Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend 2017: Where is Jesus?

1/15

It was the Sunday before the inauguration. And we gathered to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And reflect on where we are …now.

All the music of the day was chosen for special reasons….we opened with “Jesus the Light of the World…” continuing our Epiphany theme of light..and getting it…and sang Siyahamba…We are marching in the light of God…a South African freedom song that was late taken up by the More Light movement for full inclusion in church life  by the LGBTQ community..a movement that was birthed at West-Park in 1978…the religious Stonewall, you might say…Precious Lord, take my hand was Dr.King’s favorite song, the one that brought the confirm in times of doubt and fear .the uncertainty of our  time moved me to sing Blowin in the Wind, a song I would sing the next day at the annual Upper West Side Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. peace walk at Pastor Heidi’s invitation..and of course we called with the Civil Rights Movement’s We Shall Overcome…

And this was my reflection…

This is the Second Sunday in Epiphany…a season of Light…a season of “getting it”…as we continue ti hold our breath in our journey into the unknown…and the weekend of celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, JR…

In our gospel lesson, somehow we’re still with Jesus where we left him last week, on the banks of the Jordan with John…and this time it’s from the perspective of the Gospel of John…and John too has seen the dove of the Holy Spirit descend and remain on Jesus.

Ultimately, in seeking what Jesus is up to, the people ask him where he’s staying, he responds come and see…and it’s not so much asking where he is but what he does and who he is and by doing so we will discover where we are…

And where is he staying?  I’m convinced that  these days, we’re going  to find him a lot in the streets…

Last Friday, the Micah Institute (and others) walked together to deliver a letter. We walked with Mama Bah, the mother of a murdered child. The Micah Faith Table calls on US Attorney Preet Bharara to launch a full investigation into his case and fully prosecute all officers who killed her son Mohamed Bah, an African  Muslim son of our city in Septemer 2012…three years ago…It was profoundly moving to see Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu and  Christian clergy all together…with my neighbor Imam Konate, the spiritual leader of the mosque where Mohammad worshipped…later. he told us emotionally how moved Mama Bah was by the solidarity of so many. She felt a dam in her heart had broken open. “Come and see’’’ says Jesus…

We’ve got macro concerns and micro ones as we  move forward…macro-wise, there was recently a full page ad in the New York Times  calling us to  “Stop Trump” before he is inaugurated…calling on 1000’s…or more.. to come to Washington,DC to block the streets, etc…and of course the women’s march that will take place January 20th…these are macro actions…

We need to be concerned with the micro as well…local issues  and actions that are definable, achievable, measurable and verifiable …(the DAM-V test of organizers..)

Tomorrow is our annual Upper West Side Martin Luther King, Jr.  walk for peace and justice organized by our clergy and Westsiders for Peace and Justice…

Our march

this year the action is very specific….support for West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing’s proposed expansion of affordable housing at West 108th street…

WSFSSH founder Rev. Laura Jervis

We support affordable housing

.280 units…(20% of our seniors live in poverty, in Manhattan Valley alone 2000 of them are  on a  waiting  list for affordable housing …with a seven year wait..)The plan to use  three garages owned by the city has caused a community uproar..…come and see

And our friends from the National Movement Against Sweat Shops  and Justice will be Served…are organizing to pass a statewide SWEAT bill to stop wage theft…from the most vulnerable of our neighbors, immigrant workers from Mexico, China and French west Africa…come and see…

Frequently at these services, we read from Dr. King’s I have a dream speech. But this year i want to read from Dr. King’s 

Letter from the Birmingham jail….1963…

There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period that the early Christians rejoiced when they were

deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas

and principles of popular opinion; it was the thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Wherever the early Christians

entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being "disturbers of the peace" and

"outside agitators." But they went on with the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven" and had to obey God rather than

man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated."

They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest.

Things are different now. The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often

the arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average

community is consoled by the church's often vocal sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the

early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no

meaning for the twentieth century. I meet young people every day whose disappointment with the church has risen to outright

disgust.

