Hillbilly Elegy, Inferno and a Call to Spiritual Action

I finished three books on a two-week cruise through the Panama Canal. With time, space from work, the familiar, and the ever-present schedule of the day, I could set aside time to enjoy a book or two, or three. In the book Hillbilly Elegy and in Dan Brown’s book, Inferno, each reflected a moral crisis that looms dark and heavy over our own nation, our own time that is breaking our hearts and shattering our hopes and dreams for our nation, our world, and its people. Although neither of the books were particularly religious, they do challenge us to be introspective about our own spiritual journey and the values that shape our faith and our response to the problems that we are facing as a nation and as a people.

Vance, in his book, Hillbilly Elegy, makes this stunning revelation to me about his ‘hillbilly culture’. He writes this about his culture, “We choose not to work when we should be looking for jobs. We’ll get fired for tardiness, or for stealing merchandise and selling it on eBay, or for having a customer complain about the smell of alcohol on our breath, or for taking five thirty-minute restroom breaks per shift. We talk about the value of hard work but tell others that the reason we’re not working some perceived unfairness: Obama shut down the coal mines, or all the jobs went to the Chinese. These are the lies we tell ourselves to solve the cognitive dissonance – the broken connection between the world we see and the values we preach.” In the ‘hillbilly’ culture that shaped J.D. Vance they preach hard work and the importance of performing well in a job, but when they have a job, there is a feeling that it won’t last and so they live into another story – a story of scarcity, excuses, and blame. They are living lies that explain their poor behavior and the choices they make.

Such are the lies that are shaping our time. The lies we are hearing today is that America is the world’s policeman and we’ve got to stop, pull back and disconnect from the world because it isn’t serving America’s interest. The lies we hear today is about how dangerous immigrants are, and how we must close our borders. The lie that we are living is that the Christian faith is the only acceptable religion. We are living a lie that believes that some Americans are more worthy than others.  There is a cognitive dissonance in our nation today – an incomplete story that chooses fear over joy,  darkness over light, despair over hope, and blame over responsibility. We are living in a time of moral crisis. All of this leads to inaction and inaction is not the way of my faith and is certainly not the values that have shaped 240 plus years of the American dream.

I recall a particularly poignant point that Dan Brown made toward the end of his novel, Inferno. He writes, “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” He goes on to write, ‘In dangerous times, there is no sin greater than inaction.’ I don’t believe there could be a greater explanation and challenge in our nation today. We are living in dangerous times and the breach between the world we see and the world we preach must be repaired. In such a time as this, we are called to spiritual action. Where will the journey lead you?

Here I stand

In the political, social, and cultural context of America these days, not only is our nation in peril, we have forgotten the importance of peace, justice, righteousness and equality that has always defined the greater values that for over 200 years has made America great. With Evangelical Christians who have abandoned the message of the Jesus Christ and whose public voice that is louder than any other religious voice, the people of this nation and our world are hearing  something that is very different from my understanding of the Christian faith. In this post, I am challenged by the voices to respond with a different message of the Christian faith that what is being heard in our public squares today.   I am challenged by Martin Luther to explore my own faith, the scriptures that inform me and what inspires and calls me to action. This posting explores my own beliefs and guides my actions and the choices I make. 

Zarathustra, the founder and religious leader of what we come to know as Zoroastrianism once said, "The world is made up of good and evil. Our task each day is to decide what side we're on." In a nation where the predominant voices in politics and religion have become black and white, either you're with us or you are not, or what is right and wrong, this quote raises the stakes for me. In order to decide what is good or evil, I believe we need to have an idea of what we believe, or as Martin Luther stated so clearly, 'here I stand.' 

