The Episcopal Church remembers today, holy person Martin Luther King Jr. This gives rise in me to think of the state of affairs in our country and the world. As humans, have we progressed in areas of wisdom, love and equality? It seems like a good a time as any to take stock of our accomplishments. Jesus was not the first to note that we ( humans ) are a stiff necked people though.
The truth is, our accomplishments are a very mixed bag. From the time Jesus walked the middle east to now, slavery has become a bad word. No longer is it stated as a matter of fact. No longer is Scripture used abhorrently as the basis to condone owning another human being in any form. I could also point to women's rights. While not universally applied or even believed, women's rights have advanced, at least in the USA, to point of recognition far beyond the level of biblical chattel that they once were viewed as. Still, we have miles to go before we sleep in this regard. I would remiss if I did not note my own marriage. The advances in sexual equality have laid bare old myths and recognize even Biblical facts that have long been abused not unlike the slavery passages. We no longer ignore or contort passages like Jonathan and David, Ruth and Naomi. We recognize that Jesus cured the same sex lover of a Roman Centurion. The great works of John Boswell reclaimed the same sex 'marriages' that existed for eons. Our government is now more supportive of equal rights for all.
The flip side of this coin though is that we are indeed a stiff necked people and there are forces afoot to restrict rights, bastardize and restrict holy Scripture and advance hateful rhetoric that causes discord and generally, I believe, makes God cry. How is it that self proclaimed leaders of faith can support a political figure that constantly lies, is amoral and strives at every turn to undo the good done by a previous administration simply because he was an intelligent, eloquent Black man.
Is this like a cha-cha, one step forward, two steps back? We can see the advances and movement of the Spirit but we can also see the forces of evil and ignorance afoot. We can see our own penchant for easy fixes, blame and willful ignorance. We can see how stiff necked we really can be.
This could be a huge rabbit hole that I wander down to never escape and get caught in a quagmire of depression over the evil that seems so rampant. But am I not a believer? Are you? Do we not have free will to love and affect change? Is it not a God given right if not duty? On every corner and at every opportunity we must support intelligent conversation and education. We must kindle a fire in ourselves for quality Scriptural review and analysis. We must call attention to abuses in government and churches. What causes can we contribute too that affect positive changes for all of humanity and all of creation?
For our own sincere reflection and actions, we pray.
John 6:41-51
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They were saying, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’
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