January
18, 2015.
Second
Sunday in Epiphany.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday
1 Samuel 3:1-10.
The Rev. CECIL CHARLES PRESCOD, OCC
Three
stories. Three calls. Three responses.
So
where do we go from here?
The
Call: The story of Samuel is one that resonates with all of us. The story of a dark silent night. So dark that one cannot see one’s hand in
front of the face. All that is heard is
your breath entering and leaving your body. Today was like yesterday, which was
like the day before. You lay in your bed, twisting from one side to the other.
The unresolved problems of today promise to become the unresolved problems of
tomorrow. Tomorrow will probably be like
today, which was like yesterday, which was like the day before that.
And
then there was the voice. Whose voice is
calling? How should I respond? Twice he rose certain that his elder was
calling him. But that was not the voice
of his elder. In fact, the wise older
man counseled the young boy to return to his bed and listen with his ear and
heart. There was nothing special about
the boy, nothing about his birth or family which would lead one to believe he
would be a mighty prophet. He was nothing more than a young boy when he heard
the voice of God to engage in a mighty work.
So
the boy went back to his bed and listened. The boy heard the voice of the
divine calling him by name, “Samuel, Samuel.” The young boy could not have
imagined what God was calling him to do. He did not know that the voice was
calling him to a life that would challenge powerful evil forces. What he did know was that it was the voice of
God so he responded, “Speak for your servant is listening” (I Samuel 3.10)
Motivated
by seeking to do what was right, and not what was popular, the man who was known
as Little Mike as a child often rejected the advice of his counselors and chose
the more difficult path. His support of
the sanitation workers, his mobilization of the Poor Peoples’ Campaign, his
opposition to the War, all cost him support from many, and the toast of the
establishment in1964, was on the outside with the poor in 1968. He was a man,
and often had to be pushed to take actions. Young people in SNCC, and
grassroots organizers such as Ella Baker, had little patience for what they saw
was the calculating cautionary moves and decisions of the civil rights
establishment and their leaders such as King.
They advocated in words and deeds, for him and the movement to become
more radical in their critique and methods.
What
those who opposed him for being too radical, and those who opposed him for
being too conservative, did not grasp was that throughout his lifetime, Martin
King exhibited a unique ability to see what many could not see, to embark on
campaigns that were thought of as doomed, to yes, I will say it, dream, what
many could not imagine. He was called to be a prophet.
In
a recent article about King’s focus on economic justice at the end of his life,
Washington Post’s columnist Eugene Robinson writes:” King was a prophet. His role was to see clearly what
others could not or would not recognize, and to challenge our
consciences." That prophetic edge
was evident throughout his life. He
continued to challenge and question. He
continued to call us to examine our lives and to think critically about where
we are going. The title of King’s last book. written in 1967, was “Where Do We
Go From Here: Chaos or Community” The
title of the sermon he was to preached two days after his murder was “Why
America May Go to Hell”
His
prophetic call and response led to his arrest more than 20 times. Those who
were committed to the movement knew that freedom would not come without paying
a heavy price. The heavy price is something that we so easily forget. So as a reminder of the cost of freedom instead
of hanging pictures of King standing at a pulpit, or addressing the crowd at
the Washington DC Mall, perhaps we should adorn our walls and festivities tables with
pictures of Dr. King in a jail cell or his mug shots, or pictures of the
tortured bodies of freedom workers.
Freedom ain’t free.
So
what was the voice that called Samuel saying to the Dr. King? Martin, the reluctant prophet, was
unexpectedly called to take on a leadership role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
David Garrow in his book, “Bearing The Cross”, writes about King’s struggle.
One powerful incident took place late at night on Friday, January 27,
1956. He had returned home from a long
strategic planning meeting. His wife was
asleep but he was unable to rest. He got
up made a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. He pondered about
the role he that was forced upon him. A role he did not seek. A role as a
leader when he was not prepared to lead. In “Stride Towards Freedom” Dr. King
writes:
I was ready to give up. With my cup
of coffee sitting untouched before me, I tried to think of a way to move out of
the picture without appearing a coward. In this state of exhaustion, when my
courage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem to God. With my head in
my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud.
The words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid in my memory. "I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I've come to the point where I can't face it alone." At that moment, I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced God before. It seemed as though I could hear the quiet assurance of an inner voice saying: "Stand up for justice, stand up for truth; and God will be at your side forever." Almost at once my fears began to go. My uncertainty disappeared. I was ready to face anything.
Three
days later his house was fire bombed and his family nearly killed. One year later the King family woke up and
found twelve sticks of dynamite on their front porch, fortunately the fuse had
smoldered out. King prayed,
"You gave me a vision in the
kitchen of my house and I am thankful for it....So I am not afraid of anybody
this morning. Tell Montgomery they can keep shooting and I'm going to stand up
to them. Tell Montgomery they can keep bombing and I'm going to stand up to
them. If I had to die tomorrow morning, I would die happy because I've been to
the mountaintop and I've seen the promised land and it's going to be here in
Montgomery.