I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour

Yesterday, our Session met with Rick Ufford-Chase

Meeting with Rick

…..we dreamed of creating a congregation committed to:

,,,each other

…radical (and disciplined) reading of scripture

…worship (deep sharing)

…and taking action together…

of this you will be hearing more..come and see…

Jesus is here..

Thank you (again) Leila!

On the Sunday after.....

11/16

We gathered slowly, as if slowly awakening too a new reality. We open with Tutu’s words, more 

meaningful than ever now…

Goodness is stronger than evil;

love is stronger than hate;

light is stronger than darkness;

life is stronger than death.

Victory is ours, victory is ours

through him who loved us. 

Victory is ours, victory is ours

through him who loved us.

Our first hymn was “Today we all are called to be disciples of   the Lord…”  

and following threading of the Gospel, we shared this song by Leonard Cohen: 

The world we are in this Sunday is a very different world than we were in last Sunday and is a place none of us imagined we would be in. If you are like me, you are still somewhat in a state of shock, of disbelief.  I’ve been struggling all week to come up with the right words to share with our community. 

Tuesday night, I kept waiting for the tide to turn, it never did. At 1:30 AM, I watched an episode of “Gotham”, a Batman origins series. The Penguin had somehow managed to get elected mayor of Gotham City. I realized that we were like Gotham City with no Batman around to save us. My friend pastor Heidi said that she felt like she did when she watched the towers come down, like something horrible was  happening and that there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. My son Dan said that this was the most historic thing that had happened in his lifetime. I said that he had been alive for 9/11. And he said that this felt worse. And I understand that. I do feel that our country will never be the same.  Something about our very core has been called into question. Or brought to light. Something that goes to the core of our identity as a people. It’s that serious. 

There has been an unceasing outpouring of analysis and lamentation and exhortation on every media and especially social media. That is understandable.There is a deep felt need to try and make sense of this, it’s a coping mechanism. It’s why I’ve held back for awhile. Trying to feel where i need to be. There’s been outpourings of people into the streets …today I joined them…but there is no achievable demand we make …it’s only an expression of our anger, our fears, our commitment…but…

There are voices calling on us to “come together”…to “reconcile…” Not so fast. 

First, allow yourselves to grieve and mourn awhile. Let yourselves feel that. You don’t need to “move on..” or “get over it…”.….Not yet. Secretary Clinton and President Obama are saying all the right things, acting as if this were simply a transfer of governance, a transition. But there is a danger here of normalizing this process.  But this is not normal. Not in any way. Not at all

Michael Moore has daily 5 point to do lists…they are helpful but…

Draw close to people you care about and let them know you love them. That’s first.

We need to be in prayers of compassion and solidarity as well…

Politics aside, I feel deeply for Hillary Clinton…I’m sure that she went to bed Monday night fully believing that she would be President and calling Mr. Trump must have been the most difficult thing she’d ever done. 

And for President Obama, at the peak of his approval ratings, ready to leave a lasting legacy, To see it all called onto question if not outright rejected..

And I pray for my generation of women…my sisters…the ones who go back to the coat hangar abortion days…who fought for  choice…the ill fated Equal Rights Amendment…who accompanied women through gauntlets of Project Rescue militants …they saw in Hillary an affirmation of their lives and embodiment of their struggle, they saw Hillary’s presumptive presidency as breaking the glass ceiling, as a sign as significant as Obama’s election.Their sense of betrayal is personal and profound. I understood their support of Hillary in a way my boys never could.

And we must pray for all those who feel threatened and vulnerable, left insecure by this outcome…for immigrants, people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ persons…and given some of what has been unleashed, their fears are real…

Scriptures have an uncanny way of intersecting with our lives…Luke 21: 5-19 has the apocalyptic vision of the destruction of the  temple…perhaps a symbol as vital to that people as the presidency  is to us….I have a feeling that politics as we have  known them are over…the republican party has gone to where it has been headed and a venerable Democratic party has found its days over…

….the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down….

As Michael Moore put it, Donald Trump is a human Molotov cocktail…inspired by conversations overheard in a homeless encampment, my friend Catherine Feeney wrote these words on her  post-Occupy “America” album..

