Around the Midnight Hour
Real World
Contextual Engagement
Today we remember Selma Alabama and “Bloody Sunday” when
600 marchers were attacked at the Edmund Pettus Bridge by Alabama State
Troopers under orders from Governor George Wallace while attempting to March to
Montgomery Alabama to demand fairness in voting registration for African
Americans, increased actions regarding poverty, and the deaths of Deacon Jimmie
Lee Jackson, and Rev. James Reeb, a Universalist Minister. Because of their courage, and faith rooted
and grounded in Jesus and the Cross, the world was forever changed.
Moment of Silence
Reflecting on the message Pastor Leon delivered here
at Tapestry last Sunday on HIV/Aids, disability, and the overall discourse on
the issues, challenges and joys of health and healthcare I was impressed,
particularly as one who continues this work, with the notion that health and
healthcare are a critical concern of community and an economic imperative within the arena
of faith and social justice. I was reminded of the oppressive narratives of
politics, economics and rhetoric’s regarding something which should be without personal
cost simply as a matter national pride, dignity and a compelling faith that
maintains a nation daily in need of God’s grace and mercy. Endless
votes in congress, now 54 and counting at last report and arguments at the
supreme court of the United States where the purveyors of powerful economic
interests seek to destroy or at least cripple the Affordable Care Act once
again putting the health and healthcare of millions into jeopardy. In the face of oppressive narratives, which,
at least for me, are just plain ludicrous at times, I experience an unyielding
hope within a community of change agents who stand fast in an ever widening gap
around the midnight hour.
An Unyielding Hope
This unyielding hope, reflective of the life and ministry of Jesus, the Cross
and an empty tomb, characterize a community in collaboration around the
midnight hour as a new day appears on the horizon. The
midnight hour symbolizes the end of one time and the emergence of another. For those made insensitive, unaware, unconscious or asleep by the profit of
norms and traditions the expectant joy of a new day the midnight hour is indeed
a fearful time as the injustice perpetrated on so many people, for the sake of profit
in allegiance to norms and traditions, have their day in the court of the heart. Hearts and souls in collaboration for justice
and fairness now speak loud and clear at the midnight hour striking fear in the
flesh of the oppressor as a proclamation of the listening ear of God.
The actions of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-31, the
baptism of Lydia and her household, the release and freedom of a slave girl
from the spirit of divination, who happened to be a medium and profitable for
her owners, by Paul; a great consequence of her persistence and his lack of
patience, reminiscent of Jesus and the woman from Canaan and her daughter vexed
with the devil, resulted in a loss of capital for the owners of the slave girl and the beating and incarceration of Paul and
Silas. While incarcerated at around the midnight
hour Paul and Silas begin to pray and sing praises to God, and have fellowship with
the other prisoners.
Their actions become expressions of joy as their collaboration
brings to bear the listening ears of God, in this case, according to the text;
an earthquake shook the foundations of the jail, resulting in doors being
opened and the eventual release of Paul and Silas from the jail and departure
from the town. In the midst of their release
the jailer, who is about to commit suicide, is put at ease by Paul. He then falls down trembling at the feet of
Paul and Silas, seeking salvation, his life and household forever changed.
Many times, in the midst of the drama’s
of this life we are reminded to praise God in community giving thanks to
God for the many blessings poured into our life and then presenting the problem or
challenge, no matter how complex, to God and community. I find this helpful as I engage entrenched oppressions;
too many to mention here, which more and more seek to characterize life here in
the United States, the great beacon of capitalism and liberty.
In the face of entrenched oppressions, praise,
proclamation and fellowship in God creates a sacred space for collaboration to address
the various social justice concerns of faith and life in society, culture and
community. Mindful of the very real conditions of our
lives today collaboration is critical for the birth of new tools and strategies
to address the situation or circumstance which seems to be without hope. For the one whose heart has been opened by
Christ the Cross and the resurrection are profound mystical tools that express God’s
longing, hope and desire. These mystical
tools are an invitation to all cultures to come, converge and collaborate at
the foot of the Cross and at an empty tomb for relief, healing and liberation from
their condition. These tools enable us
to hold fast believing in a God who sustains us at the Edmund Pettus Bridge or
in the White House.
In contrast Audre Lorde, (1934-1992) author of
Sister Outsider, published by Crossing Press, writes, “The Master’s Tools Will
Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” This bold and controversial comment spoken at “The Personal
and the Political Panel,” of the Second Sex Conference in New York City on
September 29, 1979, is as relevant today in the face of entrenched oppressions
as it was then. The Master’s tools tend
to revolve around notions which enforce visions grounded in structures which
support white supremacy and patriarchy.
More often than not these tools marginalize anyone or anything that
exhibit a different vision of humanity. Discourses on politics, gender, poverty,
immigration, incarceration, racism and police brutality as evidenced in
Ferguson, Missouri and now Silicon Valley, called out by many for its lack of
diversity within the technology community bear witness to these tools. Yet as one who has had some success within
these structures and systems such as the military industrial complex and in
higher education Audre Lorde’s comment might be difficult to receive yet to
deny the injustice at play in these structures and systems would not be an
honest engagement of very real issues which impact so many people.
Seemingly Caesar has the only game
in town.
In light of these structures, systems and the
diversity of people who live on the margins of Church and Society, who do not
fit the established norms and patterns of a sequestered vision of humanity, life
is affirmed in the intimacy of a community in collaboration for survival. They seek or develop strategies and tools inclusive
of yet beyond the norms, which may or may not be comfortable or considered
ethical for those in the mainstream yet enable them to overcome and transcend
very real obstacles so that they might live and thrive in the midst of Caesar. I believe this was the situation of those of
the early Jesus Movement, later known as Christians.
Partly because of my own experience of God on the
margins I have come to believe that the most intimate moment we have with Jesus
is in collaboration at his table. Communion is sacred and holy, and should be
considered a meditative space. It is
where the heart of Jesus and the heart of his disciple come into dialog, to
collaborate regarding issues which may be spoken or unspoken yet are so very
real in the life of the disciple. Remembering
the March at Selma 50 years ago I am mindful of a great and glorious communion,
a meeting of the heart of Jesus and his disciples which changed a nation. As we receive communion today let us be
mindful of hearts in intimate dialog and collaboration so that life here in the
United States might be defined as justice, fairness and unyielding hope.
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