Throughout his ministry, even the
night before he was murdered, he would remind himself and those who shared in
the struggle about this hope, this mountain top experience, the vision of the
Promised Land, the beloved community.
Danger
stalks those who advocate for justice. Violence and the threat of death is ever
present.
More
than thirty years ago parishioners at St. Andrews and Second United Church of
Christ congregations believed that God was calling them to work together in
unknown territory. Two congregations
with two different histories and cultures, heard the voice of God calling them
strive to create a multicultural, multiracial church. This year members of this
congregation are embarking on mission that will preserve on video the stories
of some of the older members of this church.
We call it the “The Legacy Project”. Young people will interview older
members of the congregation. The
interviewees will share the reasons why they are committed to living into the
beloved community. These stories will inspire new generations.
Just
as Samuel did not rest with the knowledge that God had spoken to him once, and
Dr. King did not rest with the accolades he received for his work, neither must
Ainsworth rest on what we did in the past. The Sacred Conversation on Race Team
(SCORE- don’t you love acronyms?) is embarking on engaging our church to
examine who we are and where we are going in regards to racial justice. One
question we will ask you to ponder in coming weeks is: Are there any actions or values Ainsworth should adopt, drop, or adjust
to more effectively manifest itself as a multiracial congregation?
The
United Church of Christ’s identity campaign proclaim “God is still speaking”
A
natural response to that assertion is if God is still speaking how and when do
we here God’s voice? If we are honest we
might acknowledge we know what God is saying, but do not want to heed the
divine call. Our statement of faith proclaim “You call us into your church to
accept the cost and joy of discipleship to be your servants in the service of
other, to proclaim the gospel to all the word and resist the powers of evil, to
share in Christ’s baptism and eat at his table, to join him in his passion and
victory.”
Our
heritage as a faith community in the United Church of Christ testify to our
commitment to struggle for racial justice.
Our commitment was evident in the solidarity and support given to the
enslaved Africans on the ship Amistad in their freedom struggle in 1839. Our
commitment was evident when we established and establishing the first anti-slavery
society with multiracial leadership, the American Missionary Society, in 1846.
When Southern television stations impose a news
blackout on the growing civil rights movement Martin Luther King Jr. asks the
UCC to intervene. Everett Parker of the UCC's Office of Communication (who
recently celebrated his 102nd birthday) organized churches and won
in Federal court a ruling that the airwaves are public, not private property. The
church’s unswerving commitment to freedom of the civil rights activists, the
Wilmington Ten, the first report on environmental racism and thus pioneering
the work for environmental justice, are evidence that the UCC has a rich
history of advocating for racial justice.
The prophets Samuel and Martin did not rest on the laurels of
their past accomplishments. Neither can Ainsworth or our denomination rest on
noble efforts in the past. We may have seen from the mountain top the beloved
community, but we must continue, to paraphrase Dr. King’s last speech, until we
as a people get to the Promised Land.
Last
week the national officers of the United Church of Christ issued a statement to
the 5000 churches in our denomination.
In this document, called, “The Pastoral Letter On Racism: A New
Awakening”, our national United Church of Christ leaders remind us about our
history and calling:
Born
in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement and having deep roots in the 19th
century struggle to abolish slavery, the United Church of Christ has a lasting
engagement in the struggle for racial justice. The 1991 Pastoral Letter on
Contemporary Racism emphasized the Seventeenth General Synod declaration that
“[r]acism is a sin and an evil that stands as an affront to the Christian
faith.” The 2008 Pastoral Letter that accompanies Sacred Conversations on
Race pointed out, “Racism remains a wound at the heart of our nation that
cannot be wished away or treated carelessly.” These writings from our leaders
during those years remind us that acknowledging and challenging racism is not
new for the United Church of Christ. They also remind us that we are
theologically and spiritually compelled to seek the elimination of racism
within ourselves, in the church and in society.
They
conclude their pastoral letter with:
In the 2015 season of Epiphany and beyond, may the Spirit of God embolden us to recognize and resist the evolving virus of racism in our social body, encourage us through our hope in Jesus the Christ to repair the breach, and embrace us all as we move into the brave spaces of interracial church relationships, more just communities, and active engagement to put an end to the evil of racism.
Let not our inaction be an affront to God. Let our actions be a sign of the healing love of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
God is still speaking. God is still calling.
So
let us listen prayerfully and proclaim prophetically. The prophet Joel stated,
“I will
pour out my Spirit
on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
also your daughters.
Your old men will dream,
your young men will see visions.
I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants,
men and women both.
on every kind of people:
Your sons will prophesy,
also your daughters.
Your old men will dream,
your young men will see visions.
I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants,
men and women both.
Today, as in days past, God is doing a
new thing. God is calling and the people
are responding in Ferguson, in Portland, in Mexico, in the Middle East, in
Asia, in Africa, in South America.
God
continues to call and empower people for service. God called Samuel, and Samuel
heeded the call. God called Martin and
Martin heeded the call. God called the
founding members of Ainsworth United Church of Christ and they heeded the
call. God is calling us, will we heed
that call?
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