I  wanna make some loud noises 

Set something off 

Light it on fire and then 

Watch it blow up 

I am the whistle before the explosion 

I am the heat that makes powder expand 

Some days I wake up lucky 

Today I am the queen of the damned 

Something to empty 

Something to swallow 

Something to burn out 

Someone to follow 

I wanna make some loud noises 

Piss someone off 

Get a fight going and then 

Watch it blow up 

Make it blow up 

Something to empty 

Something to swallow 

Something to burn out 

Someone to follow

I’m not sure whether that represents Trump voters or how I feel right now…

Luke is very aware of what the consequences are of faithfulness in such times:

12"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.

We have NO idea what the days ahead of us may require..Luke’s  description of “betrayal” truly touches me…it is common…familiar…we’ve been there..remember the House UnAmerican Activities Committee hearings? Or the Harvard Secret Court of 1920 where friend and family turned against each other  in the homosexual trials ? Or the German Democratic Republic  where perhaps a half million or more  turned  informers?…..or what happens to Palestinian prisoners today?

and will lose your lives…

By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Thankfully, Isaiah  gives us a vision of an new creation….IF I have HOPE at all, it is  that a new creation will emerge…

Here is the Vision: The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent-its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.

It’s an image that hat has been special for my Quaker relatives. Their meeting house has the peaceable Kingdom Paintings by Hicks on the walls. It’s an image that comports me. 

Speaking ONLY of the CHURCH…I believe that we are called to be a community of resistance. 

WE are now called to define what Cornell West calls REVOLUTIONARY CHRISTIANS…a visible counter-cultural community…

And we must be absolutely committed to MAKING SAFE ALL WHO FEEL VULNERABLE. We also need to grow in understanding of the  forgotten people who supported Trump…like those from my my hometown…former mill towns and factory towns and mimic communities…left beside the road and treated with condescension by the liberal elite…

But we must never compromise with the other supporters, the voices of hatred and rejection…of misogyny, xenophobia, islamophobia, racism..

We need to engage in local projects…last Friday, Pastor Heidi and I met with the National Mobilization Against Sweat Shops  people…a new campaign is rising  to end wage theft through a Secure Wages Earned Against Theft bill…sin this campaign we walk shoulder to shoulder with those who have been made to feel threatened, the most vulnerable among us…the undocumented immigrants from Mexico, China, West Africa…

And friends, this is just the beginning…

Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

We shared our reflections with one another. Russ sees us at a new day needing a new prophetic way too be church. Pat is still in shock and disbelief. Leila surprised that we were surprised given the fear we had expressed last week. It is good to be together.

Our final hymn was “ O Day of Peace”:

Then we held  hands .Prayed. Sang Amen. And went back into the world…

Thank you Leila....

                                Oh...and Russ reminded us,"Now we must be Batman..."

                                                                     ****

First Reading Isaiah 65:17-25

17For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. 19I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. 20No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. 21They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD-and their descendants as well. 24Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent-its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.

Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Gospel Luke 21:5-19

5When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6"As for these things that you see,

7They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" 8And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them.

9"When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." 10Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

12"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Undefeated

10/25

Session meets early. Anxieties rising. It’s easy to look ahead and see the wall. Like the one on the Mexican border or between Israel and Palestine. Or at the 20 mile mark of any marathon. That’s what it feels like. We have resources. The question is how to use them wisely to build towards a future. We all feel a bit done in by meeting’s end.

The cast of Othello is hard at work preparing for next week’s workshop performance.

My son is heading to Phoenix for a week so there’s a family brunch before he goes.

The NMASS band

Tonight the National Movement Against Sweatshops NMASS) , the SWEAT campaign, Sweat Shop Free Upper West Side and Justice Will Be Served gather at West-Park for a party celebrating their recent victories against Domino’s Pizza and Indus Valley. Even though that last one took six years, the reality is that NMASS and the SWEAT coalition is undefeated against the big corporate players.  It’s a pretty impressive record for a group of grass roots workers in an exemplary Chinese- Latino coalition to have never fought a losing battle. The focus now is on Governor Cuomo.