"The world is made up of good and evil. Our task each day is to decide what side we're on." Zarathustra, 668-551 BCE

I remember when Dr. Walter Brueggemann said to the first year seminarians, 'Everything that you have learned or think you know about Bible, you can forget. The objective of this class will teach you the Bible.' Yes, this was intimidating, but this was an important moment in my own spiritual development that would facilitate an understanding of scripture that I would need if I were going to serve as pastor and theologian in a local congregation. So began a journey of faith that has strengthened my own resolve and given me a vision of peace and justice that remains with me today. Likewise, the last year of Seminary, I found myself in a Systematic Theology class with Dr. Douglas Meeks. His first words, like Dr. Brueggemann , were meant to strengthen our resolve, to know what we believe and to continue to grow in faith. Dr. Meeks said to us, 'When you complete this class, all that you believe will be broken, it will be criticized, and it will be challenged, but when you walk off this campus for the last time, you will know what you believe and you will have to the words to defend it." Now,  many years past my Seminary years, I find myself challenged and empowered by three scriptures that cry out to me in the streets, in the town squares, on the busiest corners, and at the entrances of our cities.  They are Micah 6:8, Jesus's sermon in Nazareth, and Matthew 25.  

How often haven’t we cried out, ‘What is it that I can do to make you happy?’ The prophet Micah shares such despair, “What, O Lord, can I do that would fix my troubles?” The prophet gives some suggestions. Shall I bring a burn offering? If so, would you be pleased with a young calf, or do you want a thousand rams? On the other hand, would a river of oil be more pleasing? Maybe none of these options are acceptable and you are asking for my first-born. Is that what you want, Holy One? Then the prophet responds to the frustrated mortal. ‘No! O mortal, I have told you what is good and what I require. I am asking you to ‘do justice’, ‘love kindness’, and to ‘walk, humbly, with me’ and that is all. Clearly, the key words for me are ‘do justice’, ‘love kindness,’ and ‘walk humbly with God.’ How then can I not believe in charity? How then can I not believe in justice? How then can I not live my life in a way that is pleasing to God?

A second passage that cries out to me is found in Jesus’ first sermon in which he quotes the Hebrew prophet Isaiah, ‘…the Lord has anointed me…to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to the let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Luke 4:18. We learn that this alternative thinking of Jesus did not please the scribes, the religious leaders, or the people of Nazareth. “When they heard this [alternative thinking] they were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town and led him to the brow of the hill …so that they might hurl him off the cliff…” Luke 4:28-30. Here, Jesus is imagining an alternative vision for God’s people. Here, Jesus sees that God, through him, will dismantle the systems that oppress God’s people. Jesus’ vision is that the poor will have access to the same rights and blessings as the privileged and the powerful. God, through him, will free the prisoners incarcerated unjustly and the blind, the sick, and the hurting will have access to same medical resources that are available to those who have the means to access such quality care. Here, the oppressed will be empowered to demand different working conditions and will no longer be enslaved to dishonest masters that abuse, humiliate, or exploit their workers. Using the prophecy of Isaiah, Jesus proclaims a jubilee year in which not only human beings, but also all the earth will experience a time of regeneration and renewal. For this, Jesus nearly lost his life. How then, can I not respond to issues of peace and justice?

The final set of scripture that cries out and grounds my faith comes from Matthew 25. Here Jesus talks about what it will look like when the ‘Son of Man comes in his glory...’ The glory is not the ‘lake of fire’, the desecration of the Temple, or the destruction of the world, the seven trumpets, three beast, the seven bowls, or the little scroll. No, we will know when the Son of Man comes in his glory when the hungry are fed, the thirsty have clean water, the naked are given clothes, the prisoners are visited and strangers are welcome. When all this comes to past, then we will know that the Son of Man has come in his glory. The glory is not the wealth we have accumulated, the privilege we experience, or the power we can access. No, the glory is in our humility, in our acts of kindness, and our insatiable desire for peace and justice. 

Here I stand! This is what I believe and why ‘just peace’ must be an ideal, however imperfect, that I must strive to achieve. No, not even Jesus accomplished ‘just peace’, but I think that is why he gave us the resurrection. He gave us the empty tomb so that we can continue to complete what he had begun. Could it be that ‘just peace’  is a way of living into the resurrection of the one whose alternative thinking gives us the imagination and the courage to do what the prophets of old spoke about and Jesus himself lived? 

