Women's History Month Three
LIBERATION LECTIONARY - FOURTH WEEK OF LENT
I Must Resist
“Let us be enraged about injustice, but let us not be destroyed by it.” -Bayard Rustin
Judy Bowman
Daily Scriptures
Sunday 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.
Monday Matthew 6.1-4 Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ‘So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Tuesday Matthew 6. 5-8 ‘And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ‘When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Wednesday Matthew 6. 9-15 ‘Pray then in this way: hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Thursday Matthew 6. 16-21 ‘And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Friday Matthew 6. 22-27 ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Saturday Matthew 6.28-34 And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” 32 For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Lent Reflection: Saints Day of Bayard Rustin, Mar 17, 1912
This week’s scriptures are all from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. And our history highlight this week is a departure from Women’s History Month to hold space for a sacred Saint’s Day for Bayard Rustin. The architect of the March on Washington, one of the first organizers to train many well known organizers; and did not shrink back when endless threats came at him. In spite of the fact that he was invaluable to the movement, Bayard was cast out by people of faith and leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. He was silenced and erased, as well as publicly denounced.Bayard was a queer man of faith. He lived and loved as a queer man of faith. Bayard was also considered to be a communist. Many presume these concepts cannot coexist in one mind or mission. Nothing but honor for his patience and power. He truly embodies the principles of this week’s scripture readings. He called on the Lord in prayer, he forgave so many people (perhaps too many) and pressed on in his way. He was cunning. He did not heap phrases of arrogance, but was wise in his speech. He could not give up. And somehow he was not consumed with the constant anxiety Jesus talks about. Just as his famous collection of writings is named, so he often repeated “I must resist”.
Music & Meditation
Lenten prayer from the African American Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church.
We pray prayers of confession this day and seek not our due but God’s grace. We stand vigilant over our lives, like watchers on the walls, aware of our failings and of Christ’s redemption with equal fervor. We sing hymns of thankfulness and commitment to this journey of faith and of proclaiming the good news with passion and persistence. This is a worship experience of anticipation and of completion. We await the redeeming work of Christ on the cross, even as we have already received that redemption. We anticipate this journey of suffering, into the depths of sacrifice and death, even as we know the completion of the work. Let us prepare ourselves for what is to come by remembering what has been and by trusting in the Spirit that gives life, even when all seems lost.
Lent and Women’s History Month playlist