Gov. Cuomo

When I get up to speak,

JoAnn  tells me to watch my time because everything has to be translated into Spanish, Mixtecoe Fujian Chinese. You have to love it. The table is laden with Chinese and Latino foods. The evening begins with the NMASS band playing some original protest songs. When I speak, I welcome them to our church, our house, nuestra casa es su casa…and remind them that they are undefeated…and will be undefeated because the cause is just and right.

Pastor Heidi and I laugh about when Domino's went after us. And we talk about the next steps in our community wide food justice work . I watch the people dancing, all shapes and sizes, that wonderful spirit that transcends class, shape, age or color. Then dj’s lights are flashing. The Latin beat pulsing…la lucha sigue…

 

Carlos and the NMASS leadership and Pastors Bob and Heidi

Brief reflections on the Ten Commandments

10/4

Quick stop late in the day. The Revolutionary Communists leaving after a long meeting. Frog & Peach taking a break during final rehearsals for Titus Andronicus. Berik working alone on his computer.

10/5

Today we’re  starting a new series: …He’s got the whole world in his hands..and our theme of the day, Back to Basics.

We’ve got no other accompanist today, so after we finish Psalm 19, I play the Melodians By the Rivers of Babylon:

By the rivers of Babylon

Where we sat down

And there we wept

When we remembered Zion.

Oh the wicked carry us away, captivity

Require of us a song.

How can we sing Jehovah’s song in a strange land?

Oh let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts

Be acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord.

Our sermon text today is Exodus 20: 1-14, 7-9, 12-20, the  Ten commandments. I start by saying here’s a lot converging. World Communion  Sunday. World peace day. The end of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. The Muslim Eid al Aha. This is where we begin our look at the whole world in  God’s hands…with a look at our most basic legal, moral code.

There are different ways to organize. To count.  In Hebrew, it’s the ten words, or  the ten sayings. Leading to the Greek, Decalogue, 10 words…It was The Geneva Bible that was first to use tenne commandements. In fact in Hebrew, the word  TORAH is more accurately translated teaching, than LAW.

There are only two positives and eight negatives.

The Ten Commandments get down to basics, to worship only God, the greatest injury to another  person (murder), the greatest injury to family bonds (adultery), the greatest injury to commerce and law (bearing false witness), the greatest inter-generational obligation (honor to parents), the greatest obligation to community (truthfulness), the greatest injury to movable property (theft).

The writing of these ten commandments most likely dates to the time of Solomon…foundational rules for organizing a kingdom…..and they have a universal quality. BASICS.

We talk about those that are problematic. Like thou shalt not kill, which we have now understand is closer to murder. And stealing, especially in a day when businesses steal more from employees than burglary, larceny and robbery combined. As we’ve learned from our anti-sweatshop friends, from the most vulnerable workers. And envy, that one is really hard…

Anna remarks on the absence of gluttony. One of the seven deadlies, but not the big ten…

Ultimately, I feel like all the commandments after the first are simply variations of idolatry, having other gods beside god.  Last week we talked about authority…who’s in charge…and this comes back to  that question…perhaps ALL truly are based on first….

We sing He’s got he whole world in his hands…the old children’s song…and the  officially welcome Anna into membership as Leila stands by her side on behalf of the session.

Anna, Blueberry, Leila and Puppy

The after communion, we do our St. Francis moment and bless puppy and Blueberry both under Anna’s care today.

 I stay after service to wait for Tina. She was trying to get here for worship, but didn't quite make it. She’s come with her friend Martha. An artist who has painted a beautiful portrait of Tina. She keeps waiting for the loss of Teddy to get easier. It’s going on two years now. But it doesn’t. I understand how she feels. Sometimes it’s hard to let yourself grieve because you’re not sure how stop. I know. No easy answers. But she has an amazing life force, and sense of humor, that is indefatigable. I admire her. And appreciate the laughter. Outside on the steps, it’s as close to perfect an October day as you’ll get.