What does justice look like for you? How is peace achieved? What are the stories of faith and scripture that ground you and launch you into action? These, I believe, are questions worth asking in a time when alternative thinking and a different voice of Christian sensibility needs to be heard on the streets and in the cities.. May the God of justice and peace touch your heart today, stretch your faith, and grow you in ways you never imagined possible. When we know what it is that we believe and what calls us into action, nothing can stop us. May justice, righteousness and peace be a way of life for all us. Then we will know what is evil and what it is good.

Birthing a Promise

Growing up, I have fond memories of many traditions that were a part of Christmas time in my family.

We always lived too far from extended family to visit at Christmas time and so the family traditions that I remember are unique to my immediate family. One of the traditions that I remember as being special were the sending and receiving of Christmas cards and the best part would be reading the Christmas letters that accompanied the card. In the days before Facebook, Instagram, and twitter, it was a way to ‘catch up’ with family and friends who had touched our hearts at various times in our lives.

It might be a preacher’s thing to do (and many of the cards we received in the mail were from clergy who touched us in significant ways), but after we got through the great accomplishment of the family members, clergy would often theologize or reflect on one’s Christian response to a world crisis, moral decay, or flagrant acts of injustice. Even as a young child reading these brief commentaries opened my eyes to one family’s understanding of Christian discipleship. In a season of gift giving, these reflections were like birthing a promise -- a promise to live more faithfully into a bigger vision than the world knew at that time and a conviction that would define how they would act in the coming year and it was an invitation to those who read the promise to join them in their quest for peace, justice, and compassion.

I received my mother’s Christmas letter earlier this week. In it, she births a promise for the coming year. Her letter was written just as I remember the many Christmas letters I read as a child. My 79-year mother writes:

 “This has been a challenging year in many ways; possibly for you too. Our nation is in need of a star to follow.” Advent is a time of longing and I surely am longing for even a modicum of harmony. Perhaps your view would not be mine, but nonetheless, it seems possible that my thoughts might cover some of your concerns also: Decent living, consideration for the well-being of people all over the world, empathy for those in crisis, care of our planet, and basic respect for those who differ from us. On our Advent journey we can prepare ourselves to do our part to stay on the right path.”

She goes on to write, “In order to ‘follow the star’ it takes risk. The three men from the East followed as star to find a king. Mary and Joseph followed a star to find sanctuary from an evil king. In both cases ‘hope’ and/or ‘faith’ dwelt in their hearts and ‘courage’ carried them forward, never really knowing just where they might be led. May the same also be with each of us as we strive to live worthy lives. The ‘star’ brings all of us Emmanuel – God with us. This wee baby grew to be our Savior – one that modeled what was needed to live worthy lives, and that living took, and will also take for us – courage, faith, and hope.”

At this time of year, I'm thinking of the Christmas story, particularly Mary's Song or what we call the Magnifcat in the Christian tradition. The Magnificat feels like a Christmas letter to me that reflects on the injustice of the world and how one Christian recast her own Christian conviction in a prophetic act of justice. The usage of the Magnificat in Luke has a ‘double meaning’ for us. First it is Mary’s response to God’s magnificent grace and God’s acceptance of her, as a suitable maiden to carry Emmanuel – God with us. It is also the birthing of God’s promised vision for the world as made real in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Mary’s song – presumably inspired by this intimate moment with God – is a radical promise of what we as Christians, as the world, or as Americans ought to be about when choosing the path of Christian discipleship. It is an invitation to us to live into God’s promise, just as Mary does when she accepts the angel’s news of her pregnancy. She writes, ‘magnify God and rejoice in God our Savior.’
Here we are on the threshold of something new, something radical, and something of challenge for all of us.  God continues to birth a promise in the Christmas story.  Just as generations before experienced something new, something radical, and something challenging, Mary speaks to the same promise of a God who is fully engaged in the history of God's people. Mary's spirit is filled and she, like many before her, proclaim the promise of the ages. 

 ‘God’s mercy is for those who fear him’; God scatters the proud and brings down the powerful from their thrones. This one promises to lift up the lowly, fill the hungry and send the rich, empty, away.’ Mary sings of the ongoing promise of the same One who created the earth, sent the rainbow to Noah, chiseled the Ten Commandments with Moses, found favor in Mary, and like Sarah in old age, Elizabeth bears a son. As she concludes her song of glory, she says,  ‘He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” The Christmas story – the song of Mary is about birthing a promise that must not be forgotten in the midst of ribbons and bows, family meals of abundant food, Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph. 

