Fresh from his Baptism, Jesus is identified as
the Lamb of God by John the Baptizer to two of John’s own disciples who
then become followers of Jesus. Jesus asks them, What are you
looking for? They, calling him Rabbi, ask where he is
staying. Jesus answers, come and see and they spend the day
listening to him. Later, Andrew, one of those men, tells his brother, We
have found the Messiah. He takes his brother Simon to meet
Jesus who knows him immediately and tells him he’ll now be known as
Peter.
We know that
Peter, along with his brother Andrew, and the others who joined them, often
struggled with the message of Jesus, yet even in the face of enormous
obstacles, defeats, trials, and tribulations, carried on and carried the
message forward. It’s easy to think the original disciples, chosen in person by
Jesus, were holy and able to move through life with absolute certainty of their
mission. But they, as all we humans, including Dr. King, had doubts, human
imperfections, moments of uncertainty ~ and fear. A huge obstacle to living
faithfully in today’s world is that there simply seems to be too much of everything to get
in the way of attending to our faith and faith development. Two thousand+ year
old events don't always have much of an impact on my everyday thoughts and
actions, yet the question, What are you looking for, caught my
attention. Now at the beginning of a new year, in a volatile national and
worldwide political and economic climate, we prepare to celebrate ~ some
more than others ~ the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and in
that regard, to the question from Jesus, I would add, What is your
dream? ~ not for the personal and material things you want or hope for, but
rather for humanity itself.
While the significance of the impact of Dr. King's work and
words is undisputed, the echoes of his voice are slowly fading as we are nearly
58 years since his death. Various groups were not, and still are not, fans of
this particular recognition, yet it holds.
Racism, as all people of color know, continues with a vengeance along
with other hate-filled discriminations of religious beliefs, gender, sexuality,
ethnic, and even physical and mental disabilities. As with Christmas and
Easter, we are more likely to pay attention to a date on a calendar to be
reawakened, to listen again and hear anew, to stop and consider again, and then
take a step forward. This date is no exception. In many places, this
"holiday" is advertised as a day of community service with
opportunities to give of oneself in a Day On rather than
merely a day off.
In times such as
these when certainty is upended and the status quo is now status unknown, it is
as critical as ever that we carry Christ's and Dr. King's messages forward to
uphold people of all colors, creeds, national origin, sexual orientation, and
for any reason that any one is targeted for oppression, brutality, bullying,
and discrimination. We are all equal in the Eyes and Heart of
God. And, as Dr. King said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become
silent about things that matter." Jesus tells us in the Gospel
of Mark [12:29-31], "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is
this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater
than these." No good action is ever wasted, and with consciousness
and intent, good actions of heart, mind, and soul can become as routine as
checking for "likes" on Facebook throughout the day and night. As Dr.
King has said, Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do
that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
In my home state of Delaware, another extraordinary man accepted
a call, as a Black American, to be the very first Interim Bishop in the continental
US. The Rt. Rev. Quintin E. Primo, Jr., having retired as a Suffragan Bishop
from another diocese was making other life plans when the call came and he had very
reasonable doubts and concerns about this Diocese itself from his prior history
here. You can read more in the excerpt
from his autobiography below. He did accept and after his Interim time was
concluded, he was still very active in this Diocese for a long time. A personal
connection for me, with this widely and affectionately known Hugging Bishop,
is that he received me into the Episcopal Church in 1990 at the Episcopal
parish of my paternal great-grandparents, grandmother, my father and his 2
siblings.
What is your dream for this still New
Year – will you shy away from whatever discomforting challenges are now
present or lie ahead, look deeply for ways to learn more about how to be and
live in faith, or both and more? How can we shine in and radiate Christ’s
light? How can we muster up the love to neutralize the hate we all encounter,
and fight to resist in ourselves at times? Maybe, if we can step up and step
out in uncertainty, as did the first disciples, we will discover that what we
are actually looking for is the place within ourselves where Jesus is staying
and loves us as we are. Come and see where that place of God’s light to the
nations is inside us each and one another, and spend some time with Him and His
Word. Spend some time with Martin and Quintin, too.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE,
PRAY
Leader: ~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, in Your compassion, love, and
faithfulness, teach us the way of patience and trust. Keep us mindful of the
spiritual gifts we each have within us by God’s grace, that we may inwardly
know and outwardly radiate the fullness of your light to all we meet.
