Lent - Week Three
LIBERATION LECTIONARY - WOMXN’S HISTORY MONTH
Healing our Children
“We served as a catalyst for change.” Janice Kelsey, one of the children in the Birmingham Children’s March of 1963
The Unseen by Deborah Roberts
We all start out as children - even Jesus did! We know that children are naturally creative, energetic, kind, resilient, persistent, and fast learners. We have to protect our children, nurture those great things about them, and be sure not to practice ageism or mistreat them in any way. When we listen to our children, we learn better ways to solve problems, treat each other kindly, and make sure our world is healthy for everyone.
Daily Readings: from John 15 and Isaiah 53
During the Season of Lent, the daily readings focus on the final teachings of Jesus (as recorded in the Gospel of John) juxtaposed with the Suffering Servant prophetic prose from Isaiah’s second scroll.
Sunday: Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Monday John 15.1-4 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”
Tuesday John 15.5-8 “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Wednesday John 15. 9-13 “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Thursday John 15. 14-17 “You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”
Friday John 15. 18-25 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’
Saturday John 15. 26-27 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
Young protesters held in the girls detention room, a jail in Birmingham AL, 1663
Reflection: Children Know they are Catalysts for Change
“All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace.” Isaiah 54.13
When we think of all the children we know, we often pray for their futures. Whitney sang about it, Abbott Elementary rose to fame about it, and no “grown” person alive today has avoided the experience of growing - having an upbringing, living through a childhood. The words and actions of Jesus teach us that children deserve to be blessed.
In the household of faith, there is only one generation. God sees all of us as Their children. This teaching sets an example for us to give young people a special place in our plans for protection and service. This also helps older folks to recognize that young people are worthy and capable of holding life’s complexities.
One example of children learning all that they can, and marching into the fight against segregation, is the story of the “wade-ins” at segregated beaches in Biloxi, Mississippi. An inter generational group of Black organizers boldly entered the Gulf of Mexico in an area where Black people were not allowed. This collaboration between youth and children happened in 1959, a few years prior to famous boycotts, sit-ins and the campaigns that make up what we call the “Civil Rights Movement”. The young among us need knowledge and support, they need the pride of their communities and the prophetic promises of God. The prophecy we have from Isaiah says “all of your children will be taught by God, and great will be their peace.”
If we model this promise, we prepare spaces where the prophecy comes true! We can surround our young people with learning opportunities that enliven their spirits and support their connection to their divine roots. We can protect their ideas and desires, which gives them a pathway to building and strategizing for their own peace. Can you imagine? Education planning that involves the wisdom of both scholar and instructor. Public policy that reflects the needs of the emerging generations. Public places built for all ages accessibility. We have healing spaces built-in, to our hearts and our homes. We need only to tap into them by being curious, adventurous, free and forthwith. This is what children often do naturally. People formerly known as children by society, and everyone still called children by God – which is all of us! – would do well to embrace this gift of youth, and see it bring both knowledge and peace, as well as healing, to every age. ~
Click here to learn more about the Biloxi wade-ins
Healing in the Bible: Shiphrah & Puah
In Exodus 1.15-21, we meet two midwives who are part of the liberation story of many Hebrew families that were enslaved by Pharaoh, the ruler in ancient Egypt. Many people worshiped the Pharaoh as a god. When the Pharaoh commanded that all enslaved families were forbidden to have baby boys, Shiphrah and Puah were two of the experts in helping birthing people deliver their babies. They defied Pharaoh’s orders and brought many baby boys and their parents through safe and healthy birth stories. Their act of defiance is called resistance. We see healing in their story because they were not afraid to disobey an oppressive ruler.
Healing in History: Children Marching during the Civil Rights Era
On May 2,1963, thousands of school-aged children met in downtown Birmingham to protest segregation. Their protest was met with violent resistance from local authorities. The Children’s Crusade was a pivotal moment in the movement for Civil Rights. It re-energized the movement for political equality for Black communities after a series of losses, and inspired more people to support the cause of freedom. We can see healing in this story because children were invited to participate in the movement for Black liberation. Malcolm X was against the crusade. He believed it would be too violent and would expose children to trauma. “Real men don’t put their children on the line.” The work of young people in this era of movement teaches us that we don’t have to wait until we are “old enough” to learn how to fight for the freedom we deserve.