‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.--Luke 11:9-10
This part of Luke's Gospel rings true in the case of those who rallied for the emancipation of blacks and women, four women whom the Episcopal Church commemorates today. Soujourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Stady Canton, and Amelia Jenks Bloomer all contributed to the struggle, the push, the pull, the pain and the joy that now allows blacks and women to vote and have their voices heard. In reading James Kiefer's brief bios of the four, I was struck that both Truth and Tubman found the grounding for their work in the stories of Exodus. Truth, who delivered the speech "Ain't I A Woman?", was likened to the prophetess Miriam. And Tubman, who ran the underground railroad with the aid of white Quakers, was called the Moses of her people.
I, too, have found quiet strength and the ability to persevere in the face of hostility and stubbornness by reflecting on the effort it took for the Israelites to escape Egypt. This same escape from tyranny is all over the Gospels as well. But beyond the realities of Roman rule, the slavery I see Christ speaking against is the one that erects barriers to faith in the brain and the heart as in part of the lesson in this past Sunday's gospel with the Mary and Martha story. Are we focused on the things or on the thing? Are we doing for the sake of doing or out of a deeper belief and trust?
I have spent many years in the struggle for full equality for LGBT people. What I have found for myself is that instead of banging my head against the wall, if I put my trust in God and "knock" rather than "bang", I see and am able to perceive that the Spirit is there, and moving. The world is shifting and changing and with it comes the Church. But it will shift and change and morph into its new realities not on my time, but on God's time. What I must trust in is that it is happening and always remember the promise of Christ that "I am with you to the end of the age". It is with that hope that I think anyone striving for justice and peace and the dignity of all human beings can carry with them and know that their efforts are not for naught, even when they seem daunting.
And so, we pray:
O God, whose Spirit guides us into all truth and makes us free: Strengthen and sustain us as you did your servants Elizabeth, Amelia, Sojourner, and Harriet. Give us vision and courage to stand against oppression and injustice and all that works against the glorious liberty to which you call all your children; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This part of Luke's Gospel rings true in the case of those who rallied for the emancipation of blacks and women, four women whom the Episcopal Church commemorates today. Soujourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Stady Canton, and Amelia Jenks Bloomer all contributed to the struggle, the push, the pull, the pain and the joy that now allows blacks and women to vote and have their voices heard. In reading James Kiefer's brief bios of the four, I was struck that both Truth and Tubman found the grounding for their work in the stories of Exodus. Truth, who delivered the speech "Ain't I A Woman?", was likened to the prophetess Miriam. And Tubman, who ran the underground railroad with the aid of white Quakers, was called the Moses of her people.
I, too, have found quiet strength and the ability to persevere in the face of hostility and stubbornness by reflecting on the effort it took for the Israelites to escape Egypt. This same escape from tyranny is all over the Gospels as well. But beyond the realities of Roman rule, the slavery I see Christ speaking against is the one that erects barriers to faith in the brain and the heart as in part of the lesson in this past Sunday's gospel with the Mary and Martha story. Are we focused on the things or on the thing? Are we doing for the sake of doing or out of a deeper belief and trust?
I have spent many years in the struggle for full equality for LGBT people. What I have found for myself is that instead of banging my head against the wall, if I put my trust in God and "knock" rather than "bang", I see and am able to perceive that the Spirit is there, and moving. The world is shifting and changing and with it comes the Church. But it will shift and change and morph into its new realities not on my time, but on God's time. What I must trust in is that it is happening and always remember the promise of Christ that "I am with you to the end of the age". It is with that hope that I think anyone striving for justice and peace and the dignity of all human beings can carry with them and know that their efforts are not for naught, even when they seem daunting.
And so, we pray:
O God, whose Spirit guides us into all truth and makes us free: Strengthen and sustain us as you did your servants Elizabeth, Amelia, Sojourner, and Harriet. Give us vision and courage to stand against oppression and injustice and all that works against the glorious liberty to which you call all your children; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
1 comment:
As always, well thought out and well written. I am so happy when I read your blog.
Peggins
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