The letters I remember were about ‘birthing a promise’ at a time of year when we find ourselves more reflective about the way things are and how to respond in faith. My mother’s letter is a ‘birthing promise’ that challenges her readers to ‘follow the Bethlehem star’ and find a way to nurture decency, empathy, and respect for our differences for the stewardship of our earthly home. Mary’s song – the Magnificat is about ‘birthing a promise’ that God will not be passive partner in the history of the world. The Christmas story is about ‘birthing a promise’ of the Son of God who ‘takes away the sins of the world’, restores life in a world seeped in images of death, and journeys with us along the winding paths and rests with us when we just need to hear the angels sing. On this eve of Christmas, what promise are you birthing in the year to come? May this day, your tomorrow, and faithful, serious Christians find a way to live into the promise of Christmas morning.

"What about us? A Modern Day Lament"

“What about us? A Modern Day Lament”

Gathering Words (Psalm 22:1-2)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
    and by night, but find no rest.

Lamenting in the Language of Today                                  “What about us” by P!nk

What about us?

What about all the times you said you had the answers?

What about us?

What about all the broken happy ever afters?

What about us?

What about all the plans that ended in disaster?

What about love? What about trust?

What about us?

Responsive Corporate Lament

What about us, Verse 1

We are search lights we can see in the dark

We are rockets, pointed up to the stars

We are billions of beautiful hearts

And you sold us down the river too far…What about us?

Psalm 8:3-4

³ When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;
⁴ what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
    mortals that you care for them?

What about us, verse 2

We are problems that want to be solved

We are children that need to be loved

We were willin’, we came when you called

But man, you fooled us, enough is enough, oh…What about us?

Psalm 13:1-3a

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I bear pain in my soul,
    and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³ Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!

What about us, Bridge

Sticks and stones they may break these bones

But then I’ll be ready, are you ready?

It’s the start of us, waking up come on

Are you ready? I’ll be ready

I don’t want control, I want to let go

Are you ready? I’ll be ready

‘Cause now it’s time to let them know

We are ready…

Parting Promise and Blessing:  Hebrew 12:1-3

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of^[b] the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

We are ready… Amen

Now, more than Ever

 Now, more than ever, I believe that the world needs  progressive and inclusive religious voices that honor, respect, celebrate, and even encourages differences. Now, more than ever, I believe that as a Christian, we need to be an alternative vision that rejoices in the wonder of the colors of the rainbow in God’s ever changing world.Now, more than ever, the world needs to know that their are Christians who believe that different is beautiful, diversity is welcome, and we leave judgment to God. 

After God created the day and the night, the water and the land, creeping things, plants, trees, and birds, God blessed each one and said it was good. One only needs to make a visit to the zoo, visit a botanical garden, or hike through the wilderness  to see how God gets carried away with the beautiful diversity of shape, form, color, or ability. When God completed each detail of God’s creation, God blessed it and called it good.Now, more than ever we need to see the blessings and call it good. 

In the midst of creation, God created male and female and put them in the garden – a metaphor for all the world – to care for it. Many of my friends on Facebook travel around the world. They post pictures of  so many people. The picture of the people I see are beautiful and uniquely  gifted by God’s grace and love. I see photographs of light skinned people with straight black hair, fair-skinned children with red hair. I walk through my neighborhood and see the beautiful tones of brown and black. In stores, restaurants, hotels and gas stations, I pay my bill to those who have come to America from such places as India, Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, Morocco, and countless other nations. In the gym, I exercise with Native Americans that are working hard to find their way through a nation that has been oppressive, has broken treaties and promises,  and taken away so much of their beautiful culture. In all of these, I can look into the eyes of each one and see the face of God. In the same way, I believe God looks into their spirits and reaffirms, everyday, ‘…you are good!’ Now more than ever we need to see the same beauty that God sees in us us and know that all are good. 

