When preparing to preach on the Beatitudes (from Luke) this last Sunday, I came across the following lyrics, from "The Preacher & the Slave." A parody of "In the Sweet By and By," the song was written almost a century ago as a challenge to the Church, that we hear and respond to Jesus' call to face into present realities, and that we not take the easy way out by making the Gospel all about the hereafter, in effect passing the buck to God.
Indeed, the Gospel is much less about some future experience, and much more about the here and now, the present moment, and those whom God puts in our path:
Long-haired preachers come out every night, Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right; But when asked how 'bout something to eat They will answer in voices so sweet
Chorus You will eat, by and by, In that glorious land above the sky; Work and pray, live on hay, You'll get pie in the sky when you die...
As Jesus says elsewhere, "As you have done unto the least of these..."
Editor's Note: Wallace+ wrote this post yesterday before the federal appeals panel issued its decision, which temporarily reinstates "Don't Ask Don't Tell." We remain hopeful for the eventual end to this unconstitutional policy.
It seems quite possible, if not likely, that the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy will be, at some point, for some period of time, reinstituted. Nevertheless, even though the judge's order may not constitute a permanent righting of a wrong, the judge's order certainly does represent progress, and is a sign of how far we've come.
Let us pray for justice in our armed forces, and for justice for all gay and lesbian people.
As faith leaders from around Richmond, and across traditions, gathered at Richmond's Islamic Center yesterday, I was struck by the spirit in the room. It reminded me of the spirit in the crowd when a contingent of St. Paul's folks joined the gathering at VCU, back during Lent, to protest the Attorney General's legal opinion barring Virginia's colleges and universities from protecting gay and lesbian people from discrimination. Likewise it reminded me of the spirit in the air about a week earlier in Lent when I, along with a number of St. Paul's clergy and our Lenten Preacher at the time, joined a rally for inclusive communities at VCU. And, still one more occasion, the spirit in the air when the St. Paul's clergy and community joined a witness for peace at Richmond's Holocaust Museum, when we faced off with the Westboro Baptist Church and their message of hate.
There is, indeed, an unmistakable joy and an unmistakable peace that come when you stand up for justice, when you stand up for compassion, when you stand up for humanity.
Thanks be to God.
Amen, amen.
To read more about yesterday's gathering at Richmond's Islamic Center, please go to the Richmond Times Dispatch.
A new study out by the Pew Hispanic Center shows that illegal immigration into the United States is down, and very much so, over the last decade: a 67% reduction to be exact.
What do we make then of a rising chorus of voices in our country denouncing illegal immigration and blaming illegal immigrants for all manner of things?
Well, sadly, I think Frank Rich has it right when he speaks of "the latest minority groups to enter the pantheon of American scapegoats, Hispanic immigrants and Muslims" (as I quoted in Sunday's sermon).
Lord, drive from our hearts all bigotry, and help us to be the people you call us to be, people of compassion, justice, and generosity.
Tomorrow after at 2pm, Wallace+ will join faith leaders from the Richmond area for a press conference at the Islamic Center of Virginia. In today's Word from Grace Street, he explains why they are coming together in solidarity:
Naturally, a range of words will be used to describe
what we are standing up for: Civility. Freedom. Respect. Tolerance. Calm.
Justice. Community. Diversity. Equality. Reconciliation. Welcome. Understanding. Unity. Hope.
While all those words have their rightful place, some
come closer than others to what God wants for us, his children. While "tolerance" is a start, Jesus said
nothing about tolerance, and we won't settle for it. While "civility" is a beginning, we are
called to something higher, better, and braver.
Among those who will speak are: Bishop Charlene Kammerer, Rabbi Martin Beifield, Pastor Charles Baughum, Rabbi Ben Romer, Imam Ammar Amonette, Rev. Jon Barton and others.
In addition to standing together, they will publish a joint statement, which will be posted tomorrow.
I have lately been listening, for, a second time, to The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. I recommend it HIGHLY. While Dr. King did not in fact write an autobiography, Stanford's Clayborne Carson has taken Dr. King's written and spoken words and woven them together into a single and stunning piece. While it is available in paperback, the audio version is my recommendation, with many recordings of Dr. King being incorporated, including his "I Have a Dream Speech," naturally, as well as, for instance, his reading of his Letter from the Birmingham Jail. From the latter, I was especially struck (again) by what he says about the "white moderate," in answer to those who urge patience in the face of injustice.
Thanks be to God for Martin Luther King, Jr., and may God bless us as we carry on the brave and faithful work of his life. Indeed, may God help us to be both brave and faithful.
