mlk – maggiemarcum

When Love and Hope are Distant, I cry out to God to restore me.

It is hard this morning to find words of love and hope. It is hard to wake to the beauty of a snow-filled day that is also filled with such anguish over yet another murder in our city streets. It is hard to feel love and hope when things seem so evil and hopeless right now.

But there is still hope, and there is still love in the midst of deep pain. We saw that in the outpouring of people in the streets across America following the death of Alex Pretti. People were compelled to come together in community across our nation in pain and dismay over the unthinkable that has become the norm in our country. Churches in Minnesota filled with people from all denominations and all faces to pray in love and hope.

I want to repeat that they came together to pray in love for love, and for hope. Even in the darkest of our hours, God does not abandon us even in the midst the most horrendous tragedy. We can still see the face of our loving Jesus who died on a cross for us that lives could be changed.

This morning I was drawn to The Beatitudes. These are the words of hope that Jesus left us with. These are words of encouragement. These are words he gave us on how to live our lives. These are the words we must choose in our actions going forward. We must not give into the violence ; we must give into love and hope.

“And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬-‭11‬ ‭NRSVUE‬‬

In Martin Luther King Junior’s 1967 address to the antiwar group Clergy and Laity Concerned, he said: “When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. This Hindu-Moslem-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: “Let us love one another; for love is God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.” (Strength to Love)

As we continue to process what has happened, and consider what could happen, I implore you to spend time in the good words of Jesus. Spend time reading and listening to faith leaders of nonviolence. Seek out those who would encourage us to fight injustice in the power of the loving God we follow, continue to pray for all those involved and all those who will take to the streets in the days ahead.

From Rev. Esau McCaulley ‘God’s Colorful Kingdom’ Art by Rogerio Coelho

May this be the turning point back towards a nation who respects and loves every single person living in this nation built for refugees and immigrants. May we abide together in love and peace.

I Choose Love Today

Like many of you, my heart is breaking over the events of the past two weeks of this new year. I can scarcely believe the harm that has been done to America in such a brief time. I grew up in Germany, hearing the stories and living with the ruins of an evil war as a backdrop to the destruction in their homeland. I grew up believing this could never happen again. I grew up believing that we would never dehumanize and attack people like that again.

We didn’t know we were wrong.

I was just a child during the civil rights movement, and yet I remember ever so clearly the day Martin Luther King was assassinated. The country was turned upside down, but it was in the direction of positive change. We became a country committed to moving beyond the sins of our past, and the sins of war. We moved toward inclusion and unity as a nation.

Or did we?

To be honest, it took most of my life before I realized that much of the hate felt in the past remained below the surface. It was like an evil slime waiting to erupt with just the right catalyst. It seems the catalyst has arrived and darkness and evil has been unleashed against one another in our country.

I refuse to go toe-to-toe with an agenda of hate. THAT is not the message of the Jesus I follow.

As a follower of Jesus, I struggle to understand how other followers of Jesus could enter into such evil and vindictive behavior. It isn’t the Jesus I came to know as a little girl. This is the Jesus that transformed my life by his perfect immeasurable love. A love we should be compelled to extend to others.

If we believe as Henri Nowen wrote, it is pretty simple…’”When we see our neighbor as created in the image of God, we discover that love is not a feeling but a way of seeing.” (Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out) That doesn’t mean we don’t enforce laws, it means we treat human beings from ALL walks of life, with the respect a loving God calls on us to treat one another.

This past Sunday we remembered the baptism of Jesus. In my church tradition we say this part of the baptismal covenant:

“Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?

I will, with God’s help.”

Now is the time for us to be united again. It is time for us to take a stand for that which is right. It is time for us to once again stand for and with those who are losing their identity, their safety, and their right to live in dignity.

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalms‬ ‭133‬:‭1‬ ‭

May we seek to follow the commitment made to love and serve a good and loving God in the way we treat ALL humans who are ALL made in HIS image. Lord help us to see the value and worth in every person of every nation, every color, and every belief system, as you so love them.