In the current religious culture of the United States there is a divide between mainline Christian congregations and more conservative congregations. The mainline congregations such as the Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, American Baptist, the United Church of Christ and others believe that God created all that is in the world and all of us have a sacred honor and trust as Christians to have the best interest of all the world, its people, life, culture and other religions at the center of our understanding of Christian stewardship. In contrast there are the more conservative, evangelical congregations like the Southern Baptist, various Wesleyan traditions, the Nazarene tradition, Church of Christ, and countless other independent congregations  that truly believe in the apocalyptic notion that God will destroy the earth, initiating the Second coming of Christ, and inaugurating the fullness of the ‘Kingdom of God’. They are a passive people that are quick to make judgments, decide what is good and evil, what is of God and what is not, and their faith is more about a personal relationship with Jesus and less communal in understanding. Now, more than ever we need to give life to our fragile earth home and our theology needs to be less about taking life from our earth home and more about giving to our earth home. 

In his farewell to 17 years of serving as a church bureaucrat in the United Church of Christ, the Rev. Dr. Ben Guess, most recently Vice President of Council for Health and Human Services Ministries, (CHHSM) has been called to serve as the Executive Director of the ACLU in Ohio. In his farewell to the United Church of Christ he spoke of the many changes he had seen in 17 years, but he made a comment that has captured my imagination and reminds me what it is to be progressive voice in a time when such a voice is not heard in politics and business of our days. Dr. Guess reminds us that even in significant changes in our life together, the United Church of Christ has ‘…insisted that the gospel is always global and communal, not just local and personal.’

Now, more than ever, we need to remember that God created the Church, in all of its strengths and all of it vulnerabilities, to be the voice of a radically inclusive God that will not be silenced. From the beginning of time, God created all that we know as good and the gospel of Jesus Christ is more than local and personal expressions piety and faith. The gospel is always global and communal. So we will be light in the wilderness. We will show the way to God’s inclusive love, and we will not be silenced. Now, more than ever, this must be our message, our purpose, and our promise. God is good! All the time! 

Great and Wonderful Aliens: A Lenten Reflection

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Emma Lazarus

             So it isn’t located on an island mid-way between New Jersey and New York. It wasn’t a gift by a nation that longed for and admired the freedom of the United States. There is not a ‘lamp beside the golden door’, but there are ‘yearning hearts longing to be free from the wretched conditions of their former land.’ In Genesis, the land of Goshen was the destination of a ‘tired, poor majority yearning to be free.’ Here is a homeless family tempest tossed’ seeking to be free. The goodwill of their land had dried up and their families and their livestock were seeking shelter from a ‘wretched’ condition and so they found their way to a better land – a golden door that invited them to live freely in an alien land. The wretched refuse found their way to Goshen and sought entrance into the land, “We have come to reside as aliens in the land; for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan.” Genesis 47:4.

            This family, Joseph’s family, found their way to Goshen and the only vetting process was a simple question: “What is your occupation?” The response was, “Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were.” Genesis 47:3. The Pharaoh did not sign an executive order restricting their travel. There were no armed guards to meet them at the entrance and no wall to keep the alien – the foreigners from the ‘golden door’, the land of Goshen. Instead of mandates, limitations, and rules, the Pharaoh said only this: “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.” Genesis 47:6. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” Proverbs reminds us: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9 Great and wonderful aliens are we.

            It was no place for widow whose only male children had died in the midst of a famine. Upon the death of their husbands a mother and daughter-in-law set out to return to another country. Naomi, the mother, and Ruth the daughter-in-law were in ‘wretched way’. Their future in the land of their husbands looked more frightening every day. Together they set out to a land where they were welcomed – ‘send these the homeless, tempest-tossed to me…’ Naomi would set out to a place in the country of Moab where the ‘Lord considered his people and gave them food.’ Ruth 1:6

            When they arrived in the land of Moab there was a man named Boaz who said to the hungry, lonely women, traveling in a foreign land, “Come here, and eat some this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.” The scripture goes on to say, “…They ate until they were satisfied and there was even some left over.” Ruth 2:14 Then Boaz instructed his employees, “Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her…” Ruth 2:15-16. Do not ask questions to determine her immigration status and do not revoke her ‘green card’. Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the right of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Great and wonderful aliens are we.

