance, for us all. Personally, today holds much significance, as I consider all it holds:
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday
On this date, in 1998, I decided to devote my life to Jesus- a decision that seems to have stuck, albeit with several missteps along the way.
My Grandmother Drye would have been 97 today- Happy Birthday in heaven, Grandma.
It's the beginning of the week that we will inaugurate a new president.
Shauna is having a major dental procedure done (I said it was personal).
The prophet, Micah, has a few phrases in the sixth chapter that just beam off of the page. They are fitting for mission statements and personal credos. I love these words; I preached on them recently: Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly (with your God). Langston Hughes penned a poem that became a favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was such a favorite, that he took the premise and built his, "I Have a Dream," speech from it. Justice. Mercy. Humility- and Hope. The writers of scripture and modern day capture well the "not yet arrived" tension with hope.
The tension is not the same as it was in the days of the Minor Prophets of scripture, nor is it the same as when Dr. King was practicing and rewriting his famous words- but the tension is palatable- draining- suffocating, even. The tension seems to never go away- and neither does the hope. In fact, it is the hope that I see often, but only when I'm looking for it. I see the hope when I pray, as I did this morning, with my brothers and sisters- prayers that say things like, "even when we are disappointed, Lord, we will still follow," "We may not know the will of God, but we can know that we will follow wherever he leads," "not my will. but thine be done."
I have hope when I see my kids singing praises to God, at a young age, even when they may not understand, but they join in and pray and sing in the middle of the uncertainty. I have hope when I see acts of selfless love- and I see these often in the church of Jesus. In fact, I see the most hope when I am in the church of Jesus- because "normal" isn't working everywhere else- it is only in the selfless love of Jesus- a love stronger than death, that I see hope.
Dr. King is certainly celebrated for his vision. As a pastor, it is another penned work of his that is branded on my heart. It is his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." He begins with the salutation, "My Dear Fellow Clergymen." This is a letter written by a pastor to pastors- and the content is scathing, begging and brash, yet humble. Humility is found in the method- written on the margins of newspaper, as I understand it. And it is this part of Dr. King's life that I have become most fascinated, and hopeful: how he endured in the tension. Along with the dream came an indictment to clergy, a responsibility to truth, to justice, mercy and humility.
If you have never read the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," I would strongly encourage your reading of it- today. A simple internet search for it comes up with millions of results- I would recommend choosing one published by a source from education/ higher learning. And I would encourage prayer- because we are exhausted- we are anxious- and I have yet to meet a person that has regretted prayer. And after your reading, your prayer and your contemplation- may you be spurned to action. For you do not yet know where you may be the hope of Christ in this anxious world. You do not know where God may lead- but you can know whether you will be faithful or not to his love. Amen.