Jesus, Lamb of God
RESPONSE: God’s Love and Light to the
Nations
~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, in these uncertain times, fortify
and energize our willingness to continually urge the ruling authorities on this
Earth, in our Country, and in our Community, to ensure the dignity, health, and
well-being of every person on this planet. Fill us with the courage to work, as
your servants Quintin, Martin, and valiant others before us, to reveal and
reverse false strength and corrupt power spent for vanity only. We pray
especially for:
Jesus, Lamb of God
God’s
Love and Light to the Nations
~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, give comfort and healing to all who are
sick, troubled, or weary of this life, and to those who care for and about
them. We now join our hearts to pray for those in need…
Jesus, Lamb of God
God’s
Love and Light to the Nations
~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, soothe sorrowful hearts with the
knowing that You enfold our loved ones in the grace, glory, and joy of new life
forever. We pray especially for:
Jesus, Lamb of God
God’s
Love and Light to the Nations
~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, we pause in this
moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…
Jesus, Lamb of God
God’s
Love and Light to the Nations
~ Jesus, God’s Beloved, hold fast in Your embrace all who lead
us in Your Church, as they guide and walk with us in Word, Faith, and
Sacrament, away from false gods and always to You. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
Jesus, Lamb of God
God’s
Love and Light to the Nations
The
Celebrant adds: God Almighty and Everlasting, You called us before we were born
and named us in our mother’s womb. Keep us seeking and finding the Love that
drives out hate and the Light that drives out the darkness in ourselves and in
each other. We ask through the grace of Jesus, our Rabbi and our
Christ; and our spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit, who together with You,
live and reign, One God, today, tomorrow, forever. Amen.
* From The Making of a Black Bishop,
1997, by The Rt. Rev. Quintin E. Primo, Jr., [1913-1998] the fourth
African-American to be elected a bishop in the predominantly white Episcopal
Church. He is listed in several national publications: Who's Who in America,
Who's Who in Religion, Who's Who in Colored America, Who's Who
in Black America, and Notable Americans:
“Having already retired from serving the
Chicago diocese, we were finalizing plans to relocate in
the Hartford Connecticut area, so that we could be near our older daughter
Cynthia and our only grandchild at the time, Lori Heather Williams. Then the
call came from Delaware. The caller, Father David Sheehan, president of the
Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Delaware asked if I would
consider becoming Interim Bishop for a period of ten months while they
conducted a nationwide search for a new bishop. Father Sheehan described
the opportunity as new, challenging, innovative-the first time to be tried by
any American Episcopal diocese. Truthfully, the call from the
Delaware diocese itself caught me by surprise. I found it hard to believe
that a black bishop, especially a “high church bishop”, such as I, was
contacted and actually called to serve the largely white,
traditional “low-church” diocese for any duration.
As requested, I gave the conditions of
the call serious and prayerful consideration. I considered the
racial, social, and religious conditions of the First State. I remembered these
conditions well because I was a college student in a neighboring state in
the 1930’s, as well as having served in the 1960’s as a pastor of an
Anglo-Catholic parish in downtown Wilmington. The small state was openly
racist-not too unlike the deep South from which I hailed. Receiving assurances
that there had been substantial racial and social progress
made since I had lived in Delaware, I was convinced that the call was
genuine. I accepted the position with enormous enthusiasm on the following
terms: that I be allowed to wear cope and miter on Episcopal visitations as I
had done in Chicago, a custom uncharacteristic in Delaware; that I be permitted
to hug and kiss the ladies and hug the men; and that I be allowed to preach
without being told “what” to preach about and “how long” to preach (reference
to my long-winded preaching being made during each of the two interviews with
Standing Committee members). They observed,
“We hear that you preach long sermons; please shorten them, if you come.” This
truth I could not honestly deny and I said, “If the Chicago diocese
survived twelve long years of it, the chances are good that Delaware can endure ten
months!” I accepted their unanimous offer, thus becoming the first interim
bishop serving an Episcopal diocese in the continental United States.”
**An Excerpt from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I have a Dream speech, August 28, 1963, Washington, D.C.:
“I have a
dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of
its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal’…I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill
and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the
crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together…This will be the day when all of
God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, ‘My country, 'tis of
thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land
of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.’"Full text, click here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/i-have-a-dream-speech-text_n_809993.html
Click here for a short
video of the I Have A Dream speech excerpt - Martin Luther
King, Jr 1963