            It happened. He issued his mandate to his soldiers and  officers, “…kill the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who are two years old and under…” Matthew 2:16. “Give me your tired, poor and your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” The scripture says, “When the magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up!’, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search the child and kill him. He got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt…” Matthew 2:13-14a. Egypt received the holy family like the lamp beside the golden door…” at one timed received the ‘alien, the foreigner, and the stranger.’ Great and wonderful aliens are we.

            As Christians, we find ourselves at a critical crossroad. A crossroad that demands of us resolve, strength, and courage to stand with the ‘foreigner, the stranger, and the alien.’ The scriptures make it clear what we are to do with the stranger among us. In fact our own Savior and his family were once refugees in search of food, shelter, and security. Our call is clear. We must stand in solidarity with ‘the tired, the poor, and the huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”   We stand as ones whose own families were, at one time, refugees or immigrants to these shores. Today, we must stand with the ‘homeless and the tempest tossed’ to be what we have always been, a lamp beside the golden door – a place where there are no strangers, no aliens, no immigrant, or refugee. Instead, let us stand as one people to welcome all who yearn to be free. For we do not know when the 'lamp may go out for us.'

            

Flickering lamp beside the golden door

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

These words challenge me in these days. As I reflect upon such beautiful poetry, I am drawn to the prophet Isaiah and his words used by Jesus in his first sermon. It was a sermon he preached in his home-temple shortly after his return from his wilderness. While he was in the wilderness, he witnessed first-hand the deceptive power of Satan. With words and the stroke of pen, Satan could compromise the human condition and our relationship with the God of peace and justice – the God of grace and righteousness. Remember with me the words from Jesus’ first sermon.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

Because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

And recovery of sight to blind,

To let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the

Lord’s favor. Luke 4:18-21

As I read and reflect on this significant sermon in the history and tradition of our faith, I can begin to understand that our faith is not one of words, but of action. As I read these words, I am reminded of the value and importance of each person along our ‘teeming shores.’ When I read and re-read these words, I am reminded of a more recent prophet, Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” The things that Jesus spoke about in his opening sermon are consistent throughout his life and his ministry. He took to heart one of the fundamental tenants of Jewish faith, “For the Lord your God is awesome…the Lord that is great and mighty executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. Therefore, you shall also love the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” Deuteronomy 10:18, 19.Jesus preached about the things that matter. He, like Martin Luther King, Jr. understood the interconnection of our human family and the ‘tie that binds’ us to the God who created us, loves us, and longs for us to see the ‘huddled masses, yearning to be free.’ Jesus spoke about the wretched, the sick, the alien and the stranger and welcomed them. Jesus invited the prisoner and the captive to share in the beauty and gifts of the world that his Father/Mother created for all to enjoy. This mattered to Jesus.

This poem is a gift to America from Emma Lazarus.   These words are inscribed on the pedestal of Lady Liberty, a light in the darkness, given to America by France. I don’t know much about the poet, but her words are words of welcome to the alien, the stranger, the wretched, the poor, and the tired, and those who long to be free. At one time, the world believed that there was something fundamentally beautiful and inviting about our ‘teeming shores’. However, in recent days there has been a flurry of activity that betrays our greatest values as a nation. In recent days, our faith convictions are being challenged and ‘the lamp beside the golden door’ is barely flickering and the promise of Lady Liberty to all the world have become empty words – a nice poem with no conviction -- another broken promise of the ages.

 Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote, “We must learn to live together as brothers [and sisters] or perish together as fools.” Today, Lady Liberty stands as a ‘fool’ in the harbor of New York. If we believe that what has come to past to be normal and acceptable then we are the ones whom Jesus is speaking about when he angrily cries out, “…You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?” Matthew 23:33. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.” Are we hiding our light as a nation and a people under a bushel? Are we letting ‘few in numbers’ to blow out our flame? Have we become so complacent that we cannot shine nor will we speak? Is this what we have become?  Today, the ‘lamp beside the golden door’ is barely burning, and I wonder who will speak to the pending darkness.