Black Heritage Month - Three
LIBERATION LECTIONARY ~ BLACK HERITAGE
Beatitudes in Black
“You are moving in the direction of freedom and the function of freedom is to free somebody else.” -Toni Morrison
Meditation & Prayer: John Lewis
“Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society. The work of love, peace, and justice will always be necessary, until their realism and their imperative take hold of our imagination, crowd out any dream of hatred or revenge, and fill up our existence with their power.
It is my hope that the leaders of today will heed the warning the people have so patiently tendered and shake off the shackles of inertia. Let us remove the false burdens of partisanship, personal ambition, and greed, and begin to do with the work we were all appointed to do to move this country forward…We are one people, one family, the human family, and what affects one of us affects us all.
excerpt from “Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America” by John Lewis
Scripture and Lesson: The Beatitudes
Read Matthew Chapter 5 // Key Verses: 5:3-16
When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and God’s rule. You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are – no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. God’s food and drink is the best meal you’ll ever eat. You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family. You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. Not only that – count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens – give a cheer, even! – for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble. Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand – shine! Keep an open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, our generous God in heaven.” from The Message
Reflection:
This month we are celebrating many ancestors who have been lights for us. Wisdom from Toni, poetics from Audre, power from Huey, artistry from Nina, good trouble from John: all these ancestors are the light of the world, the flavor of humanity. We are together citizens of the city on a hill. Our Creator, the original ancestor, has called light into existence, and then given us the creative command to shine. And when light shines it brings health, the sun sends vitamins, light causes plant life to grow. Light sustains the life cycle. Mama Toni said “If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”
For every shining lamp God has settled on a lampstand, there is a wick, a grain of salt, inside someone else, whose light and flavor is brightened by the proximity of others.
Audre wrote “Without community, there is no liberation…but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist.”
John Lewis gave us:
“You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone—any person or any force—dampen, dim or diminish your light. Study the path of others to make your way easier and more abundant. Lean toward the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don't be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself.”
Let us remember these lights, these salts, this city, and all the flavor. Their lives, works, humanity, and the way they moved as humans, living beyond their self-interest, but refusing to diminish self-worth. These things among many make them role models for everyone seeking the Beloved Community. Their combined brilliance offers us the Beatitudes of Blackness.
Music: “Ooh Child” by Nina Simone
Ooh child things are gonna get easier
Ooh child things'll get brighter
Ooh child things are gonna get easier
Ooh child things'll get brighter
Someday we'll get it together and well get it undone
Someday when the world is much brighter
Someday we'll walk in the rays of the beautiful sun
Someday when the world is much lighter