“But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power and authority, before all time and now and forever.
Jude 20-21, 24-25
Build yourselves up and pray in the Holy Spirit. Hold dear the love of God that enfolds each of us as we journey through life. The Creator will keep us from falling into the pain of separation, the idolatry of oneness and the wanting for more that we can ever use. God’s love with stand forever.
By noon today, I was exhausted. My knees hurt, my feet and hands felt more numb than usual, but as I looked out of the field, it was a good days work. I will rest well tonight. The lettuce, onions and cabbage have been laid in the soil and are waiting for sunshine and rain to help them grow. Flourish into produce that will feed people and help create a dream I have written about before- Sophia’s Farm and Sophia’s Seminary.
As I drove down 85 and then 95, I listened to the radio, not the news but music. A much loved song caught my attention, “Oh, I love this song” I think as I start singing the words. I love “Three Dog Night” and this was one of their best. I listened to the words that I have heard many times, filling with anticipation for the chorus with it’s lively beat and coming together of voices. Not only the lead singer, but children chiming in the background. Your’re singing now.
“The world is black. The world is white”.
Suddenly, I became quiet. I realized that the words of the song weren’t true. They were never true. Out of the anger and outraged in the past few months, came “The words aren’t true”.
In the last four weeks I have been taking a workshop sponsored by the “Richmond Pledge to End Racism”. There are fifty of us who meet, by Zoom, and discuss a difficult topic which is racism. In those short weeks I have learned more about myself and how I react to the world. I can’t speak for others, they have their lives to lead and there stories to tell. I wanted to dig deeper into history, into feelings, into ideas that form and shape who I am and how I interact with others.
Next week we are going to talk about the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s origins and beliefs and goals. Many of you may be thinking, “Well, all lives matter” and that is very, very true. Black lives matter has nothing to do with a fact that most thinking people are completely aware.
It goes deeper that that. Much deeper. Let me try to explain.
Let’s return to the song I spoke about earlier. It’s “Black and White”. The origin of the song goes back to the 1954 Supreme Court decision “Brown v. Board of Education. First recorded by Pete Seeger and later, Sammy Davis Jr. in the late 1950’s, the song had another opening verse,
“Their robes were black, their heads were white,
The schoolhouse doors were shut so tight,
Nine judges all set down their names,
To end the years and years of shame.”
By the time Three Dog Night did their recording, the verse was not included in an effort to make the song less tied to a specific time and place in history.
So, now the song, with its worldwide and timeless nature, becomes a hit of the 1970’s. A joyful song of everyone coming together, being equal and living in harmony. If only it were true. I drive to work everyday by Creighton Court on my way to Richmond Community Hospital. Diabetes, drug addiction, joblessness, lack of insurance are only a few of the problems I see in a community where children according to the song, have the same opportunities that my child has. A good education, good healthcare, a chance to learn in an enriching environment that will prepare him to continue his education in whatever manner he chooses.
What about the sixteen year old in Creighton Court. Poorly funded education, little resources, a culture of “this is the best we can do”, and a host of other ideas firmly planted years ago and watered by a culture that thinks “this is the best we can do”.
Read the words…
“The ink is black the page is white. Together we learn to read and write. The child is black. The child is white. The whole world looks upon the sight. A beautiful sight. And no a child can understand that this is the law of all the land. The world is black. The world is white. It turns by day and then by night. The child is black. The child is white. Together they grow to see the light. To see the light. And now at last we plainly see. We’ll have a dance of liberty.”
The words aren’t true. Well, the first verse is true. But maybe, someday, they all can be true, for everyone. If we can build ourselves up and continue to pray to the one that leads us with a steady hand. Always remember that we are all part of God’s creation and were created to love and be loved. In the mercy of that love we can look to each other with honesty and strive to be a world where the words of the song are true. The words of the song are just. The words of the song are fair. The words of the song can enfold us into the people were were intended to be.
“But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power and authority, before all time and now and forever.
Jude 20-21, 24-25
Dear God,
We can, as a nation, as a world, pray for a better understand who we are created to be. We can build our selves up by remember that we are loved by God and told to love each other as we love ourselves. In this time of crisis and renewal, let us hold each other as God holds each one of us. So that we can rejoice giving thanks to God and grace to each other and all creation around us.
Amen
A Space to Move 