Before heading into the weekend, I wanted to make note of a few more things that caught my attention this week:
The RTD had an exquisite and poignant piece on forgiveness, "The Sweet Sound." "Grace amazes and abounds." Indeed. And, perhaps the strongest line in the piece," He is also a human being..." Amen.
Also in the New York Times, an editorial, entitled "Marriage Is a Constitutional Right," is superb. Justice has turned a corner. (Of course there are many corners still to turn.)
Ahmed has recently published Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam. Ahmed spoke about, among other things, the Founding Fathers' respect for
religious pluralism. John Adams called Mohammed "one of the greatest
truth seekers of history," and Benjamin Franklin called him a "model of
compassion." And Jefferson, as is well known, had his own copy of the
Qur'an.
Ahmed also talked about "bringing the temperature down" through
education and through our (i.e., Americans of different faiths) getting
to know one another better. Amen, amen.
Let us pray for peace and understanding. Let us pray for the human family.
In today's Word from Grace Street, Wallace+ writes about the death penalty, spurred by a recent article from the author of an upcoming book on the subject:
I didn't know that France was still using the guillotine when I was
older than Nelson is now. Nor did I realize that, in other Western
countries, majorities of the populations still favor the death penalty.
And, while I knew that most executions in the U.S. take place in the
South, I'm not sure I would have guessed eighty percent.
"Some people will say, 'You're swimming upstream.' You know what? So I'm swimming upstream,'' McCarthy said. "But I can't let the NRA step all over this Congress."
I give thanks for Bobby Scott, and for Carolyn McCarthy, Lori Haas, and Colin Goddard. I give thanks for them, and for all those with the courage to swim upstream with them, against a political and cultural tide that carries innocent American after innocent American to their bloody graves every year.
Let us pray for justice and for peace; for sane gun policy; for the victims of gun violence, and for their families; and for wise and courageous leaders.
My friend and fellow pastor, the Reverend Alex Evans of Second
Presbyterian, draws our attention, in
an RTD column yesterday, to words from "America, America, God Shed
His Grace on Thee," where we are called to love "mercy more than
life...till all success be nobleness and every gain divine."
I must say, those words had never gotten my attention with such force as
they did while reading Alex's fine reflection on the Parable of the
Good Samaritan. I commend his column to you; and, likewise, Nicholas
Kristoff's column from yesterday, which, in its own way, is on the
same theme: loving mercy more than life itself.
Praying for mercy. And praying for merciful hearts.
Amen, amen.
Video
WTVR Report on the recent death of an inmate
in the Richmond City Jail that the Rev. Alex Evans references in his
article. Click on the image to watch the video.
And, of course, this Christmas, tonight, and tomorrow, new memories are being made; a Carol sung, pure and exquisite; an old friend; warm, endearing words exchanged; a first Christmas for a new grandbaby; a candle lit, a face aglow, eyes agleam.
More than fifty times, in his published writings, Barth refers to the Grunewald image; and, indeed, usually, it is precisely in reference to John, and John’s relation to the figure of Christ; as he points.
Barth (and Grunewald before him) understood John’s sole purpose to be to serve as a pointer to Christ, a reference to Christ, a witness to Christ.
On any given day, there are those things that would get our attention; those things that would bring fresh perspective; those things would remind us of what is most important, what is most true. If, that is, if we but notice. We never know when those things, those experiences, those people might come. And so it has always been, so it has always been.
The Rule of 72, they call it. It’s a rule of thumb to figure how long it’ll take to double your money. If you know you can get 5%, on your investment, then you divide 5 into 72 and that tells you: it’ll take roughly 14 and ½ years to double your money. That’s the Rule of 72. Now, sometimes an investor doesn’t want to wait 14 and a ½ years, or however long the Rule of 72 tells you that you have to wait and so increased risks are taken. And sometimes you win, and sometimes you loose.
We all want, in the words of St. Paul, to “lead a life worthy of God.” A life worthy of God. Un-like the lives of the false prophets, of Micah’s day, or the false teachers of Jesus’ day, the scribes and the Pharisees, teachers of the law. Their lives are un-worthy of God, we are told, in no uncertain terms. In their hypocrisy, they serve, not God, not God’s people, but themselves.
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A new study out
Tomorrow after at 2pm, Wallace+ will join faith leaders from the Richmond area for a press conference at the Islamic Center of Virginia. In 
I have lately been listening, for, a second time, to 
Posted by Kimberly Allen
